Global forest loss slows but El Niño fires could threaten progress

But researchers also point to greater efforts to protect forests in countries such as Brazil, Colombia and Malaysia."It's incredibly encouraging to see the decline in 2025," said Elizabeth Goldman, co-director of Global Forest Watch at the World Resources Institute. "[It] highlights how when we have political will [and] the leaders in charge who want to do something for forests, we can see real results in the data," she added.In Brazil, home to the world's largest rainforest, researchers highlight the effects of stronger environmental policies and law enforcement in helping to slow deforestation.Excluding losses driven by fires, an estimated 5,700 sq km (2,200 sq miles) of old-growth tropical forests disappeared in Brazil last year - the lowest figure since the analysis began in 2002. Tropical rainforests are home to millions of species, and in a healthy state they take up vast quantities of planet-warming carbon dioxide, helping to keep the Earth cool.They have come under increasing pressure, however, as a result of decades of deliberate land clearance for agriculture and logging, as well as climate change, which scientists warn can create the conditions for bigger fires to spread.