Brazilian authorities announced Thursday that they will take measures to stop the deforestation in the Amazon after figures showed an increase in the illegal clearing of the rain forest last year.

This announcement was made after President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had an emergency meeting with the Cabinet ministers regarding the figures which showed very high numbers in the rate of deforestation in the last months of 2007.

According to the environment ministry, about 2,700 square miles of rain forest was cut from August to December 2007. This means that Brazil will lose 5,791 square miles by August this year, that’s an increase of 34 % from the previous period.

The reason for the high figures of clearing in the Amazon is due to the increase of prices for corn, soy and cattle, the Associated Press reports.

According to the Agriculture Minister Reinhold Stephanes, there’s no need for deforestation as there is plenty of land for farming and cattle.

He said: "It's not necessary to cut a single tree to produce soy or raise cattle. There's plenty of land outside of the Amazon to increase the production of soy and beef."

The measures taken by the government will include an increase in the police force and environmentalist agents in order to stop farmers clear anymore land.  

According to Environment Minister Marina Silva, they will be deployed in the 36 areas where the highest rates of deforestation were registered.

She also said that people or business that will purchase anything produced on illegal deforestation will be fined.

So far the highest increase in deforestation was registered in the state of Mato Grosso, where there is half of the total area that was robbed of its forests.

Other two states that were affected almost as badly are Para and Rondonia, BBC news informs.

The government satellite images show that almost 1,280 sq miles of rainforest was lost from August to December, but environment ministry fear that the figures are higher. Gilberto Câmara, the head of the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), which is monitoring the Amazon region said: "Never before have we detected such a high deforestation rate at this time of year. We had never seen this before in Amazonia."