Atlantic Forest Deforestation Falls to 40-Year Low in 2025

Overview

• New monitoring shows overall clearing fell 28% year over year to 38,385 hectares, the lowest level in the SAD alert series run by SOS Mata Atlântica, MapBiomas and Arcplan.
• The Atlas of Atlantic Forest Remnants reports mature‑forest loss down 40% to 8,668 hectares, the first time annual loss has dipped below 10,000 hectares since tracking began in 1985.
• Four states—Bahia, Minas Gerais, Piauí and Mato Grosso do Sul—accounted for 89% of the area cleared, with most new clearing linked to farm expansion on private land and signs of illegality.
• SOS Mata Atlântica ties the decline to targeted enforcement, remote embargoes, limits on credit for illegal clearing, and use of the Atlantic Forest law as the main protection tool.
• The group warns recent licensing laws passed in 2025 could weaken controls, even as INPE data show parallel 11% declines that year in the Amazon and the Cerrado.