The pace of tropical forest destruction eased in 2025 from a record high but remains at alarming levels. According to a new study, 4.3 million hectares of tropical primary rainforest were lost last year, down 36 percent from 2024, reports Todayinfo.
Researchers from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the University of Maryland credit the slowdown to policies implemented by Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to curb deforestation. Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of WRI's Global Forest Watch platform, said: 'A drop of this scale in a single year is encouraging – it shows what decisive government action can achieve.'
However, researchers warn that fires driven by climate change have become a 'dangerous new normal.' The return of the El Niño phenomenon is expected, raising the threat of heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires. Brazil's forest loss (excluding fires) was 41 percent lower than in 2024, reaching its lowest rate on record.
Progress was also seen in Colombia, where forest loss fell by 17 percent. However, tropical forest loss remained high in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon. Overall, global tree cover loss fell by 14 percent last year, but it remains 70 percent above the level required to meet the 2030 goal of halting deforestation.
