🌳 Amazon deforestation continues to decline – lowest level since 2014

• Satellite data shows that deforestation in the Amazon between August 2025 and January 2026 dropped to 1,325 square kilometers, the lowest level for the period since 2014.
• Total deforestation over the past twelve months decreased to 3,770 square kilometers, also the lowest figure since 2014.
• Deforestation in the Cerrado savanna also declined, from 2,025 to 1,905 square kilometers.

Lowest figures in a decade

Brazil reports continued decline in Amazon deforestation into early 2026. New satellite data from the country's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) shows that the downward trend that began earlier in the decade is holding.

Between August 1, 2025 and January 31, 2026, 1,325 square kilometers of deforestation were detected in the Amazon. That is a decrease from 2,050 square kilometers during the same period the year before. The figure is the lowest for this interval since 2014.

Over the past twelve months, total detected deforestation amounted to 3,770 square kilometers, compared with 4,245 square kilometers at the same point last year. That is also the lowest recording since 2014.

The data comes from INPE's DETER system, which uses near-real-time satellite imagery and is primarily used to guide enforcement efforts. The system is considered a reliable indicator of short-term trends.

Official annual data confirm the trend

Separate annual data strengthen the picture. INPE's PRODES system, which uses high-resolution satellite imagery to produce official annual figures, showed that deforestation in the twelve months through July 2025 fell by eleven percent to 5,796 square kilometers. That is the lowest level in eleven years.

Independent monitoring provides a similar picture. The Brazilian nonprofit Imazon, which operates the SAD alert system, estimated that forest loss in the year through December 31, 2025 amounted to 228 square kilometers – near the lowest level in six years.

70 of 81 municipalities cooperating with federal government

Environment Minister Marina Silva said at a press conference that the decline is a result of coordinated government action. She pointed out that most municipalities with high deforestation have now joined federal initiatives aimed at stopping illegal clearing.

Of the 81 municipalities with the highest deforestation levels, 70 have already made commitments under the Union with Municipalities program, according to Silva. Resources from the Amazon Fund are being used to support enforcement and prevention efforts.

Silva said that if current policies continue, Brazil could reach the lowest Amazon deforestation rate since measurements began in 1988.

Decreased deforestation also in the Cerrado

Deforestation has also declined in the Cerrado, the wooded savanna that borders the Amazon and has increasingly become an agricultural frontier. According to DETER data, deforestation there fell to 1,905 square kilometers, compared with 2,025 square kilometers the previous year. The Cerrado is one of the world's most biodiverse savanna ecosystems and an important water source for Brazil's major river basins.

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