Urged on by ‘Captain Chainsaw’, Brazilians pick up tools to chop down the Amazon

Between the shafts of sunlight piercing the rainforest canopy above his slice of the Amazon rainforest, Ijair Baratto gestures to his most valuable possessions.

The massaranduba tree, nicknamed bulletwood for its strength, costs the most, at 700 reais (£130) per cubic metre, the illegal logger says.

Click Here: cheap sydney roosters jersey

Such a tree is worth more than the average yearly salary in his hometown. 

Then comes garapa, at 600 reais. Tatajuba is the least valuable of the three, at 550 reais.

He doesn’t cut down mahogany, now – there is no market for it.

“A lot of people don’t want to talk about this,” he said. 

“I know I shouldn’t be doing it. But someone has to defend us, right? And explain our side of the story?”

The race…

To continue reading this article

Start your free trial of Premium

• Access all Premium articles 
• Subscriber-only events 
• Cancel any time

Free for 30 days

then only £2 per week

Try Premium

Access one Premium article per week

Register for free

We’re glad you’re enjoying
The Telegraph
Register or subscribe to continue reading
Already a subscriber?

Log in

Register
Free

• One free Premium article per week
• Newsletters and daily briefings

Register

Subscribe
30 days free, then £2 per week

• Unlimited access to Premium articles
• Subscriber-only newsletters
• Exclusive subscriber events and rewards
• The daily newspaper on your smartphone or tablet

Start free trial

Want to learn more?
View subscription options