The Amazonian wildfires have been damaging in more ways than just physical.

When you think of business and Amazon, you likely aren’t thinking of the rainforest. Despite this, the Amazon plays a critical roll in both the global environment and the Brazilian economy.

Brazil’s new President promised to develop the Amazon region for agriculture and mining. This promise came in spite of international concern over the increasing deforestation in the rainforest. This growing concern over the environmental policies of Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro comes as the Amazon experiences a record-breaking number of wildfires. Brazil’s space research center, INPE, has discovered a record 72,843 fires so far this year. This is an 83% increase over the same time period last year. As the number of wildfires in the Amazon comes close to doubling, a state of emergency was declared in southern Amazonas, including the region’s capital, Manaus.

The world is concerned over the deforestation in the Amazon and what it means for all of humanity. The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical forest, and is considered vital as a countermeasure to global climate change. The situation there has grown worse as fires have grown far more common. Wildfires often occur in the Amazon during the dry season, but there’s also been increased incidents of illegal fires set by farmers to deforest land for cattle ranching. When questioned about the increased incidents of fires and his environmental policies, Bolsonaro said “I used to be called Captain Chainsaw. Now I am Nero, setting the Amazon aflame. But it is the season of the queimada (burn).”