Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest, August 2014 to April 2016. According to the SAD, deforestation (total conversion of forest to other alternative uses of the soil) reached 183 square kilometres in April 2016. Graphic: Imazon / SAD

[Translation by Bing Translator.] By Antônio Fonseca, Marcelo Justino, Carlos Souza Jr., and Adalberto Veríssimo
31 May 2016 (Imazon) – In April 2016, 42% of the forested area of the Amazon rainforest was covered by clouds, a lower coverage than April 2015 (55%). States with larger cloud coverage were Roraima (86%) and Amapá (84%). In the analyzed period, and under these conditions, SAD detected 183 square kilometers of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. This represents an increase of 34% compared to April 2015 when deforestation totaled 137 square kilometers. In April 2016, deforestation was concentrated in Rondônia (30%), Mato Grosso (28%), Pará (21%) and Amazon (20%), with minor occurrence in Tocantins (1%). Degraded forests in Amazon rainforest totaled 626 square kilometers in April 2016. In relation to April 2015 there has been an increase of 733%, when the forest degradation added 75 square kilometers.

Forest degradation in the Amazon rainforest, August 2014 to April 2016. Graphic: Imazon / SAD

The accumulated deforestation in the period of August 2015 to April 2016, corresponding to the first nine months of the official calendar for measurement of deforestation, hit 1,200 square kilometers. There was a reduction of 28% of the deforestation in relation to the previous period (August 2014 through April 2015) when it reached 1,657 square kilometers. In April 2016, SAD recorded 626 square kilometers degraded forests (forests intensely explored by logging activity and/or burned) (figures 2 and 4). Of this total, the vast majority (94%) occurred in Pará, followed by Rondônia (5%) and Mato Grosso (1%). […] In the month of April 2016, SAD detected 55 square km of deforestation in protected areas. In the case of indigenous lands, in April 2016 only 1 square kilometer of deforestation was detected, located in Sarauá (Pará). […] In April 2016, it was possible to monitor with SAD 58% of forest area in the Amazon rainforest. The other 42% of the territory forest were covered by clouds what hindered the detection deforestation and forest degradation. The States with greater cloud coverage (86%) and were Amapá (84%). As a result, the data of deforestation and forest degradation in April 2016 could be [substantially greater than estimated]. [more]

Boletim do desmatamento da Amazônia Legal (abril de 2016) SAD