Brazil Reports Over 20% Drop in Deforestation in 2025, According to MapBiomas
RIO DE JANEIRO, May 27 (Xinhua) — Brazil recorded a reduction of more than 20% in deforestation in 2025, maintaining native vegetation loss below one million hectares for the first time since 2019, according to the MapBiomas environmental monitoring platform’s annual deforestation report.
Key Findings from the 2025 Report
The study revealed that Brazil lost 984,794 hectares of native vegetation in 2025, marking a significant decline from the over-one-million-hectare levels seen in previous years since 2019. This reduction follows a broader trend of improved forest protection measures, though the cumulative deforestation between 2019 and 2025 remains alarming, totaling over 10.9 million hectares — an area larger than the state of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil.
The MapBiomas initiative, a collaborative network of universities, NGOs, and tech companies, uses satellite imagery and geospatial tools to track land use and cover changes. The platform has become a critical reference for monitoring Brazil’s biomes, including the Amazon, Cerrado, and Pantanal.
Regional Breakdown of Deforestation
The Cerrado, the world’s most biodiverse savanna, remained the hardest-hit biome, accounting for 540,614 hectares
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