@DianeN56 Destruction of #Brazil's

@DianeN56 Diane Neff

Destruction of Brazil's most endangered forest, the Mata Atlantica, slows http://sns.mx/fqdTy1 RT @greenroofsuk RT @bedlamfury @mongabay


http://www.mongabay.com/

Destruction of Brazil's most endangered forest, the Mata Atlantica, slows
Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
May 27, 2011



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Deforestation of Brazil's most threatened forest ecosystem dropped substantially during the 2008-2010 period according to new data released by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica.

Analysis of satellite images across 16 of the 17 states the Atlantic Forest spans found that 312 square kilometers of forest was cleared between 2008 and 2010, down from 1,029 square kilometers between 2005 and 2008. Deforestation was concentrated in the states of Minas Gerais, Bahia, Santa Catarina and Parana.

The new assessment finds only around eleven percent — 141,000 square kilometers — of the Atlantic Forest or Mata Atlântica remains intact. Logging and conversion for agriculture and cattle ranches have been the primary drivers of deforestation of the Mata Atlântica, which is a key source of water for some of Brazil's richest and most populous states.

"We depend on natural resources and environmental services of the Atlantic that are essential for the survival of the 112 million people in the field of biome," said Marcia Hirota of Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica in a statement.

In an effort to slow destruction of the Mata Atlântica, in November 2008 Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a decree to protect and restore the ecosystem to 20 percent of its original cover. INPE, Brazil's space agency, has since extended its advanced deforestation monitoring system to the region in an effort to measure emissions and catch deforesters.

But a new bill that aims to revise Brazil's Forest Cost could undermine efforts to protect the Mata Atlântica, according to Mario Mantovani of the Políticas Públicas da Fundação.

"The approval in the House of Representatives of the proposed changes to the Forest Code only worsen the already dramatic situation of the Atlantic," Mantovani said in a statement.


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Mata Atlantica Cover Data by State
Includes forest, mangroves, and salt marshes. Data from Piauí excluded.

State	Hectares	Proportion of original extent
Alagoas	149,872	10.0%
Bahia	1,692,734	9.0%
Ceará	150,283	16.5%
Espírito Santo	510,752	11.1%
Goiás	49,381	4.7%
Minas Gerais	2,733,926	10.0%
Mato Grosso do Sul	360,121	5.7%
Paraíba	75,641	11.3%
Pernambuco	229,272	12.7%
Paraná	2,094,392	10.7%
Rio de Janeiro	861,767	19.6%
Rio Grande do Norte	48,548	14.1%
Rio Grande do Sul	1,028,990	7.5%
Santa Catarina	2,210,061	23.0%
Sergipe	109,887	9.2%
São Paulo	2,670,324	15.8%

@mongabay