Razing Amazonia

摘要

In 1995, destruction of the Brazilian rainforest hit an all-time high. The government had just instigated its "Real Plan", creating a new currency pegged to the US dollar to stabilise rampant hyperinflation, which had been running at over 2000 per cent. Years' worth of private funds that had been held by government-controlled banks were suddenly freed for investment. That year, developers went into overdrive, destroying almost 3 million hectares of rainforest. Much of it was simply burned to make way for cattle ranches. Few Brazilians imagined that forest destruction would ever again approach such a pace. The latest figures have proved them tragically wrong.