An historic assault is being waged on the Amazon rainforest and the indigenous people who have called it home for thousands of years as the world’s population takes shelter from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rose more than 50% in the first three months of 2020 compared to the same three-month period last year, according to preliminary satellite data released by the Brazilian Space Agency’s deforestation monitoring system.

Even before the pandemic struck, scientists warned that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s development-friendly policies could transform the world’s largest rainforest into a drier, savannah-like landscape. Once this “tipping point” is crossed, scientists said, the ecosystem could begin emitting more greenhouse gases than it captures, effectively turning a vital tool in the fight against climate change into another source of harmful emissions.