Brazil deployed thousands of soldiers to protect the Amazon rainforest on Monday, taking precautions to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus, as the government mounts an early response to surging deforestation ahead of the high season for forest fires.
FILE PHOTO: Smoke billows from a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil, September 10, 2019. REUTERS/Bruno Kelly
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon surged 55% in the first four months of the year compared with the same period of 2019, according to government data released on Friday. The destruction hit an 11-year high last year, spurring outcry that Brazil was not doing enough to protect the world’s largest rainforest.President Jair Bolsonaro authorized the deployment, sending in troops three months earlier than in 2019, when Amazon fires grabbed global headlines.
Azevedo said each base was also assigned five specialists in chemical warfare to help avoid spreading the novel coronavirus through the operations. “We have no doubt this problem will continue to exist,” he said. “We don’t consider this the best job for the armed forces, to be always engaged in this type of action, but unfortunately it’s the means we have to limit these crimes from happening.”
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