Of the 10 municipalities that deforested the most in the country in 2020, 9 are located in the Northern region, and 6 belong to the state of Pará

More than 90% of municipalities in the Northern region of the country recorded deforestation in 2020. This is one of the findings from the Annual Deforestation Report in Brazil - 2020, produced from data from MapBiomas Alert, presented in a webinar on Friday, July 9th, on the MapBiomas YouTube channel. The data was presented and analyzed with the participation of monitoring and enforcement agencies.

The study revealed a 3% increase in total deforestation in the Northern region of the country compared to the previous year (2019). In 2020, 758,329 hectares were deforested in the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins.

The increase may seem small in percentage terms, but the Northern region had the highest deforestation in 2020. To give an idea of what this represents, using the deforested area in the entire North region (758,329 hectares or 7,583 square kilometers) as a reference, the amount is equivalent to seven times the area of the city of Belém (1,059 square kilometers) or three times the area of the city of Palmas (2,219 square kilometers) - or even 4,800 Ibirapuera parks (1.58 square kilometers each). And the deforested area in the Amazon biome alone in the region (688,693 hectares) represents 50% of the total deforestation in the country last year.

In the North, 423 municipalities recorded deforestation out of a total of 450, meaning 94% of the municipalities experienced native vegetation loss. Of the 10 municipalities with the highest deforestation in the country in 2020, 9 are located in the Northern region, with 6 belonging to the state of Pará. The municipality with the largest deforested area was Altamira (PA), with 60,608 hectares.
According to researcher Antônio Fonseca from Imazon (Amazon Institute of Man and Environment), one of the highlights of the report is the increase in the number of alerts in the region. In 2020, 54,974 alerts were detected, representing a 23% increase compared to the data from 2019. Another important piece of information provided by Fonseca was the leadership of the state of Pará in the ranking of those with the highest deforestation rates, accounting for approximately 48% of the total forest loss area. According to the report, 49% of the deforested area in Brazil was concentrated in 50 municipalities, with 15 of them located in Pará.

The majority of the area of the Northern states is covered by the Amazon biome, but the Cerrado biome is also present in a small part of Rondônia, and the Cerrado prevails in Tocantins. According to Fonseca, based on data from MapBiomas Land Use and Land Cover, the estimate is that more than 80% of the deforestation occurring in the states of the Northern region containing the Amazon biome is for pasture.
A warning issued by the Imazon researcher is that 'the increase in forest loss in Amazonas indicates the advancement of a new deforestation frontier in the region, including encroaching into conservation units and indigenous lands.'

Highlights about the Northern region in the Annual Deforestation Report in Brazil - 2020:

- 54,974 alerts detected, validated, and refined (a 23% increase compared to 2019);

- 758,329 hectares of deforestation (a 3% increase compared to 2019);
No Norte, foram registrados 423 municípios com desmatamento, do total de 450, ou seja, 94% das cidades;

- Pará was the champion in deforestation in the North, with 366,334 hectares devastated, 23% more than in 2019;

- Of the 10 municipalities that deforested the most in 2020, 9 are located in the Northern region, and 6 belong to the state of Pará. Altamira (PA) ranks first, with 60,608 hectares deforested, representing an 11.9% increase compared to 2019. São Félix do Xingu (PA) appears in second place, deforesting 45,587 hectares, followed by Porto Velho (RO), with 44,076 hectares suppressed. Lábrea (AM) ranks fourth, with 35,596 hectares of native vegetation lost. Balsas (MA), the only municipality outside the North on this list, destroyed 28,752 hectares and ranks fifth. Novo Progresso (PA), with 23,696 hectares, ranks sixth, and Itaituba (PA) ranks seventh, with 22,094 hectares of deforestation. Apuí (AM), which devastated 21,739 hectares, occupies the eighth position. Pacajá (PA), with 20,789 hectares deforested, and Portel (PA) with 18,612 hectares, complete the list.

- Amazonas appears in second place in the Northern region in terms of native vegetation areas devastated, with 127,967 hectares, representing a 2% increase compared to 2019;

- Rondônia, whose capital is among the cities with the highest deforestation in 2020, cleared 114,943 hectares and ranks third;

- Tocantins follows next, having deforested 68,833 hectares;

- Acre is fifth on this list, with 56,657 hectares suppressed;

- Roraima (21,939 hectares) and Amapá (1,653 hectares) were the states with the least deforestation in 2020 in the Northern region.

Access the full 2020 Annual Deforestation Report at MapBiomas Alert website.