Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon slows to lowest level in six years

Lead

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell to its lowest level since 2019, according to data released Wednesday by the MapBiomas monitoring network, a consortium of universities, NGOs, and technology companies. Brazil lost 985,000 hectares (2.4 million acres) of native vegetation in 2025, a 20.6 percent decrease from the previous year, marking the lowest annual figure since the network began keeping records in 2019.

Coverage Comparison

The figures, reported by both France 24 and RFI, highlight a significant environmental milestone under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has made combating deforestation a central goal of his administration. Both outlets note that the reduction was observed across all of Brazil's six major ecosystems, though the Amazon alone saw a 23.5 percent decline. The reports also stress that the data excludes areas lost to fires, and that after a record fire season in 2024, Brazil was relatively spared major infernos in 2025.

Key Claims

The decline in deforestation is attributed to tougher environmental enforcement. Marcos Rosa, MapBiomas's technical coordinator, told AFP: "We are seeing an increase in enforcement actions and sanctions (...) which have a direct correlation with the drop in deforestation in all Brazilian biomes." This sentiment was echoed in both articles as the primary explanation for the improvement.

Despite the progress, the rate of destruction remains high. In the Amazon, five trees are still felled every second, according to MapBiomas. Agriculture accounted for 99 percent of vegetation loss across Brazil, with the hard-hit Cerrado—a vast, biodiverse savanna south of the Amazon—contributing to more than half of all deforestation recorded in the country.

President Lula, who is seeking a fourth term in October elections, has pledged to eradicate illegal deforestation by 2030. Official data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) also shows deforestation declining since Lula returned to office in 2023, as reported by RFI.

Perspectives

The news is framed positively for Lula's administration, which has emphasized environmental protection as a key policy area. In 2025, Lula hosted the COP30 climate summit in the Amazonian city of Belém, showcasing his environmental credentials. However, environmentalists have criticized Lula's support for a massive oil exploration project near the mouth of the Amazon River, a point noted in the reports.

Despite the overall decrease, experts caution that tropical forests remain under pressure. The fact that five trees are felled every second in the Amazon underscores the scale of ongoing destruction, even as enforcement efforts show results. The Cerrado's disproportionate share of vegetation loss highlights the need for continued attention to biomes beyond the Amazon.

As Brazil approaches elections, the deforestation figures are likely to play a significant role in political discourse, with Lula's administration pointing to the data as evidence of progress. However, the persistence of high destruction rates in certain areas suggests that the battle to protect Brazil's native vegetation is far from over.