Rising deforestation in the heart of the Amazon - in pictures

About 97% of the forest in the state of Amazonas has been preserved, but it is the focus for resurgent deforestation. The inset satellite images clearly show that trees have been felled in the last year
Photograph: Greenpeace

Greenpeace's aerial survey was conducted over Apuí, in South Amazonas. In an attempt to evade immediate detection from satellite monitoring, trees are cut down in small patches, rather than in one large area Photograph: Greenpeace

It is most likely that cattle ranchers have cleared the areas in Apuí photographed by Greenpeace. The Brazilian government's forestry enforcement agency Ibama has had success using satellite monitoring but remains too under-resourced to patrol a region the size of western Europe Photograph: Greenpeace

Together, the nine felled areas documented in this Apuí, add up to 310 hectares. If, as is likely, the areas inbetween are also clear cut, the result will be a deforested area of 900 hectares. Photograph: Greenpeace

From January to May 2011, deforestation in the Amazon more than doubled to 88,000 hectares, with the main felling season yet to come
Photograph: Greenpeace

In the municipality of Canutama, Greenpeace documented further destruction. Here, the deforestation follows the typical pattern of tracking the path of roads, which provide an easy route by which to carry out the timber Photograph: Greenpeace

The Greenpeace team also documented a large area of deforestation in Manicoré, where the areas felled add up to 230 hectares Photograph: Greenpeace

The sites of the new deforestation are much closer to the undisturbed heart of the Amazon than previous deforestation, which cleared large areas in the states of Pará, Mato Grosso and Rondônia
Photograph: Greenpeace