Brazil reports Amazon deforestation at lowest level since 1988

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 16 Oct, 21:02 · Archive

Brazil's government announced that annual Amazon deforestation fell to its lowest level since records began in 1988.

Brazil's government announced Friday that annual Amazon deforestation fell to its lowest level since records began in 1988. Official satellite data showed the rainforest lost 3,335 square kilometres from August 2025 through July 2026. The decline reverses a surge under President Jair Bolsonaro, during whose presidency from 2019 to 2022, Amazon deforestation surged by about 60%, with more than 45,000 square kilometres cleared. Under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, deforestation has fallen 71% since 2023.

One of Lula's first moves after taking office in January 2023 was to revive the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon, a plan launched in 2004 during his first administration and shelved under Bolsonaro. Lula appointed environmental officials including Marina Silva, who led the Environment Ministry until she resigned in April, and João Paulo Capobianco, the current minister, to carry out the plan.

The plan has four pillars: strengthening monitoring and enforcement; promoting a sustainable economy; managing protected areas; and using regulations and financial incentives to curb deforestation. Measures included restoring sanctions for illegal forest clearing detected by satellites, described as the most effective tool to curb deforestation and a practice that had been halted under Bolsonaro.

How it is being reported

• Brazil says Amazon deforestation fell to the lowest level since 1988Brazil’s government announces that annual deforestation in the Amazon has fallen to its lowest level since 1988.News4Jax · 16 Oct, 19:26
• Brazil says Amazon deforestation fell to the lowest level since 1988Brazil’s government announces that annual deforestation in the Amazon has fallen to its lowest level since 1988.Clickorlando · 16 Oct, 19:26

In this story: Brazil · Amazon · Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva · Jair Bolsonaro · Marina Silva · João Paulo Capobianco

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