Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve faces highest deforestation threats in Amazon

The Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve in Acre has been identified as the most vulnerable protected area in the Legal Amazon according to a report by the Institute of Man and Environment of the Amazon (Imazon). The study, covering the period from July to September 2026, ranks the reserve first in two critical categories: pressure and threat.

In terms of pressure, which measures deforestation alerts within the boundaries of protected areas, the reserve recorded 116 monitoring cells. This is significantly higher than the second-ranked area, the Tapajós Environmental Protection Area in Pará, which recorded 63 cells. In the threat category, which tracks deforestation within a 10-kilometer radius of the reserve's borders, Chico Mendes recorded 67 cells, leading the Floresta Nacional do Iquiri in Amazonas and the Serra do Divisor National Park in Acre, which both recorded 28 cells.

Data indicates an increasing encirclement of the reserve. Compared to the same quarter in 2025, internal pressure rose by 18 percent, while external threats increased by 12 percent. Imazon utilizes a methodology that divides the Legal Amazon into 10-by-10 kilometer cells to monitor these alerts.