As we strive for Zero Deforestation – rates in the Amazon reach a record low

This week saw a historic moment in the campaign to save the Amazon rainforest: rates of deforestation there have fallen to a record low. On December 1st Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research reported that between August 2009 and July 2010 deforestation had dropped by 14% from the previous year.

This drop, combined with evidence of a continuing downward trend since 2005, is proof that halting deforestation is possible. More than that – protecting forests can accompany economic improvement, as the economy expanded during the same period in which deforestation slowed. Brazil has set an example that can be - and should be - replicated in other parts of the world.


2006: Seven-foot-tall Greenpeace chickens invade McDonald's outlets after a report revealed the role played by the fast food giant in the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Image: Jiri Rezak / GreenpeaceWe can celebrate this record low rate of deforestation today thanks in part to the creation of the Soya and Cattle Moratoria – agreements to halt deforestation from Brazil’s massively expanding soya plantations and cattle ranches in the Amazon.

As we strive for Zero Deforestation – rates in the Amazon reach a record low | Greenpeace International