Forests Are Holding Their Ground Again

Colombia reduced forest loss by a quarter in 2025, keeping deforestation on track for a fourth consecutive annual decline and signalling that long-term conservation efforts are beginning to yield results.

“The sustained reduction is the result of working hand in hand with communities to protect forests and build sustainable livelihoods,” said Luis Alfonso Ortega Fernandez, protected areas coordinator at Ecohabitats Foundation.

Between January and September 2025, forest loss fell to 36,280 hectares, down from 48,500 a year earlier, with major drops in historically affected regions. The decline builds on reductions of 54% in 2023 and 34% in 2024, driven by Indigenous partnerships, environmental zoning, ecotourism, and incentive programmes that now pay 5,562 families up to $240 a month to conserve or restore forests, strengthening long-term protection of one of the world’s most important ecosystems.