Policing the Amazon rainforest
- 1/23
The construction site of an illegal sawmill is seen from a police helicopter in Nova Esperanca do Piria
REUTERS - 2/23
An agent of Brazil's IBAMA talks with owners of an illegal sawmill in Nova Esperanca do Piriau
REUTERS - 3/23
An agent of Brazil's IBAMA carries a sample of confiscated wood in Nova Esperanca do Piriau
REUTERS - 4/23
File photo of an aerial view of a tract of Amazon rainforest which has been cleared for agriculture near Santarem
REUTERS - 5/23
Sawmill workers watch Brazil's environmental police occupy their workplace in Nova Esperanca do Piriau
REUTERS - 6/23
Sawmill workers watch Brazil's environmental police occupy their workplace in Viseu
REUTERS - 7/23
File photo of an aerial view of a tract of Amazon rainforest which has been cleared near Santarem
REUTERS - 8/23
File photo of a tractor working on a wheat plantation on land that used to be virgin Amazon rainforest near Santarem
REUTERS - 9/23
File photo of an area of the Amazon rainforest which was burned to clear land for cattle pasture near Novo Progresso
REUTERS - 10/23
A police officer inspects a tree illegally felled in the Amazon rainforest in Jamanxim National Park near Novo Progresso
REUTERS - 11/23
An area of the Amazon rainforest which has been slashed and burned stands next to a section of virgin forest in Nova Esperanca do Piria
REUTERS - 12/23
File photo of a man carrying his chainsaw past fallen trees in Jamanxim National Park near Novo Progresso
REUTERS - 13/23
File photo of police officers guarding a man after arresting him for illegally felling trees from virgin Amazon rainforest near Morais Almeida
REUTERS - 14/23
Soldiers from the Brazilian Army stand near a truck loaded with saw blades which they confiscated in Nova Esperanca do Piria
REUTERS - 15/23
Officers from Brazil's IBAMA guard a yard filled with trees which were illegally logged from the Amazon rainforest in Nova Esperanca do Piria
REUTERS - 16/23
File photo of a worker carrying a blade at a sawmill that processes trees illegally logged from the Amazon jungle near Morais Almeida
REUTERS - 17/23
File photo of a sawmill worker processing trees illegally extracted from the Amazon jungle near the city of Morais Almeida
REUTERS - 18/23
File photo of workers arranging lumber cut from trees illegally extracted from the Amazon jungle near the city of Morais Almeida
REUTERS - 19/23
File photo of a cowboy digging a hole into land that was formerly Amazon rainforest, near the city of Novo Progresso
REUTERS - 20/23
File photo of a boy standing in the door of his house in Nova Esperanca do Piria
REUTERS - 21/23
File photo of children observing as a Brazilian Army soldier guards a yard filled with trees illegally extracted from the Amazon jungle in Nova Esperanca do Piria
REUTERS - 22/23
File photo of a man cutting lumber from trees illegally extracted from the Amazon rainforest in Viseu
REUTERS - 23/23
Brazilian Army soldiers guard a sawmill as residents, most of whom work at the mill, observe them in Nova Esperanca do Piria
REUTERS
Yahoo News Canada
The men who work for Brazil's environmental police are entrusted with the responsibility of making sure all lumber processing in the country is done responsibly and balances the environmental considerations with economic ones. These photos go behind the scenes and show what it's like to regulate the lumber industry in one of the richest ecologies in the world.