Amazon deforestation in Brazil has dropped to its lowest level since satellite records began in 1988. Satellites showed 3,335 square kilometers (about 1,288 square miles) cleared from August 2025 to July 2026, the government said. That is 42% less than the year before.
At a glance
- Amazon: Clearing fell to about 1,288 square miles, down from about 2,213 square miles the year before. The previous low was about 1,765 square miles in 2012 C.E.
- Cerrado: Clearing in this neighboring savanna fell about 24% to roughly 2,130 square miles, the lowest since records began in 2001 C.E.
- Risk: Fire and forest damage are not counted as deforestation. A strong El Niño could worsen both.
What the data show
The figures come from PRODES, a satellite program run by INPE, Brazil’s space research institute. It counts clearing from August to July, when skies are clearest, Al Jazeera reported. The government says clearing is down about 71% in four years.
Clearing was far higher in earlier years. From 2019 through 2022 C.E., about 17,600 square miles were cleared, Greenpeace Brazil said. From 2023 through 2026 C.E., the total was about 9,500 square miles, 46% less.
The drop was uneven. Pará lost the most forest, at about 436 square miles. Mato Grosso and Amazonas followed.
Roraima was the only state where clearing rose. The increase was 0.4%, or about 1 square kilometer.
In the Cerrado, clearing fell about 24%, to roughly 2,130 square miles. Four Matopiba states made up 74.3% of Cerrado clearing.
The Cerrado is a wooded savanna next to the Amazon. It has lost forest fastest in recent decades, largely to ranchland and industrial farming, Mongabay reported.
How Brazil cut Amazon deforestation
Officials credit enforcement. The government restored fines for illegal clearing seen by satellite. The last administration had halted that tool, AP reported.
The Amazon Fund was also revived, Greenpeace Brazil said. It credits Ibama, the federal enforcement agency, and ICMBio, which manages protected areas.
The next figures cover all of Brazil, not just the Amazon. From 2023 through 2026 C.E., the environment ministry says Ibama ran 76,095 inspection actions. It issued 25,101 flora-related infraction notices and about 11.8 billion reais in fines.
The ministry says about 7,200 square miles were embargoed. It also says 20 Indigenous territories were formally recognized since 2023. They cover about 12,400 square miles.
It says 18 federal conservation units were created. Environment Minister João Paulo Capobianco called the drop “absolutely stratospheric,” Al Jazeera reported.
What could still go wrong
The Amazon figure is an estimate from priority satellite images. A final rate usually comes in the first half of the next year.
Fires were near historic lows this year. They have tripled since Oct. 4, AP reported. Authorities are checking whether some were set on purpose.
Damage from fire, logging, and drought affects about 40% of the Amazon, AP reported. It has outpaced clear-cutting in recent years.
A strong El Niño could make 2026 and 2027 hotter and drier. Mongabay noted that Amazon Conservation puts the cleared share at about 15%. Scientists warn that loss of rain-making forest could begin at 20% to 25%.
Greenpeace Brazil says Congress is trying to weaken environmental laws. It counts 137 pending bills with harmful effects. It calls the progress fragile.
Read more
For more on this story, see: AP and Al Jazeera
For more from Good News for Humankind, see:
- 180+ organizations join massive effort to restore 4.4M acres of Brazil’s Cerrado
- South Korea’s forest wood volume has grown 30-fold since 1950s
- The Good News for Humankind archive on trees and reforestation
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