Brazil Annual area deforested in Amazon region in Brazil
Deforestation declined rapidly, particularly after major policy changes in 2004 and again in 2008.
Forestry
The Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest and mostly contained within Brazil, making Brazilian forestry policy one of the most important climate-related policies in the world. Roughly half the slowdown in deforestation in the late-2000s was a result of deliberate government policy. Having greatly reduced large-scale deforestation, Brazil’s challenge now is to address small-scale deforestation, which may require different policy approaches.
Deforestation declined rapidly, particularly after major policy changes in 2004 and again in 2008.