Minc steps into Brazil deforestation controversy

Brazil’s new environment minister takes office on Tuesday in the middle of a spat over an apparent recent increase in deforestation in the Amazon region.

The dispute concerns satellite data on deforestation and punitive measures based on that data taken by the government against ranchers and farmers in the worst-affected regions.

The government sees the clampdown as essential for slowing deforestation. But one of the world’s leading Amazon scientists has told the Financial Times the measures are “just wrong” and could precipitate “a new wave of anarchy”.

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