Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has said his country has "no need" for German money aimed at supporting conservation projects in Brazil. "They can use this money as they see fit. Brazil doesn't need it," Bolsonaro told journalists in Brasilia on Sunday.

His comments come after German media reported that Berlin was considering withdrawing the funding.

Quoting Environment Minister Svenja Schulze, German daily Tagesspiegel reported Saturday that the German government was planning to stop sending money to a country that is not fully committed to curbing deforestation in the Amazon rainforest. Brazilian media outlets reported that Germany had decided to suspend €35 million ($39 million) in funds.

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Brazil is home to more than 60% of the Amazon rainforest, which is being cleared at an increasing rate to create more cropland. The Amazon is vital to the exchange of oxygen for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere — an important check on global warming.

But concern about the forest has grown since Bolsonaro took office in January.

The move to suspend the funding reflects "great concerns with an increasing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon," the German embassy in Brazil told the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Saturday.

According to O Globo newspaper, the decision concerns only funds for new projects financed by the Ministry of Environment.

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Watch video 06:16 Share Amazon rainforest under attack Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/3IItt Amazon rainforest under attack

Spike in deforestation

Brazil's national space research agency said Tuesday that roughly 2,254 square kilometers (870 square miles) of the Amazon were cleared in July, a spike of 278% from a year earlier. But the Brazilian government has claimed the data is unreliable and misleading.

"The policy of the Brazilian government in the Amazon raises doubts as to whether a consistent reduction of deforestation rates is still being pursued," Germany's Schulze told Tagesspiegel.

Bolsonaro doesn't intend to designate any further conservation areas in the forest, and has instead pledged to allow more clearances and make more economic use of the Amazon region. The former military officer has also scorned any advice from abroad.

Germany, nonetheless, plans to continue supporting the Amazon Fund, which was created in 2008 to receive donations to help prevent, monitor and combat deforestation in the Amazon. Germany is one of the fund's three main contributors.

The Bolsonaro administration, which maintains close ties to the agribusiness sector, has questioned the efficiency of the Amazon Fund.

Fighting illegal logging in the Amazon Green lungs Tropical rainforest in the Amazon covers almost twice as much land as India. Three-quarters of it is located in Brazil. These green lungs of the Earth are threatened by illegal logging and mining.

Fighting illegal logging in the Amazon Caught red-handed Together with the military police, agents of the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) hunt for illegal loggers, trying to catch them in action. In this photo, an IBAMA agent is targeting a logging truck.

Fighting illegal logging in the Amazon Direct hit IBAMA goes head-on against illegal loggers. Whoever is caught feels the iron fist of the authorities - like those above, near the city of Novo Progresso in the state of Pará. The wood was burned on site - together with the trucks.

Fighting illegal logging in the Amazon Dangerous work The forest protection work carries high risk, as many illegal loggers are armed. In June, a policeman was shot dead.

Fighting illegal logging in the Amazon Hard-won success In this case, IBAMA agents were successful. But such success is becoming less frequent. The economic crisis has also affected the environmental agency, and its funding has been reduced by about a third over recent years.

Fighting illegal logging in the Amazon Poor equipment The loss of funding has consequences: "The loggers are better equipped than us," said Uiratan Barroso, representative of the state of Para. "As long as we lack money for unmarked vehicles and acceptable radios, we cannot carry out our work properly."

Fighting illegal logging in the Amazon Failures showing From 2004 and 2012, the rate of deforestation in the Amazon decreased by 80 percent. But over the last four years, it has increased by 35 percent. In 2015, a forest area four times larger than Los Angeles was cleared.

Fighting illegal logging in the Amazon Support from Germany and Norway The Brazilian government admits that IBAMA is poorly equipped to carry out its tasks. The Amazon Fund, aimed at raising donations to combat deforestation, will provide 56 million reais (around 15 million euros) to help improve the situation. The money is coming mainly from Germany and Norway. Author: Christoph Ricking (ibr)



sri/cmk (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)

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