The Brazilian environment ministry is proposing the release of 860,000 acres in the National Forest of Jamanxim for agricultural use, mining and logging.

The government’s order was a compromise measure after protests from local residents and ecologists who claim that the bill could lead to further deforestation in the Pará area.

If approved, the legislation will create a new protection area (APA) close to Novo Progresso. Around 27 percent of the national forest would be converted into an APA, the ministry said.

Carlos Xavier, president of a lobbying group in Pará to decrease the size of the Jamanxim forest, said the APA would bring economic progress to the region.

According to the ministry, the bill includes stipulations to reduce conflicts over land, prevent deforestation and create jobs.

The measures were criticised by environmental groups. "The bill is seen as an amnesty for illegal occupation of the conservancy unit," said Observatório do Clima on its website, claiming that the government "yielded to pressure" from the rural lobby.

Carlos Xavier, president of a lobbying group in Para to decrease the size of the Jamanxim forest, said the APA would bring economic progress to the region.

In 2016, deforestation of the Amazon rose by 29 per cent over the previous year, according to the government's satellite monitoring, the biggest jump since 2008.

Mongabay, an environmental science and conservation website, reports that experts using satellite images have identified illegal logging activities to the east of the BR-163 highway, in Pará state.

The BR-163 protests involved stopping trucks from unloading grains at the riverside location of Miritituba, where barges carrying crops are transported en route to the export markets.

ATP, the Brazilian private ports association, calculated that the highway protests would result in losses of $47m (£36m), according to Reuters.

Stunning images of the Amazon rainforest from award-winning photographer Show all 5 1 /5 Stunning images of the Amazon rainforest from award-winning photographer Stunning images of the Amazon rainforest from award-winning photographer North West of Mato Grosso State, Enawene Nawe village, Brazil Daniel Beltra Stunning images of the Amazon rainforest from award-winning photographer Aerial view of the Anavilhanas archipelago on the Rio Negro, Brazil Daniel Beltra Stunning images of the Amazon rainforest from award-winning photographer Cristalino State Park, Alta Floresta, Mato Grosso, Brazil Daniel Beltra Stunning images of the Amazon rainforest from award-winning photographer Tree in Cristalino State Park, canopy, Mato Grosso, Brazil Daniel Beltra Stunning images of the Amazon rainforest from award-winning photographer A cattle driver leads his herd down a road past cleared rainforest land 80km west in Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Daniel Beltra

According to Juan Doblas, from the geoprocessing laboratory of the Brazilian NGO Socioenvironmental Institute (ISA), “while deforestation [for cattle ranching] ended, the plundering of the forest by loggers gained momentum.”

Supermodel Gisele Bundchen has added her voice against the proposed legislation, tweeting President Temer to “protect mother earth”.