Since May 2010, illegal logging in the Amazon rainforest has more than doubled, according to Forbes.com. In May 2010, 42 square miles of rain forest were illegally cut down, whereas that figure jumped to 103 square miles this past May.
The jump in illegal logging activity can be attributed to a law change currently making its way through Brazil's legislature, according to Greenpeace International's Marcio Astrini. The law would make Brazil's forestry codes more lenient, essentially forgiving farmers for illegally felling trees prior to July 2008. "Brazil's been reducing its deforestation for the last five years and this bill comes along and now it shoots up," Astrini told Bloomberg. The law passed Brazil's lower house but still has yet to pass its Senate; the country's president has said she will veto the bill if it passes both chambers.
In other news from Brazil, the country's government recently shut down 12 logging operations in Para state due to a rash of murders involving illegal logging activists, according to News24. Friends of two activists believe powerful land barons perpetrated the murders.
