farmers pushing amazon to its limits Deforestation in the Brazilian rainforest jumped by 64% over the last 12 months, according to official government data. Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research this week said that around 3,145 square miles – an area half the size of Wales – were demolished between August 2007 and August 2008. This is due to the rise in commodity prices, loggers, cattle ranching, and soy farmers pushing ever farther into the Amazon jungle.

The recent data has triggered a verbal war between environmental campaigners and members of the government who claim that their struggle to protect the rainforest is not being given sufficient time and recognition. Environmental campaigners however, fear that Brazil’s push to expand its economy and develop the Amazon region is posing increasing threats to Brazil’s natural resources.

Today’s Brazil faces an enormous challenge: how to balance economic growth with the preservation of the Amazon rainforest. However, nature’s inhabitants can still sing cheerfully in the world’s largest tropical rainforest, with deforestation having fell by 25% between May and June this year. The government claims that while deforestation is nowhere near to stopping, it has been slowing down in recent months, and are thoroughly investigating more sustainable developments.