Amazon trend worrying

Brazil's newly appointed environment minister drew a bleak picture of the Amazon rain forest's future, saying the latest figures for deforestation in April were worrying and that this year would likely be worse than last.

"The worst is to come. Now is the test," Carlos Minc told reporters, noting the period with the highest deforestation was historically from this month to September when farmers prepared for planting by burning ground cover.

"I think it will be very difficult to have a number below that of last year's," he said.

Mr Minc was speaking after data showed 433 square miles of forest were lost in April, up from 56 square miles in March. The sharp rise was partly explained by the fact there had been much more cloud cover obstructing satellite pictures in March. About 2,700 square miles of the forest was lost between August and December last year, coinciding with a rise in global food prices and marking a sharp annualised increase after three years of declines.

Mr Minc, a founder of the Green Party in Brazil, said the government was taking steps to clamp down on deforestation, including seizing cattle grazing on unauthorised land.

"The data is worrisome," he said "Time is short, the measures are right, there hasn't been time for them to bear fruit."

He took over last month when Marina Silva, who was widely seen as a defender of the Amazon, stepped down citing an inability to carry out her agenda.

Environmental groups have expressed concern that Mr Minc will put up less resistance than Silva to powerful industrial and agricultural lobbies that want to develop the world's largest forest, which has shrunk by about a fifth since the 1970s.

He said high global food prices were one reason for latest spike in deforestation.

"The price of beef and soya has spiralled. There is a strong correlation between the price of beef and soya and deforestation. This is historically proven in Brazil," Mr Minc said.