Yara Aquino
Reporter Agência Brasil

Brasília - The state of Mato Grosso continues to lead the deforestation statistics in Brazil. Although the area destroyed nationwide has fallen, Mato Grosso keeps the numbers high. "Last year Mato Grosso accounted for 48% of the area destroyed in Brazil. This year that number may rise to 60%," says João Paulo Capobianco, the secretary of Biodiversity at the Ministry of Environment.

The minister of Environment, Marina Silva, says that the reason for the high level of deforestation in Mato Grosso is "the large areas that are privately owned which have not enrolled in deforestation combat programs that have been successful in other states." Silva reports that steps are being taken to reduce the problem in Mato Grosso.

The state of Mato Grosso has become one of the country's main suppliers of lumber. There have been numerous complaints and charges of irregular lumbering in the state which are being investigated by authorities. In June the Federal Police broke up a gang that had been operating illegally for 14 years using false lumbering authorizations.

Translator: Allen Bennett