Brazil deforestation exceeds 88% in June under right-wing Bolsonaro
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Deforestation in Brazil's portion of the Amazon rainforest soared more than 88% in June compared to the same month a year ago, the second-consecutive month of rising forest destruction under new right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro.
According to data from Brazil's space agency, deforestation in the world's largest tropical rainforest totaled 920 square kilometers (355 square miles).
The data showing an 88.4% deforestation increase is preliminary but indicates the official annual figure, based on more detailed imaging and measured for the 12 months to the end of July, is well on track to surpass last year's figure.
In the first 11 months, deforestation already has reached 4,565 square kilometers (1,762 square miles), a 15 percent increase over the same period in the previous year. That is an area larger than the U.S. state of Rhode Island.
Environmentalists have warned that Bolsonaro's strong remarks calling for the development of the Amazon and criticizing the country's environmental enforcement agency Ibama for handing out too many fines would embolden loggers and ranchers seeking to profit from deforestation.
