Overview

• In a new analysis, Instituto Esfera reports Brazil’s deforestation fell for a second straight year, down 10.5% in 2023 and 28.7% in 2024.
• The Arco do Desmatamento recorded declines of 23.8% in 2023 and 25.8% in 2024, despite covering about 10% of the Legal Amazon yet accounting for roughly 45% of national deforestation and more than 19 million hectares altered or degraded.
• The Esfera study links the recent downturn chiefly to tougher environmental enforcement, rebuilt capacity at Ibama and ICMBio, and Brazil’s stronger international stance on climate.
• MapBiomas’ new Collection 10 shows the Cerrado lost 40.5 million hectares of native vegetation from 1985 to 2024, equal to 28% of its original cover, leaving about 51.2% still intact.
• 2024 alone saw about 1.5 million hectares cleared in the Cerrado, including 1 million hectares of primary vegetation, with losses heavily concentrated in Matopiba, which accounts for 39% of cumulative loss since 1985 and 73% over the last decade.