A record number of fires ravaging the Amazon has drawn international outrage because of the rainforest's importance to the global environment and prompted Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to dispatch the military to assist in firefighting. WHY DOES THE AMAZON MATTER? The Amazon - 60% of which
1 / 6A tract of the Amazon jungle burns as it is cleared by loggers and farmers in Porto VelhoBy Jake Spring
Eight out of nine Amazon states have seen an increase, with the largest state of Amazonas seeing a 146% rise. Residents on the ground in the states of Rondonia and Amazonas states said while there are fires every year they have never seen it this bad, with clouds of smoke blanketing the region.Fires in the Amazon are often set on purpose to clear land. After loggers extract wood, speculators burn the remaining vegetation to clear it in hopes of selling the land to farmers and ranchers.
Bolsonaro has said that the country does not have the resources to fight the fires in an area as large as the Amazon, while also warning other countries not to interfere, saying that foreign money was aimed at undermining Brazil's sovereignty. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have said they are concerned about destruction of the Amazon but said that blocking the trade deal was not the right response.
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