Deforestation of Brazil's Amazon jumps 28%

The Brazilian government said on Thursday deforestation of its Amazon rainforest rose by 28 percent over the period of August 2012 to July 2013. "We confirm a 28-percent increase in the rate of deforestation, " Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira told a press conference. She said the most recent figures show 5,843 square kilometers of rainforest were felled over the period against 4,571 square kilometers of deforestation the previous year. According to the minister, extensive farming and soybean production in the northern state of Para and the central western state of Mato Grosso were key factors behind the rise. The minister said she was calling an emergency meeting with Amazon regional environment secretaries of state next week to deal with the situation. The August through July period was the time when Brazil measures the annual destruction of the forest.