Peruvian Amazon Lost 5 Million Acres of Forest Between 2001–2016

The Peruvian Amazon lost five million acres of forest between 2001 and 2016, a rate of more than 300,000 acres lost per year, according to a report released by the country’s Ministry of the Environment.

Illegal logging in the forest was cited as a main cause of the rapid deforestation, along with agriculture, livestock raising, clandestine mining and drug trafficking, News 18 reported.

Satellite images appeared to show deforestation occurring at a similar rate in the country in 2017, with more than 300,000 acres eliminated from the country during the year, according to Mongabay, an environmental website.

Peru has the second largest portion of the Amazon forest after Brazil. A U.S. government report released in 2016 found 90 percent of timber imported into the U.S. from Peru had been logged illegally.