By Aldem Bourscheit The highest rates of illegal exploitation of ipê trees are found in areas of the Brazilian Amazon where deforestation is skyrocketing. Increasing domestic consumption and exports have encouraged the felling of these threatened tropical hardwood species, with demand outstripping the authorized supply and leading to destruction of the forest. More than 80% of the ipê wood that’s traded, from the genus Handroanthus, comes from 20 municipalities that are hotspots for deforestation. According to Mongabay’s findings, these municipalities accounted for deforestation alerts coverin…