[ad_1]
Image copyright
Reuters
Much of the illegal logging takes place on the lands of indigenous tribes.
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest increased sharply last month when the country prepared to send troops to try to curb illegal logging and mining.
Brazil’s space research agency said the area destroyed in April was 64% larger than in the same period last year.
In the first four months of 2020, destruction of the forest by illegal loggers and ranchers increased by 55%, he said.
Environmentalists say President Jair Bolsonaro’s policies and rhetoric encourage illegal activity.
Bolsonaro denies it. Earlier this week, he authorized the deployment of armed forces in the region.
The Amazon rainforest is a vital carbon reserve that slows down the rate of global warming.
Brazil’s National Space Research Institute (Inpe) said more than 405 square kilometers (156 square miles) of the Amazon had been deforested last month compared to 248 square kilometers in April last year.
Between January and April, a total of 1,202 square kilometers was erased, he said.
Conservation groups said that since the coronavirus outbreak began, fewer government enforcement agents had been deployed.
Brazil has been one of the most affected countries in South America, with 141,000 cases and almost 10,000 deaths.
Image copyright
Reuters
Government agents discovered this illegal gold mine in the heart of the rain forest
“The pandemic has not helped because there are apparently fewer agents and illegal loggers obviously do not care about the virus in remote areas of the Amazon,” said Paulo Barreto, principal investigator for conservative nonprofit group Imazon.
Environmental enforcement agency Ibama said it was reducing field agents in other risk areas, but not in the Amazon.
Deforestation in the region has skyrocketed since President Bolsonaro took office last year.
He has argued that more agriculture and mining in protected forest areas are the only way to lift the region out of poverty.
Bolsonaro’s environmental policies have been widely condemned, but he has rejected criticism and said that Brazil remains an example for conservation.
He has criticized Ibama for what he described as excessive fines. His first year in office saw a sharp drop in financial penalties imposed for environmental violations. At the same time, the agency remains underfunded and understaffed.
Media playback is not supported on your device
