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Brazilian biome deforestation and land use trends

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2026-10-22 00:34 UTC → 2026-10-22 00:35 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Reports regarding Brazilian biomes show contrasting trends in land use and conservation. Data from MapBiomas covering 1985 to 2025 indicates that the Atlantic Forest experienced significant agricultural expansion, with soybean and sugarcane cultivation increasing by 8.7 million and 5 million hectares respectively. While the biome lost nearly 10 million hectares of mature vegetation, there was a trend of environmental recovery through the regrowth of 8 million hectares of secondary vegetation. However, recent data suggests deforestation is increasingly targeting these regenerated zones; between 2021 and 2025, 60% of suppressed vegetation was secondary growth. Notably, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo were the only states to show no net loss of native vegetation over the 41-year period. In contrast, satellite monitoring from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) shows historic lows in deforestation for the Amazon and Cerrado biomes. Between August 2025 and July 2026, Amazon deforestation fell by 41.8% to 3,335 square kilometers, the lowest level since 1988. During the same period, Cerrado vegetation loss dropped by 23.8% to 5,516 square kilometers, the lowest recorded since 2001. These reductions follow the reactivation of the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm) under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. An economic study by the Getulio Vargas Foundation suggests these reductions could generate approximately R$ 1.16 trillion in global economic benefits, with Brazil potentially avoiding between R$ 67 billion and R$ 192 billion in climate damages. Building on these trends, data from the Climate Observatory indicates that Brazil’s greenhouse gas emissions fell by 6% in 2025, marking the third consecutive year of decline following reductions of 12% in 2023 and 13% in 2024. Total gross emissions reached just over 2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent.

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