Forest Protection Efforts Deliver Historic Progress

Conservation measures are helping protect the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, bringing one of the world’s most threatened ecosystems closer to a future with little or no deforestation.

“We have seen the return of a policy to combat deforestation under the current government,” said Luís Fernando Guedes Pinto, Executive Director of SOS Mata Atlântica.

The Atlantic Forest recorded 8,658 hectares of deforestation in 2025, the lowest level since monitoring began in 1985 and a 40% decline from the previous year. Home to around 80% of Brazil’s population, the biome now retains only 24% of its original forest cover, making every remaining fragment especially important for biodiversity and climate resilience. Environmental groups attribute the progress to stronger enforcement, public engagement and conservation policies, and say that if the current trend continues, the Atlantic Forest could achieve zero deforestation within the next three years.