Amazon deforestation falls to lowest level in 38 years
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Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) reported that deforestation in the Amazon rainforest fell 41.8% in one year, reaching the lowest level since 1988, when consistent monitoring began.
The institute also found that deforestation in the Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna in Brazil, decreased by 23.8% to the lowest area cleared since 2001. These figures cover the period from August 2025 to July 2026, compared to the previous 12 months.
The decrease in the Amazon represents a reduction of 2,396 square kilometers of lost forest, bringing the total deforested area to 3,335 square kilometers. In the Cerrado, deforestation decreased from 7,235.27 square kilometers to 5,516.69 square kilometers, a reduction of 1,718.58 square kilometers. Environment and Climate Change Minister João Paulo Capobianco celebrated the results, stating that the advances demonstrate the possibility of progressively reducing environmental destruction.
The government attributes the progress to strengthened environmental monitoring, the creation of protected areas, and collaboration between federal, state, and municipal authorities. The minister also highlighted respect for scientific evidence, public participation in environmental decisions, and cooperation between governments as key factors. Beyond conservation, officials believe the reduction in deforestation will benefit the Brazilian economy by improving access to international markets increasingly concerned with sustainable practices, such as the European Union’s rules restricting trade in products linked to deforestation.
From 2023 to 2026, the Federal Police opened nearly 8,000 investigations related to environmental crimes and the government created 18 conservation units and approved 20 Indigenous lands.
