Brazil lost 1.6 million hectares of tree cover in tropical rainforests in 2025, according to a Global Forest Watch report released on Wednesday (Apr. 29) by the nonprofit environmental organization World Resources Institute (WRI).

The figure represents a 42 percent reduction in losses compared to 2024, with a greater decline in clear-cutting not involving fire. Losses unrelated to fires result from deforestation, clear-cutting, and natural die-off, among other factors.

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“Brazil reduced non-fire-related losses by 41 percent compared to 2024, reaching the lowest level since records began [in 2001],” said Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of Global Forest Watch.

The states that saw the greatest reductions in losses were Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Acre, and Roraima, which together account for more than 40 percent of the decline. Maranhão was the only state where tree cover loss increased.

The data, produced annually by the Global Land Analysis and Discovery Laboratory (GLAD) at the University of Maryland, refer to primary vegetation - that is, mature natural areas with original vegetation.

Researchers at the World Resources Institute highlighted that the model used does not measure only deforestation, unlike Brazil’s official monitoring system, the Project for Monitoring Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon by Satellite (Prodes). The Global Forest Watch system also does not account for other disturbances, such as selective logging and natural die-off.

Alignment

According to Elizabeth Goldman, despite the different methods, the reduction indicated in the study aligns with the decline in deforestation across the main biomes, as reported by Prodes for the period from August 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025.

“Beyond primary tropical forests, when considering total tree loss, most biomes saw a reduction, including the Caatinga, a region of dry forests in northeastern Brazil,” the researcher noted.

WRI Brasil Executive Director Mirela Sandrini said the results achieved by Brazil were made possible by a task force led by the government, with the participation of civil society, academia, local communities, and the private sector.

Initiatives such as intensifying production in already deforested areas, creating the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF), measures to compensate for environmental services, and tax incentives for those who preserve forests are in line with global expectations for the coming decade, Sandrini said.

“Given that Brazil is at the center of large-scale solutions for food, energy, and climate security, this is very important,” she pointed out.

Global data

Researchers say the results in Brazil had a positive impact on global data, which show a loss of 4.3 million hectares of tree cover in tropical rainforests worldwide in 2025.

This figure represents a 35 percent decrease compared to 2024, when vegetation loss reached a record high of 6.7 million hectares.

Non-fire-related losses of tree cover were the lowest in the past ten years, with a 23 percent decrease compared to 2024. By contrast, fire-related loss remains among the highest on record, ranking third since 2001.

Elizabeth Goldman stressed the figures for the 2025 fires are still subject to revision, as they may include late reports from 2024. “Smoke from active fires can block satellite sensors and delay the detection of these events,” she explained.

Losses

The loss of tree cover in Brazil accounted for more than 37 percent of the global total in the year; in terms of area, it was the country with the largest losses, followed by Bolivia (620,000 hectares) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (nearly 600,000 hectares). When the analysis is based on forest size, Bolivia and Madagascar recorded the greatest losses.

“Agricultural expansion was the main cause of tree cover loss in the tropics, driven by commodity production and a shift from subsistence farming to local market-oriented crops,” said the WRI co-director.

Fires

Globally, fires were the primary cause of tree cover loss in 2025. Over the past three years, fires have caused twice as much forest loss as they did two decades ago.

Goldman views the decline in tropical forest loss in 2025 as positive. However, she believes the result is insufficient to meet the commitment made by 140 countries to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030. According to her, current data still places the world 70 percent above the required level.

“Reaching this goal in the coming years will not be easy because forests are increasingly vulnerable to climate change, while humanity continues to grow and demand more fuel and food,” Goldman said.