Brazil’s Amazon deforestation dropped 41 percent in the first five months of 2026 compared to the same period last year, the steepest decline in over a decade, driven by a new AI-powered satellite monitoring system that flags illegal clearing within 72 hours, President Lula announced Tuesday.
The system, called Guardians of the Forest, uses machine-learning analysis of Sentinel satellite data to detect changes in canopy cover in near-real time. The government says the 72-hour alert window has cut illegal clearing response time from an average of 23 days to under three days.
Deforestation Rates Fall to 15-Year Low
From January through May 2026, Brazil recorded 2,847 square kilometres of forest loss in the Legal Amazon — down from 4,822 square kilometres in the same period of 2025. Environmental agency Ibama credited faster enforcement and a 30-percent increase in on-the-ground inspection teams funded by the new Amazon Fund contributions.
Indigenous land guardians, many equipped with smartphones linked to the satellite platform, filed 847 reports of encroachment in the first five months, all of which were acted upon within the 72-hour response window.
International Donors Resume Funding
Norway and Germany, which had suspended contributions to the Amazon Fund over deforestation concerns during the previous administration, resumed payments in late 2025 following the installation of Guardians of the Forest. Norway’s climate envoy said Tuesday the results confirmed the fund’s “conditionality model works.”
The data is subject to independent review by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, which is expected to publish its own analysis by the end of June.
Diego Vargas, Media Hook.