Brazil is Losing it’s Rainforest Rapidly

The Amazon’s rainforest, in Brazil, is experiencing the worst deforestation in decades, according to official data collected. Between August 2017 and July 2018, the report indicates that there’s been a significant decline in forestry. The report suggests that an area, the size of London, has been wiped out.

Environmentalists are blaming the result on illegal logging that’s taken place under Brazil’s new president, Jair Bolsonaro. Since Bolsonaro’s been elected, deforestation has risen 13.7% in Mato Grosso and Pará, in the course of one year. During Bolsonaro’s campaign, he promised to lessen the fines regarding damaging forestry, and to weaken the influence of the environmental agency.

Edson Duarte, environment minister, expressed his concern for the fate of the rainforest. “I am afraid of a gold rush to see who arrives first,” he said.

The amazon is the largest mass of rainforest in the world. It is home to many wildlife species, and indigenous people. Brazil houses 60% of it.