BRASILIA - Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon has fallen to its lowest level in nearly 40 years, according to figures released on Oct 16 that boost leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva days before a presidential runoff.
Between August 2025 and July 2026, 3,335 sq km of forest were cleared, a decline of nearly 42% over the previous year and the lowest level since records began in 1988, official statistics showed.
“It’s an absolutely stratospheric drop... it’s like a dream,” Environment Minister Joao Paulo Capobianco told a press conference in the capital Brasilia.
The data was also welcomed by Lula, whom polls show running neck-and-neck with conservative senator Flavio Bolsonaro ahead of the Oct 25 runoff.
Lula, a veteran left-wing leader, returned to office four years ago promising to end illegal forest clearance by farmers and illegal miners, which had soared under his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, the father of Flavio.
“Our goal is to achieve zero illegal deforestation by 2030,” he reiterated Oct 16 on X, after the deforestation data was released.
Brazil is home to approximately 60% of the world’s largest rainforest, which plays a crucial role in absorbing greenhouse gases responsible for global warming.
The official deforestation rate is measured using the “Prodes” satellite system, operated by the National Institute for Space Research.
It has been steadily decreasing in the Amazon since 2022, with a cumulative drop of 71.2% over four years. AFP