Victor Moriyama

2019 was the worst year in the history of deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Driven by the official speech by brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, several groups that operate in illegal logging, illegal gold mining and cattle raising in irregular areas felt motivated and safe to intensify their predatory activities. The result of this process has been the rise of agrarian conflicts and deaths of environmental and indigenous activists.

Specialists have detected in 2019 more than 80,000 fire points in the brazilian Amazon. The fires were more intense in August, September and October and caused an international climate crisis. Thousands of young people and environmental activists took to the streets of several global capitals to protest against Brazilian environmental conservation policies. I documented over three months the burning and the main pillars of deforestation in the Amazon rainforest such as: livestock expansion, illegal logging, gold mining, and indigenous communities under pressure.