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Brazil's Amazon deforestation grows 29 pct in a year

Xinhua, December 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has grown by 29 percent in the last 12 months, the National Institute of Special Investigations said on Wednesday.

From August 2015-July 2016, 7,989 square kilometers of forest cover were removed, crossing the 7,000 square kilometers mark for the first time since 2010, the institute said in a report.

This is higher than the 6,207 devastated in the previous 12 months. The data comes from the government's PRODES system, which has been charting the rate of deforestation since 1988.

It also tracks the rate of deforestation, according to rainfall and agricultural activities.

The northern state of Para was the worst affected, losing 3,025 square kilometers, a 41 percent rise year-on-year.

Only two Amazon states saw a regression in deforestation but these were very small, with Mato Grosso's rate falling by 6 percent and Amapa's rate by 4 percent.

To gather this data, the government used detailed satellite imagery across the 50 main municipalities on which the deforestation occurred.

The progressive destruction of the Amazon is the main cause of greenhouse gas emissions in Brazil.

In the Paris climate change agreement, Brazil committed itself to reducing carbon emissions by 37 percent from 2005 levels by 2025. Endit