Deforestation alerts in Brazil’s Cerrado hit second-lowest level
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In August 2026, authorities in Brazil detected 238 square kilometers of deforestation alerts in the Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna.
This represents an 18.9% decrease from the 294 square kilometers recorded during the same month last year, according to data from the Deter system, run by the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (Inpe). This figure marks the second-lowest level of deforestation alerts for August since Inpe began tracking the data in 2018.
Maranhão, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and Piauí states experienced the highest number of deforestation alerts in August. Brazil’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, João Paulo Capobianco, presented these findings during a Cerrado Day celebration in São Paulo, and stated that quarterly analysis provides a better assessment of deforestation trends than single-month data.
While deforestation decreased in the Cerrado, the Amazon rainforest saw a 12.1% increase in deforestation alerts during August, rising from 319 square kilometers in 2025 to 358 square kilometers in 2026. Despite this increase, the Amazon’s total remained the third-lowest for the month since the Deter system began in 2016. The federal government aims to eliminate deforestation by 2030 and has increased enforcement actions.
Between 2023 and 2026, the Ibama environmental agency conducted 68,000 inspections, a 63% increase, and issued 23,000 fines, a 71% increase.
