Destruction Of Amazon Is At Its Worst In Decade

Area the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined has been lost since 2018

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The level of deforestation of the Amazon rainforest is at its worst in more than a decade, according to a new report by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research.

Between August 2018 and July 2019 there was more than 3,700 square miles of deforestation of the Brazilian part of the rainforest, up 30% on the previous year.

The area of deforestation is the largest recorded since 2008 and is about the size of the US states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined.

Environment Minister Ricardo Salles will meet with the Amazon region´s governors Thursday to discuss efforts to contain deforestation.

He says illegal mining, logging and land-grabbing cause most deforestation.

Brazillian President Jair Bolsonaro's administration has spent a lot of energy attacking concerns raised by environmentalists about the scale of deforestation, including firing the former head of the Brazilians space research institute.