Deforestation in Amazon reaches decade’s highest

United States hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century.

Brazil’s environment minister Edson Duarte said in a statement that illegal logging was the main factor behind the increase in deforestation in the Amazon. He called on the government to increase its policing of the jungle. The states of Pará and Mato Grosso were the largest contributors to the deforestation increase. Mato Grosso is Brazil’s top grains producer, leading Brazil’s booming soybean output. Brazil’s Climate Observatory, a network of non-governmental organizations, said in a separate statement that the increase was not a surprise. Besides illegal logging, it said Brazil’s growing commodities sector was contributing to forest destruction as farmers sought to expand.

Marcio Astrini, from the local office of Greenpeace, said the Brazilian government had not done enough to fight deforestation and recent policy moves such as ones reducing areas under federal protection fueled environmental destruction.

Both groups said they were worried that deforestation could increase further during the government of President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, due to take office in January. He has sharply criticized the Brazilian environmental protection agency, and the agriculture sector is one of his main political bases. Despite the recent rise, deforestation remains sharply below the levels recorded in the early 2000s, before the Brazilian government launched a strategy to fight forest destruction. In 2004, for example, more than 27,000 square km were cleared, an area the size of Haiti.