Amazon Deforestation at Lowest Rate in 11 Years in 2025, Monitoring Shows — 35% Drop in DETER Alerts

Updated monitoring data from Brazil's INPE space agency and Mongabay reporting in early 2026 confirmed that Amazon deforestation in 2025 is on pace to be the lowest annual rate in at least 11 years, with the annual projection of approximately 5,796 km² representing a dramatic reversal from the 21,000 km² peak under Bolsonaro in 2021. DETER early-warning alerts — which track deforestation clearings in near-real-time — dropped 35% between August 2025 and January 2026 compared to the prior year period. The improvement is attributed to significantly increased enforcement operations by IBAMA, reactivation of the Amazon Fund (now with $1.7+ billion in commitments from Norway and Germany), and legal pressure on deforestation-linked supply chains from the EU Deforestation Regulation. However, researchers warn that the good headline deforestation numbers mask worsening forest degradation (illegal logging, fire, drought) affecting an additional 40% of the remaining forest — damage that does not register in official deforestation metrics but erodes ecosystem resilience.