Brazil’s Deforestation Fell 20.6% in 2025, Lowest Since Records Began

BRAZIL · ENVIRONMENT

Deforestation in Brazil fell by a fifth in 2025 to its lowest level since records began, with declines across every biome including the Amazon, according to the MapBiomas network. Researchers credited stronger enforcement and greater transparency, while cautioning that the rate of forest loss remains high and that structural pressures from agriculture and mining persist.

What the deforestation report found

According to the Annual Deforestation Report (RAD2025), released by the MapBiomas network, 984,794 hectares were cleared across Brazil in 2025, a 20.6% reduction compared with 2024. It is the lowest figure since the network began its records in 2019.

The reduction occurred in every Brazilian biome. Researchers attributed the improvement to an increase in enforcement and embargo actions and to greater transparency over the authorizations granted, though the data do not include vegetation lost to fire.

How deforestation fell across the biomes

In the Amazon, 289,478 hectares were cleared, a 23.5% reduction from the previous year, equivalent to about 792 hectares a day. The Pantanal wetland recorded the steepest proportional fall, down 48.4% to 12,260 hectares.

The Cerrado savanna remained the most affected biome in absolute terms, concentrating 54.9% of the national total with 540,614 hectares cleared, even though that represented a 16.9% decline. Savanna formations were the most affected vegetation type overall, accounting for 51.4% of the cleared area, followed by forest formations at 46.3%.

Where the deforestation is concentrated

The Matopiba region, which spans the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, Bahia and Mato Grosso, accounted for more than 63% of national deforestation, the five federal units with the largest cleared area in 2025.

Over the accumulated period from 2019 to 2025, Pará is the state with the largest cleared area, having lost more than two million hectares of native vegetation, though in 2025 it recorded a 40% reduction from the previous year. More than half of Brazil’s 5,572 municipalities registered at least one validated deforestation event in 2025.

The drivers behind the clearing

In 2025, 99% of the area deforested in association with mining was concentrated in the Amazon, with the greatest incidence in Pará. Clearing linked to renewable-energy projects was concentrated in the Caatinga, which accounted for 97% of that category.

Deforestation associated with urban expansion rose 7% from 2024 and was concentrated mainly in the Cerrado and the Amazon. The municipality of Canto do Buriti, in Piauí, led the ranking of largest cleared area for the first time in the historical series, with 20,877 hectares.

A positive trend, with caveats

While the decline is a clear improvement, the absolute pace remains substantial, at an average of around 2,698 hectares cleared per day, or roughly 112 hectares an hour. In the Amazon, the rate equates to about five trees felled every second.

The data reinforce the case for continued public policy to preserve native vegetation and protect biodiversity, as structural pressures from the expansion of agriculture and illegal mining persist across Brazil’s biomes.