Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rose by 150% in December, Jair Bolsonaro’s last month in office, compared to December 2021, according to official statistics released on Friday and cited by AFP.

According to the DETER monitoring program, satellite images show that 218.4 square kilometers of forest were cleared in Brazil last month, representing 60 percent of the world’s largest rainforest.

According to the government agency INPE, the area of ​​deforested forests has increased by more than 150% compared to the 87.2 km2 destroyed in December 2021.

This is the third worst December since DETER was launched, after 2017 and 2015.

Jair Bolsonaro, succeeded on Sunday by leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has drawn international criticism for destroying the Amazon rainforest, vital to combating global warming, during his four years in office.

Under the far-right president, who is aligned with the powerful agribusiness lobby, average annual deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has increased by 75.5% compared to ten years ago.

“Bolsonaro’s term in office may be over, but his tragic legacy will be felt for a long time to come,” Marcio Astrini, executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, a coalition of environmental groups, said in a statement.

For the entire year, deforestation in 2022 reached or approached record levels between August and October, the peak of the dry season.

This deforestation is mainly due to farmers wanting to increase their land for crops and livestock, an activity that Jair Bolsonaro has always encouraged.

Lula has promised to revive environmental protection and monitoring programs that were largely dismantled under his predecessor. The international community is waiting for firm gestures from the new president, who has appointed Marina Silva, an environmentalist, as the minister of ecology.