Amazon: Forest Degradation Now Rivals Clear-Cutting as Deforestation Numbers Improve

A Washington Post investigation published May 8, 2026 highlighted a troubling shift in the Amazon threat landscape: while official deforestation (clear-cutting) has fallen sharply under President Lula's enforcement campaign — reaching historic lows in 2025 — forest degradation driven by illegal selective logging, drought, and El Niño-intensified wildfires is now estimated to affect approximately 40% of the remaining Amazon. Unlike outright clearing, degraded forest loses carbon and biodiversity gradually, often escaping headline satellite deforestation metrics. Researchers warn that degraded-forest areas become highly flammable, creating fire feedback loops that can ultimately convert degraded primary forest to savanna without ever registering as formal deforestation. The distinction matters for Brazil's 2030 zero-deforestation target: meeting the headline goal while degradation accelerates would not prevent Amazon ecosystem collapse. Brazilian environmental agencies are developing separate degradation monitoring protocols, but critics note that degradation remains largely outside enforcement frameworks.