New Data Shows Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon Down 16%

The latest report from Brazil's Programme for the Estimation of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon (PRODES) shows deforestation has decreased in the Brazilian Amazon by 16% compared to the prior year.  Governors' Climate and Forests (GCF) Task Force member states Tocantins and Roraima led the way with reductions of 55% and 43% respectively.  The official PRODES data is supported by an independent analysis from the NGO Imazon, which showed similar reductions from an annual report released in July.  More recent analysis shows that deforestation was reduced at an even greater rate in August.

Brazilian states gathered last month at the Governors' Climate and Forests Task Force Annual Meeting to discuss the progress that has been achieved and to welcome the State of Roraima to the GCF Task Force network.  The GCF now includes all states that comprise the Brazilian Amazon. At the Annual Meeting, governors and delegates from Brazil lent their support for the launch of the Balikpapan Challenge which seeks to maintain momentum in Brazil and other GCF Task Force regions by bringing existing commitments to action. It will establish pillars of a global framework to address tropical deforestation through a two year process which capitalizes on synergies between corporate commitments and jurisdictional programs to reduce deforestation. 

Members from Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, and Peru will participate in meetings at next months UNFCCC Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany to advance the pillars of the Balikpapan Challenge with civil society, indigenous peoples and the private sector.