Rio de Janeiro - A farmer in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso was fined $6.15-million for destroying 2 234 hectares of the Amazon rainforest, Brazilian authorities said on Monday.
Sources at the Brazilian Institute for the Environment and Human Resources (IBAMA) told the news website G1 that the deforestation happened near the town of Nova Ubirata, 500km from Mato Grosso capital Cuiaba, and in an area close to the indigenous and nature reserve of the Xingu National Park.
The massive fine on the farmer, whose name was not made public, was the result of an IBAMA operation in Mato Grosso last week. The area lies within the so-called "Arco de Fogo" (arch of fire), where setting fires to destroy the rainforest is frequent.
Around 545 000 cubic metres of wood were confiscated in the operation, amidst suspicions that it came from illegal felling.
Five other firms were also fined for allegedly trading in ill-obtained forestry products, for a total of about $550-million. - Sapa-dpa