Speaking last week in Brasilia, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced that the rates had declined 14 percent from August 2009 to July 2010.
In the beauty industry, many ingredients companies, such as Brazil-based Beraca, have urged sourcing of cosmetics and fragrance ingredients from the forest to be done in a sustainable way.
In addition, the sustainable sourcing of ingredients from the forest can help give it more value, providing an incentive for its protection.
The importance of the cosmetics industry in conservation efforts was highlighted by director at the ministry of the environment, Roberto Vizentin. "We won't keep the trees standing unless we develop forest-based economies," he said, before citing pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies developing products from plants, as quoted by Reuters news agency.
The record-breaking decrease in deforestation represents a major contribution to reducing Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions, as global negotiations progress at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP16), currently underway in Cancun, Mexico.
“We are fulfilling the commitment we have made in Brazil. We will fulfill it because it’s our obligation to do so,” said President Lula.
He also announced new integrated policies to promote sustainable development in the Amazon region, and Minister of Environment Izabella Teixeira, who joined the President for the announcement, urged the rest of the world to follow suit.
“We are committed to advancing the reduction in deforestation, improving monitoring and creating the conditions for sustainable development in the region,” she said.
Satellite images analyzed by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) show that an estimated 6,450 square kilometers of forests were cleared in the 12-month period, bringing rates to their lowest since monitoring started in 1988.
In 2009, Brazil voluntarily passed a commitment to cut its projected greenhouse gas emissions between 36.1 and 38.9 percent by 2020.
Official calculations estimate that meeting deforestation reduction targets could reduce Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 24.7 percent.
In October 2010, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced that Brazil’s 80 percent Amazon deforestation reduction target would be met by 2016, four years earlier than planned.