Is the Amazon Shrinking? Over 50 Million Hectares Lost in 40 Years

New report says that over the past 40 years, the Brazilian Amazon has lost about 52 million hectares of natural land, that’s an area bigger than Spain.

Across all of Brazil, around 111.7 million hectares of natural land have been lost since 1985, that’s more than three times the size of Germany.

These findings come from MapBiomas, a project by a group of scientists, tech experts, and NGOs. They study satellite images to track land changes in Brazil.

Although Brazil took nearly 500 years to convert 60% of its land for farming, mining, cities, and roads, the remaining 40% was changed in just the last 40 years.

The worst deforestation happened between 1995 and 2004. After slowing down for a while, forest loss started speeding up again in the past 10 years.

Back in 1985, 80% of Brazil was still covered in natural ecosystems. By 2024, that number dropped to just 65%.

The Pantanal, the world’s largest wetland, had its driest year in 2024. Water levels were 73% lower than the historical average.

In the Cerrado region (Brazil’s tropical savanna), about 40 million hectares of natural land were cleared over 40 years, a 28% reduction in natural vegetation.

President Lula da Silva has promised to end deforestation by 2030. The issue will be a key topic at the COP30 climate summit in November 2025, hosted in the Amazon city of Belém.

Read more at Phys.org