Brazil's Environment Minister Capobianco Reports Deforestation Cuts and El Niño Preparedness

On World Environment Day, Brazil’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change João Paulo Capobianco said the federal government now treats the environment as a driver of development. He highlighted a sharp decline in deforestation over the past three years: the Amazon fell 50%, the Cerrado 32%, the Pantanal 65% (with the Atlantic Forest down 54% and the Pampa 30% in newer data). The administration has deployed the largest ever brigade of fire‑fighters, added aircraft and equipment, and allocated more than half a billion reais to state fire departments to confront a forecasted El Niño that could raise wildfire risk.

Capobianco announced the creation of more than ten new protected reserves and the formal recognition of indigenous and quilombola lands, together covering an area equivalent to roughly five million football fields. Restoration efforts have reclaimed about 3.4 million hectares of degraded forest. International cooperation resumed with the Amazon Fund, now supported by nine donor countries and contributing to a record R$204 billion in public and private resources for sustainable development. The minister stressed that protecting Brazil’s ecosystems is an economic guarantee, warning that countries moving contrary to these trends risk market isolation.