Federal Government announces Amazon, Cerrado deforestation drop; concludes prevention pact

During a ceremony at Planalto Palace on Wednesday, November 6, Brazil’s Federal Government unveiled data from the National Institute for Space Research’s (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais/INPE) PRODES system showing a drop in deforestation rates in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes in 2024. At the ceremony, the Federal Government launched a pact for the prevention and control of deforestation and wildfires in the Cerrado biome, encompassing the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia (the region known as MATOPIBA). 

To give an idea of ​​what this means, the emissions avoided during this period are equivalent to all of Argentina’s GHG emissions. So this is a truly important achievement” — Geraldo Alckmin, Vice President of the Republic

The official deforestation rate in the Amazon is 6,288 km² for the period from August 2023 to July 2024 — representing a 30.63% drop compared to the previous period, from August 2022 to July 2023, and is the largest percentage drop in 15 years. In the Cerrado, the official deforestation rate for the period is 8,174 km², the lowest since 2019. This represents a drop of 25.8% compared to the period from August 2023 to July 2024 — the first reduction in five years in the biome.

“To give an idea of ​​what this means, the emissions avoided during this period are equivalent to all of Argentina’s GHG emissions. So this is a truly important achievement,” highlighted the vice president of the Republic and minister of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, Geraldo Alckmin. “We are preserving natural resources, preserving jobs, businesses, the economy, and addressing social issues — which involve the most vulnerable, those who suffer the most — and preserving lives,” he said.

COP29 - Alckmin also pointed out that the deforestation reduction figures will be presented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) scheduled to take place between November 11 and 24 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. “We will take these achievements to the COP, they do not belong only to Brazil. They help the planet and are an example. They show that it is possible to decarbonize, contain climate change, generate jobs and income, and develop the country,” he stated.

Significant reduction in deforestation in the Amazon over the period. Source: PRODES

NATIONAL POLICY - At the ceremony, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Marina Silva emphasized the efforts that are underway to combat deforestation. “A well-designed public policy, well-structured public institutions, a republican stance of letting technicians work, of dialoguing with science, makes a difference. Therefore, this drop in deforestation in the Cerrado and the Amazon is the result of a new understanding: that we are carrying out more than a government policy, we are carrying out a national policy. More than a national policy, it is a State policy and a contribution to ourselves and the world, in a context where the problem of climate change is already an overwhelming reality in Brazil, Spain, the United Arab Emirates, Africa, with frost, the European Union, with devastating heat waves, in everything that is happening,” she declared.

EMISSIONS — As a result, there was a 400.8 million tons of CO₂ drop in greenhouse gas emissions due to deforestation in the Amazon and the Cerrado biomes over the last two years, compared to the 2021/22 cycle. “These are compelling numbers that reveal a political will at our disposal, a conviction that drives us to truly achieve the commitments that Brazil has established in the world, to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This is a commitment that is renewed, even more so because we will host COP30 next year. We are demonstrating to the world that we are doing our homework and helping in what is a global challenge of our times, which is tackling global warming,” highlighted the Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation Luciana Santos.

AMAZON — In the Amazon, deforestation dropped 45.7% over the last two years, after being reduced to 9,064 km² from August 2022 to July 2023 — a period that included five months of the previous government and seven of the current administration. This is the first time since the 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 biennium that there have been consecutive drops greater than 25%. From August 2023 to July 2024, 78% of the 70 municipalities considered a priority by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (Ministério do Meio Ambiente e Mudança do Clima/MMA) recorded a drop in deforestation. Concerning the states, the largest drops occurred in Rondônia (62.5%), Mato Grosso (45.1%), Amazonas (29%), and Pará (28.4%). Only Roraima recorded an increase (53.5%).

CERRADO — In the Cerrado, 76.4% of deforestation occurred in the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia. The region is the most deforested in the biome. The four states recorded a decrease in the deforested area between August 2023 and July 2024, compared to the immediately preceding period. In Bahia, the reduction was 63.3%, followed by 15.1% in Maranhão, 10.1% in Piauí, and 9.6% in Tocantins.

Drop in deforestation in the Cerrado. Source: PRODES

PACT — The pact between the Federal Government and the governors of the MATOPIBA states arises from federal efforts to implement the 4th Phase of the 2023-2027 Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation and Wildfires in the Cerrado Biome (Plano de Ação para Prevenção e Controle do Desmatamento e das Queimadas no Bioma Cerrado), in direct coordination with state governors. The goal is to work together to identify and apply appropriate sanctions for illegal deforestation on rural properties; improve federal and state regulations and routines to ensure transparency and sharing of authorizations for vegetation suppression and embargoes; and formulate a strategy for conserving water and forest assets of native vegetation in the different ecosystems of the Cerrado in the MATOPIBA region.

MEASURES — The drop recorded by PRODES since 2023 is the result, among other elements, of the intensification of command and control measures in both biomes. From January 2023 to October 2024, the average number of infraction notices issued by the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) for infractions against flora in the Amazon was 98% higher than that recorded from January 2019 to December 2022. In the Cerrado, the increase was 20% per year. The reduction also reflects the resumption of environmental governance, with the return of the Action Plans, Prevention, and Control of Deforestation (Planos de Ação, Prevenção e Controle do Desmatamento) in the Amazon in June last year, and in the Cerrado in November.

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION — Among the plan’s measures, the following are highlights: the adhesion of 48 priority municipalities to the União com Municípios Program, which foresees investments of BRL 770 million to promote sustainable development and combat deforestation and wildfires; the creation of the National Bioeconomy Strategy (Estratégia Nacional de Bioeconomia); the expansion of forest concessions; and the establishment of the Food Acquisition Program (Programa de Aquisição de Alimentos) and the Solidarity Kitchen Program (Programa Cozinha Solidária). The Amazon Fund (Fundo Amazônia) was also resumed, with contracted donations of BRL 1.4 billion (in addition to promises totaling BRL 3.1 billion) and Bolsa Verde, a program to support environmental conservation.

PRODES — PRODES detects deforestation due to clear-cutting and progressive degradation, such as trees completely destroyed by fires. Released annually since 1988, the rate is always measured from August of one year to July of the following year.