Según el informe de Global Forest Watch del World Resources Institute (WRI), la pérdida de bosques tropicales cayó un 36% en 2025 respecto al récord de 2024.
En total, desaparecieron 4.3 million hectares, an area equivalent to Denmark. The decline is mainly explained by the advances in Brazil, along with positive trends in Colombia, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
Brazil leads the reduction
The South American giant achieved a 42% reduction in forest destruction not caused by fires. The report attributes this progress to:
- Increased law enforcement since the arrival of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2023.
- Renewal of the deforestation prevention plan.
- Tightening of penalties for environmental crimes.
The results were replicated in several Brazilian biomes, except in the Caatinga, where the loss increased by 9%.
Colombia and Peru: encouraging signs
- Colombia: a drop of 17% compared to 2024, the second lowest figure since 2016. The recognition of indigenous communities as environmental authorities has been key, although threats such as extensive cattle ranching, roads, and illegal economies persist.
- Peru: an 8% reduction, although deforestation remains linked to the expansion of cocoa and palm crops, and gold mining in Madre de Dios, responsible for 33% of the loss in that region between 2002 and 2025.
Bolivia: the worrying exception
Bolivia recorded the second highest rate of primary tropical forest loss in 2025, with 620,000 hectares disappeared, despite having 60% less forest area than the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The precedent of record fires in 2024 and the arrival of an El Niño year in 2026 reinforce the need for proactive prevention and mitigation measures.
Regional factors
In Latin America, 72% of vegetation cover loss since 2001 is due to agriculture, followed by fires (13%) and logging (8%). The report notes that the figures include both human and natural causes, which differentiates primary forest loss from strictly anthropogenic deforestation.
Political will and resilience
Rod Taylor, WRI’s Global Forests Director, warned:
“The progress we are seeing in countries like Brazil and Colombia is encouraging, but it is far from assured.”
The continuity of these trends will depend on political will, especially in a year marked by presidential elections in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru.
The 36% drop in tropical forest loss in 2025 is a positive sign amid the climate crisis. However, the advances are fragile and depend on sustained policies, fire prevention, and control of illegal activities. Brazil’s experience shows that forest protection can be effective when it becomes a national priority.
