Deforestation in Brazil has risen to its highest level in a decade, with 7,900 sq km of the Amazon rainforest felled just in the last 12 months.

New figures released on Friday by Brazil’s government show deforestation has risen by 13.7 per cent since the same time last year.

Environmental experts have blamed the rise on illegal logging and on agriculture creeping into land previously dominated by the jungle.

Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A wildcat gold miner, or garimpeiro, works at a mine in a deforested area of Amazon rainforest near Crepurizao Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Workers carry a diesel engine towards a river Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Miners use high-pressure jets of water to dislodge rock material Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A miner surveys the situation at one of the gold digging sites Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A miner watches his colleague at work Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Workers rub mercury that has coagulated into tiny particles of gold in a basin Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A miner down the bottom of a garimpo Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Working at one of the mines Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures Miners carrying a diesel container Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A garimpeiro works on a sluice box where the heavier gold is caught after sucking up mud Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A wildcat gold miner holds up gold before selling it in a nearby village Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A worker rests in a hammock after a long day Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures The owner of a pharmacy poses inside her shop in a miners' village Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures A garimpeiro smokes by the bar after a day at the mines Reuters/Nacho Doce Illegal Amazon gold mines: In pictures The son of a wildcat gold miner wears his father's shoes and helmet, inside the village bar Reuters/Nacho Doce

Deforestation is a key cause of global warming and accounts for around 15 per cent of annual emissions of heat-trapping gases, such as carbon dioxide.

Its impact on emissions is similar to that of the transport industry.

The practice is particularly devastating in the Amazon, as scientists consider the forest to be a key “carbon sink”, meaning it is one of the few places in the world which absorbs large amounts of the gases responsible for global warming.

The jungle is also rich in biodiversity, containing billions of species yet to be studied.

Deforested land in Amazonas, Brazil (Reuters)

Edson Duarte, Brazil’s environment minister, said in a statement that illegal logging was the main reason for the spike in deforestation levels.

He called on the government to increase its policing of the Amazon rainforest.

The states of Para and Mato Grosso have been particularly affected by deforestation, according to the report.

Most of the country’s grains are produced in Mato Grosso, which is at the heart of Brazil’s booming soybean industry.

Fallen trees in northern Brazil (Reuters)

Brazil‘s Climate Observatory said in a statement that the increase was not a surprise.

The network of non-governmental organisations said Brazil’s growing commodities sector was also contributing to the issue, with forests being destroyed as farmers expand their territory.

Marcio Astrini, from Greenpeace Brazil, said the country’s government had not done enough to combat deforestation.

He blamed recent policy moves, which reduced the area of forest under federal protection, for fuelling the environmental destruction.

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Both Greenpeace Brazil and the Climate Observatory said they were worried deforestation would increase after Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president-elect, takes office in January.

The far-right politician has previously attacked Brazil’s environmental protection agency and is a strong supporter of the country’s agriculture industry.

Despite the worrying data, current levels of deforestation remain well below figures recorded in the early 2000s, before the Brazilian government began combatting the practice.

In 2004 for example, over 27,000 sq km of forest were cleared, an area approximately the size of Haiti.