Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon reached a record high in February, semafor.com reported. Despite President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s pledges to end the environmentally destructive policies of his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, more than 120 square miles — an area roughly six times larger than Manhattan — of the Brazilian Amazon were cut down last month.
According to experts, it could take years for Brazil to rebuild policing capabilities after Bolsonaro cut funding and staff at key agencies. In the meantime, “the land grabber, the deforester, the illegal miner, they are making the most of this time to rush to cut the forest down,” a Greenpeace spokesperson told The Guardian.
