Brazil has reported its steepest drop in Amazon deforestation since satellite records began in 1988. According to government figures released on Friday, forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon fell by 41.8 percent in the twelve months to July 2026. In the Cerrado, the vast savanna south of the rainforest, clearing declined by 23.8 percent.
The timing is politically charged. On 25 October, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva faces Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, in a run-off that polls describe as neck and neck. The future of the rainforest has become one of the defining issues of the campaign.
During Jair Bolsonaro’s term from 2019 to 2022, mining on indigenous land was encouraged, enforcement budgets were cut and forest loss rose sharply, by almost 60 percent compared with the previous four years according to official data. Lula reversed course after taking office, tightening satellite monitoring and penalties for illegal logging. He has promised zero illegal deforestation by 2030 and repeated that goal on Friday.
Environment Minister Joao Paulo Capobianco called the result “absolutely stratospheric”, and climate groups described it as a historic achievement that shows political will can curb both forest loss and emissions. Flavio Bolsonaro is expected to return to his father’s approach if elected, although he has pledged to fight organised crime in the region.
Scientists caution that a single good year does not end the danger. Tropical forests worldwide are still being lost at alarming speed, drought and heat make the remaining trees more vulnerable to fire, and cleared land rarely recovers quickly. Keeping the numbers falling depends on steady funding for inspectors and on courts that follow through.
About 60 percent of the Amazon lies within Brazil, and the forest stores enormous amounts of carbon. With fires and climate stress adding pressure, the vote in eight days may decide whether this year’s record becomes a lasting trend.
