[ THE AMAZON ]

The Amazon is still on fire. Conservation groups blame illegal logging and criminal networks.

Fires in the rainforest gained global attention last month when images of the smoke darkening skies over Brazil prompted an international outcry.

While the extent of the fires has since decreased in recent weeks, likely a result of the international and national push for Brazil's government to act, it remains far worse than last year.

A third of the fires this season occurred in undesignated forests — unprotected areas vulnerable to land-grabbing — and unregistered lands, the IPAM report found. Conservation sites saw a surprising increase in the number of fire outbreaks this year, twice the number than the average between 2010 and 2018.

"It is important to take action now."

Source: nbcnews.