Finally, a silver line for Amazon forest.
In 2026, the Amazon recorded the smallest area under deforestation alerts over a long time series: 2,874 km2, a 36% drop compared to last year’s figure of 4,495 km2. The figures from the ‘Real-Time Deforestation Detection System,’ operational since 2016 and released on August 7th by the National Institute for Space Research, increase the chances that Brazil will record an equally historical drop in deforestation rates when final data is released in the coming months.
The release from the non profit Observatório do Clima claims that the data has proved “that the country has found the formula to control tropical forest destruction, applying the same set of public policies that halted both the chainsaws and greenhouse gas emissions at the beginning of the century”. According to released data, the alerts area was measured in the 12 months between August 2025 and July 2026, called the deforestation “fiscal year”.
Founded in 2002, Observatório do Clima is Brazil’s leading civil society network working on the climate agenda. It currently brings together 172 members, including socio-environmental organizations, research institutes, and social movements.
President Lula’s Amazon performance much better
In the four years of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s third term, the area under alerts in the Amazon totalled 19,642 km2, a 41% drop compared to the 2019-2022 period, which recorded 33,400 km²; approximately an area equal to Belgium.
The measurement mechanism uses satellite imagery produced in near real-time to guide environmental inspections done by Ibama, the Brazilian federal environmental agency, but it is “short-sighted” due to its relatively low resolution. Therefore, it is not used to calculate the total deforested area, a function that belongs to another government system, Prodes, whose estimates are published at the end of every year. However, Deter data allows officials to anticipate how Prodes will behave.
Best performance likely over nearly four decades
If the nearly one-third decline in clearcutting recorded by Deter in 2026 is confirmed by Prodes, Brazil will likely post its lowest official deforestation rate since satellite monitoring began in 1988, nearly four decades ago.
“The numbers presented today are historic, the result of serious environmental protection policies, and prove that it is entirely possible to fulfill the country’s commitment to zero and reverse deforestation by 2030,” claims Marcio Astrini, executive secretary of Observatório do Clima.
Effect on emission trajectory
The data also has a direct impact on Brazil’s emission trajectory, as almost half of all the carbon the country releases into the atmosphere every year comes from forest destruction. According to calculations by Seeg, the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Estimation System, an initiative of the Observatório do Clima, the reduction in destruction reported by the Deter prevented the release of 2,238 billion tons of CO2 equivalent into the atmosphere, an amount equivalent to the total gross emitted by the country in one year. Seeg’s deforestation emissions estimates are produced by Ipam, the Amazon Environmental Research Institute.
Gain for agriculture
As seen between 2005 and 2012, the drop in deforestation occurs while agricultural production – and the sector’s gains – increases: a study by CNA (Brazilian Agriculture and Livestock Confederation), in partnership with others, shows that the Brazilian agri-business GDP and production volume grew 12.2% and 6.76%, respectively, in 2025, leading to nearly 28% increased revenue generation in the sector in a year.
Experts pointed out that the reduction in deforestation also has an important effect during El Niño events. With less forest clearing, there is less fuel to catch fire, which reduces the chances of uncontrolled forest fires like those seen in 2023 and 2024.
Threat remains
“However, not all is a celebration. At this exact moment, Brazilian members of Congress are preparing an offensive against Brazilian environmental legislation, with projects aimed at weakening Ibama’s capacity to act, granting amnesty to land grabbers, decreasing protection for Conservation Units, and relaxing the Forest Code and other rules for protecting native vegetation,” claims the non-profit.