Brazil begins first operations to protect Amazon

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazil this week began the first operations against Amazon deforestation since veteran leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office, the Ibama environmental agency said on Friday.

On the campaign trail before his October election victory -- when he defeated far right climate change skeptic Jair Bolsonaro -- Lula promised to end deforestation by 2030.

The Amazon rainforest suffered during Bolsonaro´s four-year presidency as the former army captain repeatedly enacted laws favoring agriculture and mining in the forest at the expense of that critically important ecosystem. Reducing deforestation is key to slowing climate change.

“The deployment of teams for the start of inspection operations began on January 16, 2023,” Ibama said.