Deforestation in Amazon worst in a decade: Brazil  

The destruction of Brazil’s Amazon rainforest reached its highest level in a decade this year, government data released on Friday showed, driven by illegal logging and the encroachment of agriculture in the jungle.

About 7,900 sq km (3,050 sq miles) of the world's largest rainforest was destroyed between August 2017 and July 2018.

Environment Minister Edson Duarte said illegal logging was to blame.

The figures come amid concerns about the policies of Brazil's newly elected president, Jair Bolsonaro.

During the 2018 election campaign, Bolsonaro pledged to limit fines for damaging forestry and to weaken the influence of the environmental agency.

Deforestation is a key factor behind global warming, accounting for around 15 percent of annual emissions of heat-trapping gases, similar to that of the transportation sector.

On Friday, a U.S. government report found that climate change will cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century.

An aide for the president-elect has also announced the administration will merge the agriculture and environment ministries, which critics say could endanger the rainforest.

The latest government data says most of the deforestation occurred in the states of Mato Grosso and Para, and marked a 13.7% rise over last year's figures.

Mato Grosso is the top producer of grains in Brazil, and critics say expanding agriculture is also encroaching on the rainforest.

Duarte blamed "an upsurge in organized crime" for the illegal deforestation, and said the country must broaden the fight against "environmental violations and in defense of sustainable development of the biome".

Satellite data from the deforestation monitoring project known as Prodes informed the annual survey.

While the rate does mark a significant rise from last year, when the rate of deforestation dropped 16% in a 12-month period, it still marks a 72% drop from 2004, when the Brazilian federal government launched measures to combat deforestation.

Scientists consider the Amazon as one of nature’s best protections against global warming, as it acts as a giant carbon “sink” by absorbing the gas. The jungle is also rich in biodiversity, hosting billions of species yet to be studied.