Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon continues to fall. Between January and June 2026, around 1,295 km² of forest was destroyed, 38% less than in the same period the previous year, according to official figures from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
It is the lowest figure in a decade. Deforestation had peaked around 2022 and halved in the current government’s very first year, continuing to decline ever since.
President Lula da Silva has pledged to end illegal deforestation by 2030. The Amazon is vital to the planet’s climate and is home to a huge share of the world’s biodiversity.
