BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) 鈥� Deforestation in Brazil鈥檚 Amazon rainforest slowed by nearly half compared to the year before, according to government satellite data released Wednesday. It鈥檚 the largest reduction since 2016, when officials began using the current method of measurement.
In the past 12 months, the Amazon rainforest lost 4,300 square kilometers (1,700 square miles) of land, roughly the size of Rhode Island. That is a nearly 46% decrease compared to the previous period. Brazil鈥檚 deforestation surveillance year runs from August 1 to July 30.
The figures are preliminary and come from the Deter satellite sytem, managed by the National Institute for Space Research, a federal agency and used by environmental law enforcement agencies to detect real-time deforestation. The most accurate deforestation calculations are usually released in November.
Amazon deforestation has steeply declined since the end of far-right President Jair Bolsolonaro麓s rule, in 2022. Under his government, forest loss
Still, much remains to be done to end the destruction. President Luiz In谩cio Lula da Silva pledged 鈥渄eforestation zero鈥� by 2030. His current term ends in January 2027.
About two-thirds of the Amazon lies within Brazil. It remains the world鈥檚 largest rainforest, covering an area twice the size of India. The Amazon absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide, keeping the climate from warming even faster than it would otherwise. It also holds about 20% of the world鈥檚 fresh water and biodiversity that scientists have not come close to understanding yet, including at least 16,000 tree species.
At the same time, deforestation in Brazil麓s vast savannah, , increased by 9%. The native vegetation loss reached 7,015 square kilometers (2,708 square miles) 鈥� an area 63% larger than the destruction in the Amazon.
The Cerrado is the world鈥檚 most biodiverse savannah, but less of it enjoys protected status than the rainforest to its north. Brazil麓s boom in soybeans, the country鈥檚 second-largest export, have largely come from privately-owned areas in the Cerrado.
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Fabiano Maisonnave, The Associated Press
