Gustavo Suarez de Freitas
Peru says deforestation on the rise, up 80 pct from 2001
Destruction of the Peruvian Amazon is rising after expanding over more than 145,000 hectares (560 square miles) last year - an 80 percent jump from the start of the century, the government said on Dec. 2.
Forest is mainly being cleared for farming, said Gustavo Suarez de Freitas, an official in the environment ministry.