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Global Tropical Rainforest Loss Slows in 2025, Report Finds
A new study indicates that tropical primary rainforest loss decreased by 36 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year, totaling 4.3 million hectares. Researchers attribute much of the slowdown to policy changes in Brazil, though overall loss remains above targets for halting deforestation by 2030. Fires and climate change continue to pose significant threats to forests worldwide.
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The pace of tropical forest destruction decreased in 2025 from a record high in the prior year, according to a study by researchers from the World Resources Institute and the University of Maryland. The world lost 4.3 million hectares of tropical primary rainforest in 2025, a 36 percent drop from 2024, the researchers reported using satellite data.
of the slowdown occurred in Brazil, where forest loss excluding fires fell 41 percent to its lowest rate on record. Researchers linked this to stronger environmental policies and enforcement implemented since 2023. However, forest loss stayed high in other areas, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Cameroon.
the progress, 2025 forest loss was 46 percent higher than a decade ago and 70 percent above levels needed to meet the 2030 goal of halting and reversing deforestation. Fires accounted for 42 percent of tropical forest destruction, with researchers noting that climate change intensifies fire cycles.
tree cover loss fell by 14 percent in 2025.
In northern regions, Canada experienced its second-worst fire year, with wildfires affecting 5.3 million hectares of forest. Researchers stated that while forests help mitigate climate change as carbon sinks, increasing fires and droughts could turn them into emission sources.
