Forest Degradation Is Undermining Progress on Deforestation in the Amazon
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Abstract:
The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held in Belém, provides a unique opportunity for Brazil to affirm its commitment to protecting Amazon forests and to showcase leadership in aligning ambitious climate action with global conservation goals. Encouraging progress has been made in controlling deforestation in the Amazon (Figure 1a–d). The 2024 preliminary Brazilian Amazon official deforestation increment estimate was 5816 km2, 27.5% below 2023 and a staggering 54.2% below 2022 (INPE 2025). This is the lowest annual deforestation increment in a decade and 26.4% below the average of the 2008–2024 period (INPE 2025). Such achievement is closely tied to the restoration of command and control in the Amazon, highlighted by the reinstatement of the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm) (MMA 2023). Nevertheless, deforestation is not the only threat facing Amazon's forests.
