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Brazil Amazon deforestation falls to record low in INPE estimate
In brief
Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) published a Prodes estimate on Friday showing Legal Amazon deforestation of about 3,335 square kilometres from August 2025 through July 2026. That is a 41.8% drop from the prior year’s consolidated 5,731 km2 and the lowest annual rate in the monitoring series that began in 1988.
What the satellite estimate shows
According to INPE’s technical note and government announcement, the 2026 Prodes figure for the Legal Amazon is an estimate built mainly from priority satellite scenes. Officials said the fully consolidated rate, covering all map tiles, is due in the first half of 2027. The Cerrado savanna biome also posted its lowest series value since 2001 monitoring began there, with clearing estimated at about 5,517 km2, down 23.8% year on year.
Political backdrop
The release lands days before Brazil’s 25 October presidential runoff between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro, BBC News and other outlets noted. Lula has pledged to end illegal Amazon deforestation by 2030. Environment Minister João Paulo Capobianco called the Amazon decline striking; climate group Observatório do Clima described it as historic while stressing that political will matters for keeping the trend.
What is still open
INPE cautions that October fires are outside the August–July Prodes window and that fire damage is not the same metric as clear-cut deforestation. International coverage also notes that a change of government could alter enforcement priorities. Readers should treat the 3,335 km2 figure as the agency’s current estimate until the consolidated rate appears.
Why it matters
The Amazon is a major global carbon sink, and Brazil holds most of its area. A verified multi-decade low in clearing is a rare climate datapoint — and one that voters and markets will watch through the runoff.
Sources
- INPE / Gov.br: Brasil alcança menores taxas de desmatamento da série histórica na Amazônia e no Cerrado
- BBC News: Brazil sees record fall in Amazon deforestation as key election looms
- The Guardian: Brazilian Amazon deforestation falls to lowest on record as pivotal vote looms
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