February deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is the lowest in years March 14, 2025
- Ana Cunha-Busch
- Mar 13, 2025
- 2 min read
By AFP - Agence France Presse
February deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is the lowest in years
According to satellite data on Wednesday, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon recorded its lowest level in nine years in February, heralding good news for the world's largest rainforest, which will host UN climate talks this year.
The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) said it tracked deforestation across 80.95 square kilometers - the lowest for a February since the system was launched in 2016.
The figure was 64% lower than in February 2024.
The data showed that tree felling in February also fell by a quarter in the Brazilian Cerrado, the world's most species-rich savannah, although the figure remained high at 494 square kilometers lost.
The destruction of the world's forests, which play a key role in absorbing the carbon dioxide that warms the planet, contributes to global warming.
In the last century, the Amazon rainforest - which covers almost 40% of South America - has lost around 20% of its area due to deforestation for agriculture, logging, mining, and urban sprawl.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, host of the COP30 UN climate conference to be held in November in the Amazonian city of Belém, has pledged to eradicate illegal deforestation by 2030.
Deforestation has already been reduced significantly since Lula returned to power in 2023 after having increased during the government of his far-right predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro.
According to INPE figures, deforestation halved in 2023.
The latest data does not take into account the loss of forests due to fires, with 30.8 million hectares lost in Brazil last year - an area larger than Italy.
The loss was 79% higher than in 2023, according to the MapBiomas monitoring platform, and the worst since 2019.
According to INPE data, more than 140,000 outbreaks of fire were recorded in the Brazilian Amazon in 2024 - a figure not seen in 17 years and an increase of 42% compared to 2023.
Brazil experienced a historic drought last year, which experts linked to climate change and the El Nino warming phenomenon.
The parched land provided fuel for fires caused mainly by human activities, according to the authorities.
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