The deforestation in Brazil this year is greater than it has been since 2008. A total of over 11 thousand square kilometers have been cleared from August 2019 until July this year, an increase of 9.5 percent from the previous year.
The Amazon forest is an important carbon store, but the vegetation slows down with rising global temperatures.
Brazilian scientists say it is clear that President Jair Bolsonaro’s election has clearly accelerated reforestation, but the president has called for more agriculture and mining in the region.
In addition to being a hugely important link in the earth’s climate, the Amazon region is also home to some three million species of animals and is home to about one million indigenous Brazilians.
