Massive Deforestation in Brazil: A Football Field Pandemic
In São Paulo, Greenpeace just dropped a bombshell: Brazil shed enough forest to cover a million soccer pitches in only one year. That’s a whopping 7,900 km² of green wiped out, marking a near 14% jump from the previous year (August 2017 – July 2018).
Marcio Astrini, Greenpeace Brazil’s public‑policy coordinator, warned, “We’re talking about a million football fields gone in just one year.” It’s the headline that repeats itself every time we scan the news—our tree‑clearing crime lingo.
Things could turn even more disastrous if the newly elected President Jair Bolsonaro carries through his promises to loosen environmental protections.
He’s appointed Tereza Cristina—an agribusiness lobby champion—as Agriculture Minister, a move that sparks concern because she’s a vociferous advocate for clearing more forests to make room for soybean plantations and cattle pasture.
Why the Amazon Matters
- It contains over half of Earth’s remaining pristine rainforest.
- The Amazon covers about 5.5 million km², with roughly 60% of that in Brazil.
- Illegal logging and the push for soybeans and cattle grazing are the biggest threats.
From 2004 – 2012, Brazil slowed deforestation through a mix of strict government controls and private sector cooperation. Bolsonaro, however, has vowed to end protected areas and indigenous reserves, reduce powers to inspect, and lessen punishment for ecological crimes.
Marcio Astrini warned that if this happens, Amazon deforestation could explode into an unimaginable situation:
“If all this is enacted, Amazon deforestation could skyrocket beyond anything we’ve seen.”
