#illegal ranching

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest rose sharply last month as the country prepared to send troops to try to curb illegal logging and mining. Brazil's space research agency said the area destroyed in April was 64% bigger than in the same period last year. In the first four months of 2020, destruction of the forest by illegal loggers and ranchers rose 55%, it said. President Jair Bolsonaro's policies and rhetoric encourage illegal logging activity.