Overview
- Brazil’s space agency INPE reported Friday that the Amazon lost 3,335 square kilometres of forest in the 12 months through July 2026, a roughly 42% decline from the prior year.
- The Lula government credits the fall to revived enforcement under the PPCDAm plan, including stepped-up satellite detection, tougher sanctions for illegal clearing, and limits on credit for properties that breach rules.
- Fire counts tripled after Oct. 4 and federal authorities are investigating whether some blazes were set deliberately, while scientists warn a strong El Niño could drive drought and more wildfires in 2026–27.
- Deforestation in the Cerrado savanna also hit a record low at about 5,516 square kilometres, and the new numbers contrast with the 2019–2022 surge that cleared more than 45,000 km² under Jair Bolsonaro.
- The results raise high political stakes for the Oct. 25 presidential runoff because continued gains depend on policy continuity and enforcement, and experts caution that degradation and a possible 20–25% forest loss threshold could disrupt regional rainfall and livelihoods.