A car is seen on a road that crosses the dense Amazon rainforest near northern city of Manaus, Brazil (2007 file photo)

The Brazilian government is seeking greater control over religious, environmental and other foreign groups traveling to the Amazon.

Government officials are drafting a law to be sent to Congress in the coming months asserting sovereignty over the massive, often lawless region, home to indigenous people and one of the world's most biodiverse regions. The draft law would regulate foreign travel in the rain forest.

Religious and human rights groups often work with indigenous groups in the Amazon to help them secure and protect their rights. Environmentalists have long decried deforestation of the region to make way for cattle and other farming.

Brazilian officials have voiced suspicions the foreigners are a front for efforts to take control of the land from the government.

Some information for this report was provided by and Reuters.