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2h ago

Brazil Reports Amazon Deforestation Drop as 2025 Fires Hit Record

The announcement heightens pressure before COP30 in Belém to show credible progress toward ending illegal deforestation by 2030.

An aerial view shows a deforested area during an operation to combat deforestation near Uruara, Para State, Brazil January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
FILE - Workers construct an avenue, named Liberdade, or Freedom, ahead of the COP30 U.N. Climate Summit in Belem, Brazil, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz, File)
FILE - The Taruma Acu River is visible during a severe drought in Manaus, state of Amazonas, Brazil, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File)
FILE - The Taruma Acu River is visible amid a severe drought in Manaus, state of Amazonas, Brazil, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File)

Overview

  • INPE reported 5,796 square kilometers of Amazon forest cleared from August 2024 to July 2025, an 11% decline and the lowest level in nearly a decade.
  • Fire detections from January through October 2025 were the highest since 2010, with smoke causing flight cancellations and health warnings in Amazonas and Pará.
  • The Environment Ministry attributed the decline to stronger environmental enforcement and expanded satellite monitoring.
  • Ibama said it conducted 9,540 inspections this year, a 38% increase from 2024, issued 2.85 billion reais in fines, and seized more than 4,500 pieces of machinery and livestock tied to illegal clearing.
  • Officials reported over 75 civil lawsuits filed with the Attorney General’s Office, while experts warned that fires used to clear land could erase gains and highlighted policy contradictions such as new oil exploration approvals.