2004 Amazon deforestation figures from the government of Brazil
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Deforestation Figures for Brazil
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Year | Deforestation
[sq mi] | Deforestation
[sq km] |
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| 1978-1988* | 8158 | 21,130 |
| 1990 | 5,332 | 13,810 |
| 1991 | 4,297 | 11,130 |
| 1992 | 5,322 | 13,786 |
| 1993 | 5,950 | 15,410 |
| 1994 | 5,751 | 14,896 |
| 1995 | 11,219 | 29,059 |
| 1996 | 7,013 | 18,160 |
| 1997 | 5,034 | 13,040 |
| 1998 | 6,501 | 16,840 |
| 1999 | 6,663 | 17,259 |
| 2000 | 7,658 | 19,836 |
| 2001 | 7,027 | 18,130 |
| 2002 | 9,845 | 25,500 |
| 2003 | 9,343 | 24,130 |
All figures derived from official National
Institute of Space Research (INPA) figures
Deforestation Chart
*For the 1978-1988 period the figures represent
the average annual rates of deforestation.
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The Brazilian government released preliminary figures showing nearly 9,000 square miles of the Amazon have been destroyed this year.
Satellite images suggest that 8,920 square miles to 9,420 square miles -- an area larger than New Jersey -- was razed this year. In 2003, around 9,343 square miles (24,130 sq. km) of rainforest was lost.
The satellite data showed a marked increase in deforestation along the BR-163 road, a highway the government has been paving in an effort to help soy farmers from Mato Grosso get their crops to export markets. Typically, roads encourage settlement by rural poor who look to the rainforest as free land for subsistence agriculture.
To learn more about deforestation in the Amazon, check out these links:
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Deforestation in the tropics,
copyright Rhett A. Butler 2004
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