13 photos that show how humans have changed the world's forests

deforestation brazil Andre Penner, File/AP

Illegal logging and mining in the Amazon rain forest cause drastic levels of deforestation.
Disappearing forests push endangered wildlife into populated areas.
Deliberately burning forests to develop the land can cause heavy air pollution.
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Every year, 18.7 million acres of forest disappear, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Deforestation, pollution, climate change, and old fashioned human carelessness are wreaking havoc on the world's forests. In the past few weeks, the Brazilian Amazon has been burning at a record rate. Some of these fires were started by farmers and loggers seeking to use Amazonian land for industrial or agricultural purposes.

Here are 13 photos that show just how much our forests have changed.

Parts of the Amazon rain forest contain ponds of dirty water left over from hydraulic mining.

Ricardo Funari/Brazil Photos/LightRocket via Getty Images

Hydraulic mining uses high-pressure water jets to dislodge rocks and sediment. At Agua Branca gold mining village in Pará, Brazil, the leftover mud forms murky pools.

Illegal gold mining in Peru has wreaked havoc on its forests.

Guadalupe Pardo/Pool/Reuters

In addition to destroying parts of the Amazon jungle, "wildcat mining" drives child labor and sex trafficking in the region, according to NBC News. Peru's government declared a state of emergency in February, enlisting its military to eliminate illegal mining machinery.