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deforestation in brazil Amazon Rainforests are set to decline by 11% from August 2024 to July this year, the government said on Thursday, while wildfires tracked by Brazil’s space agency have reached record levels amid severe drought.
According to Brazil’s National Space Research Institute (INPE), 5,796 square kilometers (2,238 square miles) of forest were cleared between August 2024 and July 2025 – an area almost four times the size. new york cityBut that’s still a significant decline from last year and the lowest level in nearly a decade.
The Environment Ministry said the decline in deforestation reflects stronger environmental enforcement, expanded satellite monitoring and new coordination between federal agencies.
Results come a few weeks early brazil The Amazon city of Belém hosts the COP30 UN climate summit, where the country will be under pressure to demonstrate progress towards its 2030 goal of ending illegal deforestation.
Additionally, INPE reported that the number of fires in the Amazon from January to October 2025 was the highest since 2010. Widespread burning and prolonged drought have blanketed parts of northern Brazil in smoke, prompting flight cancellations and health warnings across states. Amazonas And para.
Experts say the fires – often used to clear already deforested land – risk undoing recent conservation gains.
Brazil’s environmental enforcement agency, Ibama, said during the announcement that it had conducted 9,540 inspections this year, a 38% increase from 2024, issued 2.85 billion reais ($520 million) in environmental fines this year and seized more than 4,500 pieces of machinery and livestock linked to illegal cleanup.
Officials said more than 75 civil lawsuits were filed jointly by Ibama and the Attorney General’s Office over deforestation and illegal burning cases.
Marcio Estrini, executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, a coalition of Brazilian civil-society groups, told The Associated Press that the latest data shows both progress and contradictions in Brazil’s climate policy.
“This is great news – it shows that the goal of zero deforestation can be achieved if governments and society work together,” he said. “But it also highlights the contradictions of the government: while one part offers solutions such as reducing deforestation, the other part is solving the problem by approving oil drilling projects in the Amazon River Basin.”
Greenpeace Brazil described the results as positive but said lasting progress would depend on sustainable protection measures and strong global cooperation.
“The results are encouraging, but there is still room for improvement,” Ana Klis Ferreira, spokeswoman for Greenpeace’s zero deforestation campaign, said in a statement. “It is essential to institutionalize protection that does not depend on political cycles and to implement robust action plans for periods of greater climate vulnerability.”
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