Justin Rowlatt from the BBC has been investigating some of the remarkable progress being made in controlling deforestation in Brazil. The battle focuses on an area known as the “arc of destruction” and the video reports here show the impact of a government making a clear commitment to tackling the issue and backing it up with force and with incentives.

The notion that deforestation is unstoppable is now being challenged - Brazil says the rate of deforestation in its Amazon region has fallen to the lowest level for 23 years. The main causes of illegal clearing of the rainforest are cattle farming and agricultural crop production, as well as logging for timber. Watch the Newsnight video: Winning the war on Amazon deforestation

Related video: Guardian: Cerrado deforestation - video (April 2011)