- Paru State Forest in the state of Pará was Brazil’s fifth-most deforested conservation unit in October, sparking concern for the region’s giant trees — including the tallest in the Amazon.- The Paru State Forest is the world’s third-largest sustainable-use tropical forest reserve and, together with other conservation units in the region, belongs to a 22 million-hectare (54.3 million-acre) protected mosaic known as the Calha Norte of the Amazon River.As such, certain economic activities, such as collecting Brazil nuts and limited mining, are permitted for the few hundred people who live there, provided they have the appropriate authorization as outlined in by law.Protecting Paru State Forest Ensuring compliance with sustainable practices and monitoring illegal deforestation are among the tasks of the new Paru State Forest Advisory Board overseen by Semas, the environmental agency for the state government of Pará.Land-grabbers use a legal self-declaration system to register and legitimize stolen land, which makes it easier to trade the property even when it’s still owned by the state."