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Some 52 million hectares of natural land have been lost in the Brazilian Amazon region since 1985—an area larger than Spain.

Nationwide, the loss over the past four decades amounts to 111.7 million hectares—more than three times the size of Germany—a report by the initiative MapBiomas shows.

The network consists of universities, non-governmental organizations and technology companies and examines primarily satellite images.

By 1985, Brazil had converted 60% of the land currently used for agriculture, mining, cities and infrastructure over nearly five centuries. "The remaining 40% of this conversion occurred in just four decades, from 1985 to 2024," said Tasso Azevedo, coordinator of MapBiomas.

The most intense deforestation occurred between 1995 and 2004. However, in the last decade, this trend "was accelerated again by degradation, climate impacts and agricultural expansion," said Julia Shimbo, scientific coordinator of MapBiomas.

Overall, according to the report, the share of natural areas in Brazil decreased from 80% in 1985 to 65% in 2024.

2024 driest year in the Pantanal

In the Pantanal—the world's largest wetland—the flood cycles have decreased with each decade, culminating in 2024 as the driest year of the last 40 years.

Last year, the water surface there was 73% below the average for the years 1985 to 2024. The reduced moisture also favored devastating forest fires.

In the Cerrado—Brazil's moist savannas in the south-east—about 40 million hectares of natural vegetation were cleared over the four decades. This corresponds to a reduction of 28%.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has pledged "zero deforestation" for Brazil by 2030.

At the upcoming 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in November in the city of Belém in the Amazon region, topics such as action on climate change and deforestation will be discussed.

2025 dpa GmbH. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.