In Brazil’s Pará State, near Itaituba, vast swaths of rainforest have been clearcut for cattle farms, logging, and gold mining. Though Brazil has committed to end deforestation, which accounts for nearly half of its greenhouse gas emissions, enforcement of its environmental laws varies widely, depending on the political party in power. Some three hundred environmental activists, government regulators, and Indigenous forest guardians have been killed attempting to thwart deforestation in the region over the last decade, according to Human Rights Watch. Itaituba is a hotbed of illegal deforestation, where even the longtime mayor has been fined for it repeatedly.
