Overview

• Deforestation in the Amazon, Brazil, decreased by 22.3% from August 2022 to July 2023 due to increased enforcement of environmental laws under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
• Environmental fines doubled under Lula's administration, a marked shift from his predecessor's policies, which saw deforestation reach a 15-year high.
• Despite the positive news, 2023's deforestation rate is nearly twice as high as the all-time low recorded in 2012, raising concerns about climate change and the future of the Amazon rainforest.
• Illegal activities including land grabbing, arms and drug trafficking, illegal mining and fishing are significant contributors to deforestation and pose a challenge to achieving zero deforestation by 2030.
• Wildfires, worsened by the drought caused by the El Niño climate pattern, have devastated over 18,000 square miles of the Amazon, demonstrating the direct impact of climate change on the forest.