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Under Lula, Amazon deforestation falls to lowest level in a decade
Under Lula, Amazon deforestation falls to lowest level in a decade
The figures come months before Brazil’s presidential election, with Lula promising to end illegal deforestation by 2030.
By Al Jazeera Staff, AFP and The Associated Press
Published On 10 Jul 2026
10 Jul 2026
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/10/under-lula-amazon-deforestation-falls-to-lowest-level-in-a-decade?traffic_source=rss
Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has fallen to its lowest level in a decade during the first half of 2026, according to official government figures.
Friday’s statistics mark a milestone in President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s efforts to curb the destruction of the world’s largest rainforest.
From January to June, an estimated 1,295 square kilometres (500 square miles) of forest were cleared in the Brazilian Amazon, a 38 percent drop compared with the same period last year, according to Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE). It was also the lowest overall decrease since 2016.
In recent years, deforestation in Brazil reached a peak around 2022, under Lula’s far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro. That year saw the clearing of an area 13 times the size of New York City.