Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon falls in first month under Lula

FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows a boundary demarcation area at the Arara indigenous reserve during an operation to combat deforestation near Uruara, Para State, Brazil January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest fell in January from a year earlier, satellite data showed on Friday, in the first monthly figures under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Preliminary satellite data collected by the government's space research agency Inpe showed 167 square km (64 square miles) cleared in the region last month, down 61% from January 2022, the worst for the month in the eight-year series.