Brazil’s president promised to protect the Amazon. This year, deforestation fell 31%.

After years of agribusiness expansion under former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right government, the Amazon’s deforestation rate plummeted this year. Current President Lula da Silva has prioritized environmental protections.

First Look

Forest loss in Brazil’s Amazon dropped by 30.6% compared to the previous year, officials said Nov. 6, the lowest level of destruction in nine years.

In a 12-month span, the Amazon rainforest lost 6,288 square kilometers (2,428 square miles), roughly the size of the U.S. state of Delaware.

The results, announced in Brazil’s presidential palace, sharply contrast with President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s predecessor, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who prioritized agribusiness expansion over forest protection and weakened environmental agencies. Deforestation hit a 15-year high during his term.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took office nearly two years ago on a promise to step up enforcement of environmental laws to rein in deforestation, as Reuters reported.

“What was presented here today is the fruit of our labor,” said Environment Minister Marina Silva.

“It is possible for us to confront climate change,” Ms. Silva said.

The data, which is not measured according to the calendar year because of intense cloud cover in the November to April rainy season, is the first full annual measure under Lula, Reuters reported. Amazon deforestation has fallen by nearly half compared to the final full year under Mr. Bolsonaro.

Reuters reported that Lula has pledged to end deforestation in the country by 2030 in his bid to restore Brazil’s climate credentials, with the country also set to host the United Nations COP30 climate talks in the Amazon rainforest region next year.

Lula’s government has promised to further bolster enforcement next year by hiring some 800 new federal environmental agents, the largest hiring drive in more than a decade, as Reuters reported.

Deforestation in Brazil’s vast savannah, known as the Cerrado, decreased by 25.7%, the first decline in five years. The area destroyed reached 8,174 square kilometers (3,156 square miles). Located in central Brazil, it is the world’s most biodiverse savannah but has fewer legal protections than the Amazon.

Despite the success in curbing Amazon deforestation, Lula’s government has been criticized by environmentalists for backing projects that could harm the region, such as the pavement of a highway that cuts from an old-growth area, oil drilling in the mouth of the Amazon River, and building a railway to transport soy to Amazonian ports.

Brazil’s deforestation monitoring system tracks Aug. 1 to July 30, so the report from Nov. 6 doesn’t capture the destruction from the past few months, as a historic drought opened the way to a surge in forest fires that burned an area larger than Switzerland.

Much of the damage from fires is classified as degradation, not clearcutting deforestation, as the fire in the Amazon rainforest spreads mostly through leaves on the ground, and not through treetops. But the full impact will be assessed in the following months through further satellite monitoring. Government officials already fear that the deforestation rate may increase next year as the Amazonian city of Belem prepares to host the annual U.N. climate talks.

The Amazon, an area twice the size of India, holds the world’s largest rainforest, about two-thirds of it within Brazil. It stores vast amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that causes climate change. The Amazon thus prevents the climate from warming even faster than it would otherwise. The basin also holds about 20% of the world’s fresh water and biodiversity includes 16,000 known tree species.

This story was reported by The Associated Press. Material from Reuters was used in this report.