The destruction of Brazil's Amazon rainforest reached its highest level in a decade this year, government data released on Friday showed, driven by illegal logging and the encroachment of agriculture in the jungle.
President Barack Obama and visiting Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff sought Tuesday to cast their nations as natural partners collaborating closely on critical issues like climate and regional diplomacy, glossing over recent tensions over spying that have strained relations between the first and seventh world economies.
Ecuador has abandoned a conservation plan that would have paid the country not to drill for oil in previously untouched parts of Yasuni National Park in the Amazon rainforest. President Rafael Correa said rich nations had failed to back the initiative, leaving Ecuador with no choice but go ahead with drilling.