Brasilia (AFP) – Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell 35% in the last six months, according to figures released this Thursday by President Lula's government, which expects to reach a historic annual low.
First modification: 02/13/2026 - 11:03
The satellites of the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe) detected the destruction of 1,324 km2 in the Brazilian part of the largest tropical forest in the world, between August 2025 and January 2026.
It is the smallest area since the beginning of the records of Inpe's Deter monitoring system, in 2015.
A year earlier, from August 2024 to January 2025, it totaled 2,050 km2.
"We have an expectation of reaching the lowest (annual) deforestation rate in the Amazon in the historical series (of Deter), if we continue with these efforts," Environment Minister Marina Silva said at a press conference.
To calculate the annual rate, Inpe uses the reference period from August to July, starting at the beginning of the drought season.
The driest months tend to favor deforestation, which is related to illegal practices to expand agricultural areas.
"It's only the first six months, but that already shows a strong downward trend," the minister insisted.
In the Cerrado, an extensive savannah rich in biodiversity located in the south of the Amazon, deforestation also decreased during that period, by 5.9%.
Leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is seeking re-election in October, has pledged to reduce deforestation to zero by 2030.
Brazil reinforced that goal in November 2025 during COP30, which the South American giant organized in the Amazonian city of Belém.
The largest rainforest on the planet is central to the fight against climate change by absorbing carbon.
In Lula's first year in office, in 2023, tree felling in the Amazon was reduced by half compared to 2022, the last year of the government of his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, a climate change skeptic.
© 2026 AFP
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