Brazil’s government says deforestation in the Amazon and savanna regions has fallen to record lows, just ahead of a presidential election run-off in which the future of the rainforest is a central issue.
The run-off on 25 October will pit left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva against Flavio, the son of right-wing former president Jair Bolsonaro. Polls suggest the race is neck and neck. Flavio is expected to continue his father’s policies if he wins, although he has pledged to fight organised crime in the Amazon.
Satellite data shows biggest Amazon drop on record
Satellite data shows that in the year up to July 2026, the deforestation rate in the Amazon fell by 41.8 per cent. That is the largest drop since records began in 1988. In the Cerrado, Brazil’s savanna region, the fall was 23.8 per cent.
The Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, is a crucial buffer in the global fight against climate change. About 60 per cent of it lies within Brazil. Tropical rainforests hold millions of species and absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, which helps keep the planet cool.
Lula reverses Bolsonaro-era policies on clearing
Lula pledged to end deforestation in the Amazon by 2030 when he took office three years ago. Forest clearing had surged under Bolsonaro, who promoted mining on indigenous lands while resources to protect the forest were cut. Official data cited by a news agency showed the Amazon lost nearly 60 per cent more forest land during Bolsonaro’s 2019 to 2022 presidency than in the previous four years.
Lula’s government reversed those policies, and deforestation dropped to a six-year low during his first year in office. It also tightened environmental monitoring and penalties for illegal logging. In a post on X on Friday, Lula said: “Our goal is to achieve zero illegal deforestation by 2030.”
Officials and campaigners welcome the decline
Brazil’s Environment Minister, Joao Paulo Capobianco, described the decline in Amazon deforestation as “absolutely stratospheric”. Marcio Astrini, executive secretary of the climate advocacy group Observatorio do Clima, called it a “historic achievement” for Brazil.
Astrini said that “with political will, it is possible to curb deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions”. Scientists warn that decades of land clearance for agriculture and logging, along with climate change, have put the rainforests under increasing pressure and can create conditions for wildfires.
