Brazil’s government announced Friday that annual deforestation in the Amazon fell to its lowest level since records began in 1988.
asserted
records → announce → 1988
Official satellite data showed the rainforest lost 3,335 square kilometers (1,300 square miles) from Aug. 2025 through July 2026, the period used to calculate the annual rate.
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rainforest → show → rate
The data released Friday underscore the success of Brazil’s renewed efforts under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to curb Amazon deforestation, reversing a surge under his predecessor, far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.
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data → release → predecessor
During Jair Bolsonaro’s presidency, from 2019 to 2022, Amazon deforestation surged by about 60%, with more than 45,000 square kilometers (17,400 square miles) cleared, according to official data.
uncertain
deforestation → surge → data
Under Lula, deforestation has fallen 71% since 2023, the government said.
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government → fall → 2023
One of Lula’s first moves after taking office in January 2023 for a third, non-consecutive term was to revive the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon, known by its Portuguese acronym, PPCDAm.
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One → take → acronym
Launched in 2004 during his first administration, the plan had been shelved under Bolsonaro.
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plan → launch → Bolsonaro
Lula brought back the environmental officials who developed the blueprint two decades earlier, appointing environmental champion Marina Silva — who led the Environment Ministry until she resigned in April to run for Congress — and João Paulo Capobianco, her former deputy and the current minister, to help carry it out.
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she → bring → it
How the government curbed deforestation
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government → curb → deforestation
The plan has four pillars: strengthening monitoring and enforcement; promoting a sustainable economy; managing protected areas and determining how undesignated public forests should be used; and using regulations and financial incentives to curb deforestation.
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forests → have → deforestation
Measures included restoring sanctions for illegal forest clearing detected by satellites, a practice seen as the most effective tool to curb deforestation that was halted under Bolsonaro.
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that → include → Bolsonaro
The government also proposed barring properties with illegal deforestation from receiving bank loans and allocated more funding to priority Amazon municipalities that demonstrated reductions in forest loss.
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that → propose → loss
It also funded efforts to fight environmental crime and develop subsidized credit for sustainable businesses in the Amazon.
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It → fund → Amazon
“The formula is always the same, and it works.
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it → work → ?
We saw it work in Brazil years ago and we’re seeing it again now: determination, enforcement on the ground, fighting crime and enforcing the law,” said Márcio Astrini, executive director of the Climate Observatory, a Brazilian network of environmental groups.
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Astrini → see → groups
Astrini added that the deforestation rates announced Friday show that Brazil’s pledge to reach zero deforestation by 2030 is achievable without compromising the country’s economy.
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pledge → add → economy
Agriculture has been setting production and export records while deforestation has fallen.
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deforestation → set → records
Today’s figures disprove the false narrative that protecting the environment holds back Brazil’s development,” he added.
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he → disprove → development
Deforestation and other land-use changes are Brazil’s largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, which drive global warming.
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which → drive → warming
The stakes are especially high in the Amazon, which stores vast amounts of carbon dioxide and generates atmospheric moisture that helps regulate weather far beyond South America.
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that → store → America
New president could determine future of the Amazon
Despite progress curbing deforestation, the Amazon faces threats from climate change, proposed legislation and a possible change in Brazil’s presidency.
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Amazon → determine → presidency
Degradation from wildfires, logging and drought affects about 40% of the Amazon and has outpaced clear-cutting in recent years.
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Degradation → affect → years
A strong El Niño, a periodic warming of the equatorial Pacific, could intensify those threats in 2026 and 2027 by bringing hotter, drier conditions that fuel wildfires.
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that → intensify → wildfires
Fire counts across the biome were near historic lows this year but have tripled since Oct. 4, when Brazilians voted in the first round of national elections.
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Brazilians → triple → elections
Authorities are investigating whether fires were deliberately set for political reasons ahead of this month’s presidential runoff.
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fires → investigate → runoff
Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, won 47% of the vote, while President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva received 45%.
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Silva → win → %
The two face an Oct. 25 runoff.
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two → face → runoff
The candidates offer sharply different visions for the rainforest.
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candidates → offer → rainforest
Climate and conservation experts warn that a Bolsonaro victory could reverse policies to curb deforestation.
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victory → warn → deforestation
He has pledged to end illegal deforestation by 2029, a year ahead of Brazil’s current target.
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He → pledge → target
Lula’s reelection pledge goes further: zero net deforestation by 2030, with restoration offsetting all forest loss, legal or illegal.
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restoration → go → loss
Former Minister Silva said in a statement Friday that the deforestation reduction was a “historic achievement” for the Brazilian people and that the election outcome would be crucial to sustain it.
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outcome → say → it
“Jair Bolsonaro’s administration approached environmental protection and climate change with denial and a sweeping dismantling of environmental policies.
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administration → approach → policies
Flávio has inherited those views and practices and intends to perpetuate them, as he has indicated on several occasions,” she said.
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she → inherit → occasions
“Those who deny the problem exists will certainly do nothing to address it.”
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problem → deny → it
Bolsonaro has denied climate change while portraying himself as an environmental defender, without detailing plans to protect the Amazon or support forest financing.
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Bolsonaro → deny → financing
He has called for modernizing environmental laws, which many environmentalists interpret as weakening them.
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environmentalists → call → them
“Flávio Bolsonaro is a defender of the environment and of those who preserve standing forests and clean rivers,” his campaign said.
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campaign → preserve → forests
The Aporia
