Brazil Reports Record Low Amazon Deforestation in Annual Satellite Data
The sharp decline signals progress in federal conservation efforts ahead of the country's upcoming presidential runoff election.
Annual deforestation in Brazil's Amazon rainforest fell to 3,335 square kilometers between August 2025 and July 2026, the federal government announced. The measurement represents the lowest annual level recorded since nationwide satellite monitoring began in 1988.
The National Institute for Space Research compiled the figures through its PRODES monitoring program. The program measures annual forest loss from August to July to avoid seasonal cloud cover.
The cleared area fell by 41.8% to 42% compared with the previous 12-month cycle. The outcome surpassed the prior record low of 4,571 square kilometers, set in 2012, by 1,236 square kilometers. Clearing in the neighboring Cerrado savanna fell by roughly 24% to between 5,516 and 5,517 square kilometers, its lowest level since 2001.
Among Amazon states, Pará accounted for 33.9% of the cleared area, Mato Grosso represented 25.5%, and Amazonas accounted for 15.7%. Each of those three states saw deforestation decline by more than 45% from the prior year. In contrast, clearing in Roraima increased by 0.4%.
Federal authorities attributed the decrease to the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon. The strategy relies on remote satellite tracking to apply automatic fines, blocks bank credit for noncompliant rural properties, and distributes funding to municipalities that reduce clearing.
Former Environment Minister Marina Silva led the rollout until resigning in April 2026 to run for Congress. Her former deputy João Paulo Capobianco then took over the ministry.
Executive Director of the Climate Observatory Márcio Astrini said the figures show that law enforcement, crime fighting, and political will reduce deforestation without damaging the economy.
Between 2019 and 2022, under former President Jair Bolsonaro, Amazon clearing increased by roughly 60% and exceeded 45,000 square kilometers. Deforestation has since dropped by 71% to 71.2% under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who restored the federal enforcement plan in 2023.
The policy approaches now face voters in Brazil's presidential runoff election scheduled for October 25, 2026. Lula has campaigned on reaching zero net deforestation by 2030 through enforcement and replanting. Opposition candidate Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has proposed stopping illegal clearing by 2029 by targeting organized criminal networks rather than small-scale farmers and laborers.
