Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon has fallen to its lowest level since records began in 1988, according to official figures released on Friday, handing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva momentum just days before the decisive round of the presidential election.
Brazil's space research agency, Inpe, said 3,335 km² of forest was cleared in the 12 months through the end of July, a drop of about 42% from the same period a year earlier.
The previous record low was 4,571 km² in 2011-2012, while annual losses peaked at nearly 30,000 km² in the mid-1990s, according to Inpe's Prodes satellite program. The program measures from August to July because cloud cover is lower at mid-year.
"This is an absolutely extraordinary reduction… like a dream," Environment Minister Joao Paulo Capobianco said at a press conference in Brasilia.
Marcio Astrini of the climate advocacy group Observatorio do Clima called the figure "a historic achievement" and said it showed that "with political will, it is possible to curb deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions."
On social media platform X, President Lula wrote: "Our goal is to reach zero illegal deforestation by 2030."
Lula took office in 2023 pledging to end illegal deforestation by 2030, after clearing had risen to its highest level in 15 years under his right-wing predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro. During Bolsonaro's 2019-2022 term, the Amazon lost an average of about 11,600 km² a year, nearly 60% more than in the previous four years.
Deforestation has fallen steadily since 2022 and is down 71.2% over four years. AFP attributes the decline to increased surveillance and tougher penalties for illegal logging.
Lula will face Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the elder son of Jair Bolsonaro, in the decisive vote on October 25, with polls showing the two level.
In his campaign platform, Flavio has pledged to step up environmental monitoring in the Amazon, focusing law enforcement on organized crime rather than workers and small farmers, and to end "illegal deforestation" by 2029.
He has also praised his father — who is serving 27 years under house arrest for plotting a coup — for opposing what he calls the "radical environmental agenda."
In the Cerrado savanna region south of the Amazon, deforestation also fell by about 24%, to 5,517 km², the lowest level since records began in 2001.
