Brazilian Amazon again under threat from forest fires

Fires in the largest tropical rainforest in the world have surged so far in August

Published: August 11, 2020 16:51 Reuters and Compiled by Christian Borbon, Senior Web Editor

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Fires in the Brazilian Amazon have surged so far in August, government data on Friday showed, outstripping the same period of 2019 and renewing concerns about the destruction of the world's largest rainforest, which is a critical bulwark against climate change. Image Credit: AP

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Brazilian space research agency INPE recorded 5,860 fires in the Amazon in the first six days of August, a 7% increase from the same period of last year. Image Credit: Reuters

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Smoke rises from a burnt area of land a the Xingu Indigenous Park, Mato Grosso state, Brazil, in the Amazon basin. Image Credit: AFP

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The data set is small and daily variation can be considerable, but the trend suggests this month may be on par with a year ago - the worst August in nine years Image Credit: Reuters

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Some of the areas burned last year were now being used for cattle raising. Fire is commonly used across the Amazon to clear land for pasture. Image Credit: Reuters

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Environmental advocates blame right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro's vision of economic development in the Amazon for emboldening illegal loggers, miners and land speculators to destroy the forest. Image Credit: AP

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Bolsonaro says more mining and farming are needed in the region to lift people out of poverty. | A tract of the Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by loggers and farmers near Apui, Amazonas State, Brazil. Image Credit: Reuters

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Following global pressure from foreign governments and investors, Bolsonaro has deployed the military to combat deforestation and fires. | A tract of the Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by loggers and farmers near Apui, Amazonas State, Brazil. Image Credit: Reuters

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In July, deforestation in Brazil's Amazon fell from a year earlier for the first time in 15 months. | A tract of the Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by loggers and farmers near Apui, Amazonas State, Brazil. Image Credit: Reuters

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Criminals often extract valuable wood from protected parts of the jungle before setting fire to the land, increasing its value for farming and ranching. Natural fires are very rare in a healthy rainforest. | A tract of the Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by loggers and farmers near Apui, Amazonas State, Brazil. Image Credit: Reuters

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Deforestation hit an 11-year high in 2019 and climbed a further 25% in the first half of 2020. | A tract of the Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by loggers and farmers near Apui, Amazonas State, Brazil. Image Credit: Reuters

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A tract of the Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by loggers and farmers near Apui, Amazonas State, Brazil Image Credit: Reuters

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A tract of the Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by loggers and farmers near Apui, Amazonas State, Brazil. Image Credit: Reuters

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A man walks in a dirty road as wildfires consume an area near Labrea, Amazonas state, Brazil. Image Credit: AP

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A tract of the Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by loggers and farmers near Apui, Amazonas State, Brazil. Image Credit: Reuters

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