Business · Economy · 5 hrs ago
Amazon deforestation falls to lowest level since 1988
The Amazon lost 3,335 square kilometres of forest in the year ending in July 2026, according to an estimate by Brazil’s INPE space research institute.
That was a 41.8% drop and the lowest level since 1988.
The decline gives Brazil a stronger case as it sells farm products abroad, but lower national deforestation does not prove where each shipment came from.
From 30 December 2026, a European Union rule is due to require large and medium-sized operators to trace covered products and show they are not linked to deforestation since December 2020.
The rule’s definition of forest leaves out some Cerrado grassland and savanna, so damage to those areas may not count under its test.
China, Brazil’s biggest agribusiness buyer, has no equivalent import rule, though state-owned COFCO is negotiating some deforestation-free Brazilian soy shipments and the two governments are discussing traceability.
The Legal Amazon lost 3,335 km² of forest in the cycle ending in July 2026, the lowest level since 1988.
The estimated figure from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) was down 41.8%.
The area cleared was 25.6% of the amount recorded five years earlier, when deforestation reached 13,038 km².
The decline could strengthen Brazil’s position in trade discussions, but it does not by itself prove the origin of exported goods.
- Who
- Brazil’s Legal Amazon is the area covered by the deforestation estimate.
- What
- An estimated 3,335 km² of forest was lost, a 41.8% decrease and the lowest level since 1988.
- When
- In the cycle ending in July 2026.
- Where
- The Legal Amazon in Brazil.
- Why
- Not stated
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Amazon deforestation reached 13,038 km².
Native vegetation loss in the Cerrado peaked at 11,011 km².
Brazil recorded about 278,000 active fire hotspots.
Amazon deforestation for the cycle ending in July 2026 was 25.6% of the amount recorded five years earlier.
The cycle closed with an estimated 3,335 km² of forest lost in the Legal Amazon.
The European Union’s deforestation-free products regulation is scheduled to apply to large and medium-sized operators.
- Forest loss
- 3,335 km²
- Change
- 41.8% decrease
- Record
- Lowest level since 1988
- Measurement cycle
- Ended in July 2026
- Estimate source
- Brazil’s INPE