Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon falls 42% to a record low
Clearing in the neighboring Cerrado savanna also hit a record low, but this month's election and a developing El Niño cloud the outlook.
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell 42% to the lowest level on record in the 12 months through July 31, according to data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Rhett Ayers Butler reported Friday for Mongabay.
Clearing totaled 3,335 square kilometers (1,288 square miles), an area smaller than the Spanish island of Mallorca. In the Cerrado, the wooded savanna next to the Amazon that has been Brazil's fastest-cleared biome in recent decades, deforestation fell 24% to 5,516 square kilometers, also a record low.
The decline has accelerated since President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took office in 2023 and restored environmental law enforcement, expanded conservation programs and resumed creating protected areas and recognizing Indigenous territories. Lula faces a tough reelection race later this month against front-runner Flávio Bolsonaro, who has campaigned on reducing Amazon protections. Seven of the nine governors of Amazon states are allied with Bolsonaro.
A strong El Niño developing in the Pacific adds to the risk, since such events bring drought to the southern Amazon and fires typically increase the following year. Deforestation now affects about 15% of the Amazon biome, according to the nonprofit Amazon Conservation, and scientists estimate that at 20% to 25% the forest's rainfall-generating system could break down, with knock-on effects for farming regions in southern South America.
This brief is based on an article published Oct. 16, 2026, by Rhett Ayers Butler on Mongabay. Read the original: https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/10/amazon-deforestation-falls-42-to-a-record-low/
This article was produced with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by an editor before publication.
