Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon fell by 33.6% in the first six months of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s term compared with the same period in 2022, the government says.
Its suggests the rainforest shrank by 2,649 sq km this January-June, down from 3,988 sq km in those six months last year under President Bolsonaro.
The released government satellite data has not been independently verified.
Lula has pledged to end deforestation, or forest clearance, by 2030.
But he faces a huge challenge to achieve this target, as the area of rainforest still reported to be lost under his rule is more than three times the size of New York City.