Brazil reports Amazon deforestation at lowest first-half level since 2016
Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reported Friday that roughly 1,295 square kilometers of Amazon rainforest were cleared between January and June 2026, a 38 percent drop from the same span in 2025 and the lowest first-half figure since 2016. The agency’s satellite monitoring is the standard measure of clearing in the world’s largest tropical forest.
The decline continues a trend since President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva returned to office in 2023 and reversed the enforcement rollback of the Bolsonaro years, when annual clearing peaked. His government relaunched anti-deforestation plans and stiffened penalties for environmental crimes; Brazil’s turnaround was a significant contributor to a global reduction in rainforest loss last year. Lula has pledged to end illegal deforestation by 2030.
The figures land in a political season: Lula is expected to seek reelection in October, with the Bolsonaro camp positioned as his main opposition. Because enforcement intensity — not the underlying economic pressure to clear land for agriculture — drives the swings, the trajectory after the election will depend heavily on who controls federal policy.