New figures show that the level of destruction of the Amazon rain forest rose last year. The level of destruction reached its highest since 1995, which has angered environmental groups. More than half of one per cent of the total forest, an area equal to the size of Belgium, was cut down during the year.
The figures have prompted the Brazilian government to introduce new controls on deforestation. Environmentalists say that more action is needed to reverse what they see as the unsustainable destruction of the Amazon, which is home to up to 30% of the world's animal and plant life.
