Logging on the rise again in the Brazilian Amazon [View all]

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http://grist.org/news/logging-on-the-rise-again-in-the-brazilian-amazon/

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Can you tell which part has been logged?

Buried amid the bleak news in a forest study that we told you about last week was a glimmer of hope: Analysis of satellite images taken from 2000 to 2012 revealed that deforestation was slowing down in Brazil.

But new Brazilian government figures, from August 2012 to July 2013, indicate that bad news is back: Amazonian deforestation over that period increased by 28 percent compared to the preceding 12 months. The Guardian reports:


The [increase], boosted partly by expanding farms and a rush for land around big infrastructure projects, fulfilled predictions by scientists and environmentalists that destruction was on the rise again. …

The reasons for the rebound in deforestation are numerous. Changes to Brazil’s forestry laws have created uncertainty among landowners regarding the amount of woodland they must preserve.