01 October 2008 08:47
The Amazon is being deforested more than three times as fast as last year, with 292 square miles of Brazilian rainforest destroyed in August - a rise of 228% - Brazilian officials confirmed. That's a sharp reversal after three years of declines in the deforestation rate.
Brazil's Environment Minister Carlos Minc said upcoming nationwide elections are partly to blame, with mayors in the Amazon region ignoring illegal logging in hopes of gaining votes locally.
Non-government environmentalists disagree.
"The tendency of deforestation rising is deeply related to the fact that food prices are going up," said Greenpeace's Paulo Adario, who believes this price hike encourages soy farmers and cattle ranchers to clear land for crops and grazing. "When you have elections, the appetite of authorities to enforce laws is reduced,,, But the federal government has to step in and do its job."
Source: cnn.com