Brazil is planning to create one of the world’s biggest conservation areas within the Amazon in response to illegal logging and spiralling violence in the rainforest.
The country’s president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva announced the plan to protect a 32,000 square mile area spanning three states after being pressed to act following the killing of an American nun by gunmen with suspected links to illegal loggers.
Greenpeace says the president’s action represents the most important help for the Amazon in the country’s history.
The area to be protected, covering Para, Mato Grosso and Rondonia, is about three times the size of Belgium. Felling will be banned for six months until controlled logging and reserves can be established.
The government is also creating a 1,500 square mile conservation area in eastern Para.
