Deforestation in the Atlantic Forest reached its lowest annual level on record in 2025, with a 40 percent drop in the suppression of mature forests, according to data from SOS Mata Atlântica released on Wednesday.
The Atlas of Atlantic Forest Remnants showed that native vegetation suppression fell from 14,300 to 8,668 hectares last year. This is the lowest level since 2011 and the first time the figure has dropped below 10,000 hectares.
The Deforestation Alert System recorded a 28 percent decline, from 53,300 to 38,300 hectares. Agriculture accounted for 96 percent of the losses.
Luís Fernando Guedes Pinto, executive director of the foundation, credited the result to changes in the federal government and measures such as remote embargoes and credit cuts for those who deforest illegally. He noted that the biome houses 70 percent of the Brazilian population and only 12.4 percent of the original mature forest cover remains.