Workers of the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources fight a fire in Manicore, the state of Amazonas, Brazil on Aug. 26, 2019. (Gabriela Biro/Agencia Estado/Handout via Xinhua)

Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro on Tuesday announced the creation of an Amazon Council and a National Environmental Force to safeguard the world's largest rainforest.

Vice President Hamilton Mourao will be head of the council, which will coordinate actions by different ministries for "the protection, defense and sustainable development of the Amazon," Bolsonaro said on Twitter.

The new force, similar to Brazil's National Public Security Force, will serve to protect the Amazonian environment, he said.

The new force will take over tasks formerly carried out by the National Force's elite police corps, which can be deployed at the request of a state governor, or to support Brazil's Federal Police or other federal agency.

The National Force has in the past been used to combat environmental crimes, as well as to clear roadblocks, help in disasters and generally serve as a civil defense force.