Brazil reports sharp fall in Amazon deforestation ahead of run-off vote

Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon fell by 41.8% in the year to July 2026, the biggest annual drop since records began in 1988. The figures were published days before Brazil's presidential run-off. BBC

Clearing also slowed in the Cerrado, Brazil's vast savanna region, where deforestation fell by 23.8% over the same period. Brazil contains about 60% of the Amazon rainforest, the world's largest tropical forest.

The data landed ahead of the run-off on 25 October, a second round of voting between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Forest protection has become a central difference between the two camps.

During Jair Bolsonaro's presidency from 2019 to 2022, the Amazon lost nearly 60% more forest land than in the previous four years. Bolsonaro promoted mining in Indigenous lands in the Amazon.

Lula pledged to end deforestation in the Amazon by 2030 when he assumed office. He has stated Brazil's goal is to achieve zero illegal deforestation by 2030, and tightened environmental monitoring and penalties for illegal logging after reversing Bolsonaro's policies.

The latest decline extends a downward trend. In the 12 months through July 2025, Amazon deforestation had hit an 11-year low, while clearing in the Cerrado fell 11.49% to 7,235 square kilometers, a six-year low and the second straight annual decline. Reuters

Brazil's Amazon and Cerrado deforestation figures are based on monitoring by INPE, the national institute whose satellite system tracks forest loss.