"Farm Boom, Fires Make Bolivia No. 3 In World For Forest Loss"

"MONTEVIDEO - Forest loss in Bolivia accelerated by about a third last year with clearances in the country trailing only giant neighbor Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo, a forest monitoring project report shows, blaming farm expansion and fires.

The South American country lost nearly around 3,860 square kilometers (1,490 square miles) of primary forest in 2022, according to Global Forest Watch, an area nearly the size of Rhode Island.

Bolivia, one of a few nations that two years ago refrained from signing a zero-deforestation pledge by 2030, is supporting the farm industry as a key economic driver to take the slack from dwindling production and exports of natural gas."

Lucinda Elliott reports for Reuters June 28, 2023.