Brazil’s president Jair Bolsonaro has claimed NGOs are behind the record number of fires raging in the Amazon rainforest, drawing condemnation from conservation groups.
Bolsonaro suggested that charities had set fires in response to his government cutting their funding: “On the question of burning in the Amazon, which in my opinion may have been initiated by NGOs because they lost money, what is the intention? To bring problems to Brazil.”
He could not give any evidence for the accusation, and said it was just his “feeling”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Bolsonaro made the bizarre claims amid “growing international criticism” over his failure to protect the Amazon, says The Guardian.
Brazil has already experienced more than 72,000 fire outbreaks this year, more than half of them in the Amazon.
Conservationists have blamed Bolsonaro for the fires, saying he has encouraged loggers and farmers to clear the land, leaving in vulnerable to wildfires.
“Those who destroy the Amazon and let deforestation continue unabated are encouraged by the Bolsonaro government’s actions and policies. Since taking office, the current government has been systematically dismantling Brazil’s environmental policy,” said Danicley Aguiar, of Greenpeace Brazil.
Under his administration, the government’s environment agency has issued fewer penalties, and ministers have repeatedly sided with loggers rather than indigenous groups living in the forest.
Data published in June shows that deforestation in the Amazon has surged since Bolsonaro took office in June, and that the rainforest is disappearing at a rate of more than three football pitches per minute, says The Guardian.
The president fired the head of Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) last month after its satellite data showed increasing deforestation, reports the newspaper.
Inpe reported that fires had increased 84% this year compared to the same period in 2018, reports the BBC. The body pointed out that, with no unusually dry weather, the fires are likely to be the result of deforestation rather than a change in conditions.
The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world and is home to one million indigenous people, and around three million species of animals and plants.
The rainforest plays a key part in slowing down global warming – trees absorb CO2 and release oxygen back into the air. Without tropical rainforests like the Amazon, says the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), “the greenhouse effect would likely be even more pronounced, and climate change may possibly get even worse in the future”.
-
The US Open's controversial 'superstars' doubles formatTalking Point New shortened competition attracts star pairings and bigger audiences to grand slam tennis event
-
Sudoku medium: August 21, 2025The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Sudoku hard: August 21, 2025The Week's daily hard sudoku puzzle
-
Missionaries using tech to contact Amazon's Indigenous peopleUnder the radar Wealthy US-backed evangelical groups are sending drones to reach remote and uncontacted tribes, despite legal prohibitions
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
-
The arrest of the Philippines' former president leaves the country's drug war in disarrayIn the Spotlight Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the ICC earlier this month
