Brazil’s natural areas shrink: Study
A section of the Amazon rainforest stands next to soy fields in Belterra. (AP Photo)
Brazil has lost an area of native vegetation more than twice the size of France in the past four decades, increasing vulnerability to extreme weather events from El Nino, a study showed on Aug. 12.
Different areas of the vast nation are bracing for droughts, floods and fires as the El Nino weather pattern, confirmed in June, is expected to intensify towards the end of the year.
In its annual study of land use in Brazil, environmental monitoring network MapBiomas said that native vegetation that covered 79 percent of Brazil’s territory four decades ago, now covers only 65 percent.
