The loss of tropical forests managed to slow down globally during 2025, with a reduction of 36% compared to the previous year. However, Latin America continues to concentrate some of the most concerning scenarios on the planet, especially in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia.
The new report prepared by the GLAD laboratory at the University of Maryland, along with Global Forest Watch and the World Resources Institute, revealed that the world lost 4.3 million hectares of primary tropical forests over the last year. The figure equates to more than 11 football fields destroyed per minute.
Although several countries managed to reduce deforestation through environmental policies and stricter controls, the pressure from agricultural expansion, livestock, and forest fires continues to threaten essential ecosystems for global climate balance.
Brazil and Colombia show signs of forest recovery
Brazil once again ranked first worldwide in loss of tropical forests, although it recorded a significant drop of 42% compared to 2024. This reduction was linked to the strengthening of environmental policies and increased controls over the Amazon.
Among the highlighted measures is the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon, known as PPCDAm, which coordinates actions of 19 federal agencies and expanded its reach to different biomes in the country.
Additionally, both the Amazon and the Pantanal showed improvements in forest indicators. However, the Caatinga recorded a 9% increase in vegetation cover loss, indicating that pressure on Brazilian ecosystems still persists.
On the other hand, Colombia managed to reduce tropical forest loss by 17%, while Peru managed to decrease it by 8%. Nonetheless, both countries remain among the ten territories with the highest levels of deforestation on the planet.
Bolivia faces fires and agricultural expansion
Bolivia once again became one of the main environmental red flags in South America. After the historic fires recorded in 2024, the country reached in 2025 the second-highest level of native forest loss in its recent history.
The report warns that much of the destruction was linked to forest fires, many of them associated with human activities. Additionally, the expansion of the agricultural frontier continues to advance over natural areas in the Beni department and other forested regions.
Intensive livestock farming and the growth of crops such as soy, corn, and sorghum continue to drive deforestation, even in a context marked by fuel supply problems that limited part of the mechanized agricultural activity.
Meanwhile, specialists warn that the combination of climate change, high temperatures, and prolonged droughts could further intensify the risk of extreme fires in the coming years.
What measures is Bolivia taking in response to the forest crisis?
In response to the advance of deforestation and fires, Bolivia began to strengthen some environmental prevention and monitoring strategies. Among them are increased controls over heat sources, awareness campaigns and coordination with local governments to respond more quickly to forest emergencies.
Additionally, state agencies are promoting satellite surveillance systems and brigades to combat fires in critical areas of the Amazon and the Beni department. Ecological restoration programs are also being developed in areas affected by deforestation and burns.
However, environmental organizations consider that the actions are still insufficient in the face of the growth of the agricultural frontier. Various specialists are calling for stricter regulations on deforestation, greater protection of indigenous territories, and a thorough review of the rules that currently allow the opening of new productive areas.
The Bolivian situation thus reflects one of the greatest environmental challenges in Latin America: balancing economic development with the conservation of forests essential for biodiversity, water, and the planet’s climate stability.
