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Mourao invited DiCaprio, an environmental
campaigner, to go with him personally on a journey along a
notoriously ill-maintained road in the remote far western Amazon
near the town of Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira.
"I would like to invite our most recent critic, Leonardo
DiCaprio, to go with me to Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira to do an
eight-hour ride through the jungle between the Sao Gabriel
airport and the Cucui highway," Mourao said
"He will learn with each big pothole that he has to pass that
the Amazon is not a flat land and understand better how things
work in this vast region."
Representatives for DiCaprio did not immediately respond to
request for comment.
Last year, as surging fires in the Amazon provoked global
outcry, Brazilian right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro accused
DiCaprio of funding fires in the Amazon, without presenting any
evidence. DiCaprio denied the allegation.[nL1N28A00T]
This year, the number of fires rose in June and July compared to
a year ago, but in the first 15 days of August, fires were down
17% compared to a year ago, according to government data.
[nL1N2FJ0UK][nL3N2F20W4]
Deforestation is up 34.5% in the 12 months through July,
compared to the same period a year ago, preliminary government
data shows.[nL1N2F913F]
DiCaprio has a foundation dedicated to the environment and has
called for Amazon preservation. Scientists say the Amazon is
vital to curbing climate change, because of the vast amount of
greenhouse gas that the forest absorbs.
In July, DiCaprio on Twitter praised the Brazilian government's
120-day ban on fires in the Amazon, an attempt to rein in the
destruction.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Jake Spring; Editing by Alistair
Bell)
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