Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Amazon degradation increases by 163% in two years, while deforestation falls by 54% in the same period
https://agencia.fapesp.br/amazon-degradation-increases-by-163-in-two-years-while-deforestation-falls-by-54-in-the-same-period/553842025-07-21
“Negative balance” of biome protection recorded between 2022 and 2024 could jeopardize Brazil’s international goals, warn Brazilian researchers and their international collaborators in the journal Global Change Biology.
By Luciana Constantino | Agência FAPESP – The accelerated degradation of the Brazilian Amazon, primarily due to fires, has overshadowed the significant reduction in deforestation from 2022 to 2024. This “negative balance” in protecting the biome jeopardizes the international goals for combating the climate crisis that have been assumed by the country, which is hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) this year.
This warning comes from an article in the journal Global Change Biology published by scientists from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) in partnership with the University of São Paulo (USP, also in Brazil) and institutions in the United Kingdom and the United States. Deforestation completely removes native vegetation cover, whereas degradation weakens forests without destroying them entirely (e.g., selective logging).
According to the study, alerts indicating forest degradation in the Amazon increased by 44% from 2023 to 2024 – a 163% increase compared to 2022. Last year alone, 25,023 square kilometers (km²) of forest were degraded, around 66% of which was due to forest fires. This is slightly larger than the area of Israel.
Conversely, deforestation fell by 27.5% and 54.2%, respectively, marking the smallest increase in ten years. According to data from INPE’s Brazilian Amazon Forest Satellite Monitoring Program (PRODES), 5,816 km² were deforested in the period up to 2024.
…
“Negative balance” of biome protection recorded between 2022 and 2024 could jeopardize Brazil’s international goals, warn Brazilian researchers and their international collaborators in the journal Global Change Biology.
By Luciana Constantino | Agência FAPESP – The accelerated degradation of the Brazilian Amazon, primarily due to fires, has overshadowed the significant reduction in deforestation from 2022 to 2024. This “negative balance” in protecting the biome jeopardizes the international goals for combating the climate crisis that have been assumed by the country, which is hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) this year.
This warning comes from an article in the journal Global Change Biology published by scientists from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) in partnership with the University of São Paulo (USP, also in Brazil) and institutions in the United Kingdom and the United States. Deforestation completely removes native vegetation cover, whereas degradation weakens forests without destroying them entirely (e.g., selective logging).
According to the study, alerts indicating forest degradation in the Amazon increased by 44% from 2023 to 2024 – a 163% increase compared to 2022. Last year alone, 25,023 square kilometers (km²) of forest were degraded, around 66% of which was due to forest fires. This is slightly larger than the area of Israel.
Conversely, deforestation fell by 27.5% and 54.2%, respectively, marking the smallest increase in ten years. According to data from INPE’s Brazilian Amazon Forest Satellite Monitoring Program (PRODES), 5,816 km² were deforested in the period up to 2024.
…
Mataveli, G., Maure, L.A., Sanchez, A., Dutra, D.J., de Oliveira, G., Jones, M.W., Amaral, C., Artaxo, P. and Aragão, L.E.O.C. (2025), Forest Degradation Is Undermining Progress on Deforestation in the Amazon. Glob Change Biol, 31: e70209. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.70209