Brazil forms ‘crisis cabinet’ following unexpected deforestation surge

Amazon Rainforest Burning

Government vows to ‘suffocate environmental crime’ after 27% rise in Amazon deforestation in a year

Hundreds of environmental protection officers are being deployed in the Brazilian Amazon after government satellites detected a sudden, unexpected surge in deforestation.

On Wednesday, Brazil‘s environment minister Izabella Teixeira announced the creation of a “crisis cabinet” to crackdown on illegal logging in the world’s largest tropical rainforest, after satellites registered a 27% hike in Amazon deforestation between August 2010 and April this year compared with the previous year.

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