NASA teams up with Brazilian government to protect the Amazon

The US space agency NASA wants to expand its partnership with Brazil in protecting and monitoring the Amazon rainforest.

Brasília, Brazil - The US space agency NASA wants to expand its partnership with Brazil in protecting and monitoring the Amazon rainforest.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pose for picture during a meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasília on July 24, 2023.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva pose for picture during a meeting at the Planalto Palace in Brasília on July 24, 2023.  © Brazilian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

"Our satellites already send a lot of images and information to scientists here in Brazil to track forest destruction," NASA chief Bill Nelson said after a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Brasília on Monday.

"In the future, three new satellites will improve our ability to detect and prevent deforestation."

The Amazon forest is considered a carbon dioxide reservoir and has an important function in the international fight against climate change.

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Deforestation and fires rose very sharply during right-wing Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro's time in office. Bolsonaro was voted out of office in October.

Since his successor, Lula, took office, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has decreased significantly.

Cover photo: Brazilian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS

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