In Goma, in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, local initiatives are turning to biogas to address the challenges of access to household energy.
Julienne Mukelenge no longer worries about toxic fumes or power cuts when cooking at her home i... [2885 chars]

In DRC, local initiatives are turning to biogas to address the challenges of access to household energy. According to its promoters, this alternative helps reduce expenses related to charcoal, cope with power outages, and limit the effects of household pollution.

Africanews

Biogas company in DRC aims to cut bills, deforestation and pollution

A RENEWED mining rush in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has been driven by surging gold prices in recent years, officials and experts say, with accelerating deforestation in protected areas and mercury contamination reaching hazardous levels.
According t... [2499 chars]

A RENEWED mining rush in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has been driven by surging gold prices in recent years, officials and experts say, with accelerating deforestation in protected areas and mercury contamination reaching hazardous levels.According to a study published on Tuesday by non-governmental organisation Amazon Conservation in partnership with the Socio-Environmental Institute, illegal mining sites drove tree clearance inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso.

The Morning Star

High gold prices drive surge in environmentally damaging Amazon mining

The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released ... [6135 chars]

The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say. A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto…

Japan Today

Gold-fueled mining rush scars Brazil’s Amazon, spiking deforestation and mercury risks

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
... [6611 chars]

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest…

WTOP

fueled mining rush scars Brazil’s Amazon, spiking deforestation and mercury risks

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
... [6307 chars]

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say. A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world’s largest expanses

PBS News

Brazil gold mining rush brings deforestation and mercury risks to the Amazon

By GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA
SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, offic... [6232 chars]

Gold prices have surged in recent years, sparking a mining rush in the Amazon that accelerates deforestation and mercury contamination.

Boulder Daily Camera

Mining rush scars Brazil’s Amazon, spiking deforestation, mercury risks

By GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA
SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, offic... [6224 chars]

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Credit: Pok Rie from Pexels
Around two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest could shift into degraded forest or savanna-like ecosystems at 1.5–1.9°C of global warming if deforestation increases to roughly 22–28% of the Amazon, according to a new study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) published in Nature. Without additional deforestation, by contrast, such large-scale changes would likely occur only at much higher warming levels of around 3.7–4°C.
"Deforestation makes the Amazon far less resilient than we previously anticipated. It dries out the atmosphere and weakens the forest's own rainfall generation," said Nico Wunderling, PIK scientist and lead author of the study. "Even moderate additional warming could then trigger cascading impacts across large parts of the forest."
Around 17–18% of the Amazon forest has already been lost, placing the system close to the critical range identified in the study.
Climate change and deforestation interact to cascade impacts across the Amazon
The study provides the most detailed quantification yet of how warming and deforestation simultaneously impact the stability of the Amazon. It combines climate projections, hydrological modeling and a network approach of atmospheric moisture transport.
"Global warming and deforestation affect rainfall feedbacks across the Amazon system," explained Arie Staal, Assistant Professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and co-author of the study.
"When deforestation interrupts moisture transport in one area of the Amazon, entire regions hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away can also lose resilience through cascading drought effects."
A key reason for forest degradation is that the Amazon is able to generate part of its own rainfall: up to half of its precipitation comes from water recycled by the trees themselves. Trees in the Amazon release water vapor into the atmosphere that later falls again as rain across the basin. When rainforest is lost, this moisture recycling weakens, drought stress increases and other forest regions become more vulnerable to degradation.
The scientists emphasized that halting deforestation and restoring forest cover could substantially strengthen the Amazon's resilience to unavoidable warming.
"Until now, the Amazon rainforest has played a vital role in stabilizing the Earth system as a carbon sink, regulator of moisture recycling and host of Earth's richest biodiversity on land. Continued deforestation is undermining this stability, pushing the forest closer to a tipping point. This would not only be devastating for the region, but could have far-reaching consequences for the entire planet," said Johan Rockström, PIK Director and co-author of the study.
"However, these changes are not inevitable. Stopping deforestation, together with ecologically restoring degraded forests and rapid emission cuts can still reduce the risks," Rockström concluded.
Publication details
Deforestation-induced drying lowers Amazon climate threshold., Nature (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10456-0
Journal information: Nature

Around two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest could shift into degraded forest or savanna-like ecosystems at 1.5–1.9°C of global warming if deforestation increases to roughly 22–28% of the Amazon, according to a new study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) published in Nature. Without additional deforestation, by contrast, such large-scale changes would likely occur only at much higher warming levels of around 3.7–4°C.

Deforestation may push Amazon degradation threshold below 2°C warming

EU removes leather from anti-deforestation rules following industry pressure
The European Union has removed leather from parts of its anti-deforestation legislation following sustained pressure from industry groups and trade stakeholders.
The European Commission said on Monday that it has decided to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law after ‌a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not incentivize the cattle farming that fuels forest destruction.
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The EU's decision confirmed a Reuters report from last week.
The anti-deforestation rules are designed to ensure that products sold in the EU do not contribute to forest destruction linked to global supply chains.
The European Commission said in a statement, "The main driver of deforestation is the expansion of agricultural land ‌linked to the production of seven commodities covered by the regulation of cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some of their derived products."
"Under the Regulation, any operator or trader who places these commodities on the EU market, or exports from it, must be able to prove that the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation," EU added further.
The exemption will remove leather, hides and skins from the world-first law, which from December will require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef and palm oil into the EU to prove their products did not cause deforestation.

The European Union has removed leather from parts of its anti-deforestation legislation following sustained pressure from industry groups and trade stakeholders. The European Commission said on...

EU removes leather from anti-deforestation rules following industry pressure

EU Excludes Leather Imports from New Anti-Deforestation Law After Industry Campaign
European Commission's Decision and Industry Response
BRUSSELS, May 4 (Reuters) - The European Commission has decided to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, it said on Monday, after a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming that fuels forest destruction.
Details of the Exemption
The exemption will remove leather, hides and skins from the world-first law, which from December will require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef and palm oil into the EU to prove their products did not cause deforestation.
Confirmation of the Decision
The EU's decision confirmed a Reuters report from last week.
Statement from the European Commission
Main Drivers of Deforestation
"The main driver of deforestation is the expansion of agricultural land linked to the production of seven commodities covered by the regulation – cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some of their derived products," said the European Commission in a statement."
Requirements for Operators and Traders
"Under the Regulation, any operator or trader who places these commodities on the EU market, or exports from it, must be able to prove that the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation," it added.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)

The EU has excluded leather from its anti-deforestation law, requiring proof that goods like soy, coffee, and beef do not cause deforestation.

EU removes leather from anti-deforestation law after industry pressure

EU or European Union Flag and shadows of people, concept political picture getty
In 2023, the European Union adopted regulations to prevent global deforestation. Originally set to go into effect in 2024, implementation has faced multiple delays and growing calls to change the impact. As simplification became a hot topic, the EU has rolled back obligations on businesses. It appears the deforestation regulation next on the list. Facing pressure from the United States and industry groups, the European Commission is poised to release a report outlining simplification proposals.
As part of the European Green Deal, the EU passed a series of new laws aimed at addressing climate change by impacting the actions of businesses. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and the Taxonomy focused on the overall environmental actions of a company. The EU Deforestation Regulation addressed a specific environmental aspect.
The EUDR 'aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss by boosting the consumption of 'deforestation-free' products and by reducing the EU's impact on global deforestation and forest degradation.'
Targeting the forest, rubber, palm oil, soy, beef, and coffee and cacao industries, the EUDR requires companies to verify that the products have not come from land that was deforested or degraded after December 31, 2020. Compliance occurs through reporting and geolocation.
The EUDR was initially set to go into effect December 2024, but industry leaders pushed back, claiming the high cost of compliance will cripple industries. In May 2024, President Joe Biden's administration requested a two year delay for implementation.
The EU eventually delayed implementation, resulting in large companies being forced to comply by December 30, 2026 and small and medium sized companies coming into compliance by June 30, 2027.
As the deadline gets closer, calls are increasing to further delay the requirements. The Trump Administration continues to pressure the European Commission to exclude U.S. companies from enforcement. The US-EU Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade, signed in August 2025, states 'Recognizing that production of the relevant commodities within the territory of the United States poses negligible risk to global deforestation, the European Union commits to work to address the concerns of US producers and exporters regarding the EU Deforestation Regulation, with a view to avoiding undue impact on US-EU trade.'
Part of the EUDR classifies risk by country, impacting the amount of verification needed. The Trump Administration is asking the EU to reclassify the US as no-risk, excluding it from reporting requirements. On April 24, 32 Democratic members of the House signed a letter pushing back, asking for the EU to stay the course.
the US Ambassador to the EU posted on X on April 27, 'A deal is a deal. In August 2025, the EU Commission recognized that the U.S. poses negligible risk to global deforestation. Today I met with Commissioner @JessikaRoswall to urge the EU to act on that reality. The Commission's simplification review of the EU's Deforestation Regulation, which ends April 30, should deliver real results, reducing regulatory compliance costs and costs for European consumers — not increasing bureaucracy. U.S. producers don't contribute to deforestation and shouldn't face costly geolocation requirements that increase the costs of their products with no environmental benefits. We are hopeful that the EU will address the very serious and legitimate concerns of U.S. producers and exporters.'
The European Commission is currently hyper focused on 'simplification' of regulations to make it easier to do business in Europe The result has been major reductions in the CSRD, CSDD, and Taxonomy. The Commission is poised to release new recommendations for the EUDR.
The specifics of the proposal are not public, but insiders continue to state they will not be reopening the full text, only amending certain aspects. An EU spokesperson stated, 'there will be a review report, frequently asked questions, guidance and a delegated act on the scope and implementing act on the IT measures.' However, it is difficult to see how those limited measures fit into the overall simplification push.
The simplification review concluded on April 30. Expect to see a published report sometime in May or June. Once it hits, the debate over deforestation will amplify, with supporters trying to protect the current EUDR and opponents pushing for massive changes.

Under pressure from Trump and industry advocates, the European Commission is set to release a proposal to simplify the EU Deforestation Regulation

EU Looks To Simplify Deforestation Regulations As US Pressure Mounts

At least 15 per cent of the Amazon has already been lost, and further destruction could unleash widespread rainforest dieback with as little as 1.5°C of global warming
Large parts of the Amazon rainforest have been cleared for cattle ranching
Paralaxis/Alamy
Destruction of rainforest for cattle ranching is making the Amazon biome more vulnerable to irreversible collapse, which could occur within decades if deforestation continues.
A landmark 2022 study on tipping points found the Amazon would be likely to suffer widespread dieback at global warming of 3.5°C and potentially as low as 2°C. That's worrying, as estimates put Earth on track to warm by about 2.6 to 2.7°C above pre-industrial temperatures by 2100. But the research did not include deforestation, which has already resulted in the loss of at least 15 per cent of the Amazon.
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Nico Wunderling at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and his colleagues have now modelled Amazon dieback with scenarios involving both rising global temperatures and severe deforestation until 2050. If total forest loss increases to 22 per cent, the Amazon could suffer widespread dieback with as little as 1.5°C of global warming, they found. The world has already experienced 1.3 to 1.4°C of warming, and it could hit 1.5°C by the end of this decade.
Deforestation slowed last year, but if it resurges, the Amazon could cross a tipping point as soon as 2031. The timing and extent of dieback predicted by the model varied depending on how much carbon humanity emits, with deforestation rates of 22 to 28 percent leading to 62 to 77 per cent of the Amazon biome turning into grassland, savanna or scrubby forest.
'We found that there's this about-2-degree reduction of the critical global warming threshold when deforestation is considered,' says Wunderling. 'The reason why deforestation is so crucial is that it undermines this atmospheric moisture recycling feedback.'
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Vast atmospheric rivers carry moisture from the Atlantic Ocean across the Amazon. After rain falls on one part of the forest, the trees transpire some of that moisture back into the air, which carries it to another part to repeat the process. Up to 50 per cent of the rainfall in the western Amazon is recycled from the forest itself.
But cutting down areas of the forest reduces this moisture recycling and kills off other areas downwind, which kills off further areas in a domino effect. 'It only needs a little bit of a push from global warming to make these cascading transitions possible,' Wunderling says.
While concerning, the findings are based on a high deforestation rate that would eat into areas that are currently protected, according to David Armstrong McKay at the University of Sussex, who worked on the 2022 tipping point study.
Brazil lost more than 28,000 square kilometres of primary forest in 2024, equalling its previous record. But it nearly halved that rate in 2025, and president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has promised to halt Amazon deforestation by 2030. Achieving that would probably avoid the tipping point even if the world keeps warming.
'Stopping all deforestation is probably optimistic,' Armstrong McKay says. 'But even if there is some deforestation continuing, it probably won't meet this worst-case scenario modelled here.'
All the same, Brazil still lost about 0.5 per cent of its primary forest in 2025. And for the past two years, two-thirds of forest destruction has been due to wildfires, which typically start when farmers burn vegetation in deforested areas but then escape into neighbouring forest.
Once almost unheard of, wildfires can now spread because the rainforest is hotter and drier, conditions that will be worsened by the El Niño climate phase later this year. As a result, the study may be underestimating the Amazon's vulnerability, according to Dominick Spracklen at the University of Leeds, UK.
'We're getting these much bigger fires,' he says. 'That is worrying if we have moved into a new kind of regime where that can happen more and more.'
Already the Amazon has shifted from a carbon sink to a carbon source, and widespread dieback could emit enough carbon to heat the globe by as much as 0.2°C. It would also destroy the world's biggest store of terrestrial biodiversity.
'We really want to be backing away from that threshold, rather than creeping towards it,' Spracklen says.

At least 15 per cent of the Amazon has already been lost, and further destruction could unleash widespread rainforest dieback with as little as 1.5°C of global warming

Deforestation could trigger Amazon tipping point in the 2030s

The European Commission plans to exclude leather imports from its groundbreaking anti-deforestation legislation. This move follows strong campaigns by industry groups asserting that leather production is not a driver of deforestation due to its status as a by-product of the meat industry.
This adjustment to the law, which begins in December, is poised to demand companies importing items such as soy, coffee, and beef into the EU to verify that their products aren't linked to deforestation. Non-compliance could result in significant fines or market access restrictions, despite the Commission's spokesperson not publicly commenting.
While applauded by leather industry proponents, this decision faces significant opposition from environmental advocates who argue that such an exemption might undermine the EU's effort to combat deforestation. Brussels faces continued pressure as global tanneries navigate existing economic and compliance challenges.
(With inputs from agencies.)

The European Commission will exempt leather from its anti-deforestation law following industry campaign arguments that its production doesn't drive deforestation. Critics fear this weakens the law…

EU Exempts Leather Imports in Deforestation Law Revision

At least 15 per cent of the Amazon has already been lost, and further destruction could unleash widespread rainforest dieback with as little as 1.5°C of global warming
Destruction of rainforest for cattle ranching is making the Amazon biome more vulnerable to irreversible collapse, which could occur within decades if deforestation continues.on tipping points found the Amazon would likely suffer widespread dieback at global warming of 3.5°C and potentially as low as 2°C. That's worrying, as estimates put Earth on track to warm by about 2.6°C to 2.7°C above pre-industrial temperatures by 2100.
But the research didn't include deforestation, which has already resulted in the loss of at least 15 per cent of the Amazon.at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany and his colleagues have now modelled Amazon dieback with scenarios involving both rising global temperatures and severe deforestation until 2050. If total forest loss increases to 22 per cent, the Amazon could suffer widespread dieback with as little as 1.5°C of global warming, they found.
The world has already experienced 1.3°C to 1.4°C of warming and could hit 1.5°C by the end of this decade. Deforestation slowed last year, but if it resurges, the Amazon could cross a tipping point as soon as 2031.
The timing and extent of dieback predicted by the model varied depending on how much carbon humanity emits, with deforestation rates of 22 to 28 per cent leading to 62 to 77 per cent of the Amazon biome becoming grassland, savanna or scrubby forest.
'We found that there's this about-2-degree reduction of the critical global warming threshold when deforestation is considered,' says Wunderling. 'The reason why deforestation is so crucial is that it undermines this atmospheric moisture recycling feedback. 'from the Atlantic Ocean across the Amazon. After rain falls on one part of the forest, the trees transpire some of that moisture back into the air, which carries it to another part to repeat the process.
Up to 50 per cent of the rainfall in the western Amazon is recycled from the forest itself. But cutting down areas of the forest reduces this moisture recycling and kills off other areas downwind, which kills off further areas in a domino effect.
'It only needs a little bit of a push from global warming to make these cascading transitions possible,' says Wunderling. While concerning, the findings are based on a high deforestation rate that would eat into areas that are currently protected, according tomore than 28,000 square kilometres of primary forest in 2024, equalling its previous record. But it nearly halved that rate in 2025, and President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has promised to halt Amazon deforestation by 2030.
Achieving that would probably avoid the tipping point even if the world keeps warming.
'Stopping all deforestation is probably optimistic,' Armstrong McKay says. 'But even if there is some deforestation continuing, it probably won't meet this worst-case scenario modelled here. 'All the same, Brazil still lost about 0.5 per cent of its primary forest in 2025. And for the past two years, two-thirds of forest destruction has been due to wildfires, which typically start when farmers burn vegetation in deforested areas but then escape into the neighbouring forest.
Once almost unheard of, wildfires can now spread because the rainforest is hotter and drier, conditions that will be worsened by the El Niño climate phase later this year. As a result, the study may be underestimating the vulnerability of the Amazon, according to 'We're getting these much bigger fires,' he says.
'That is worrying if we have moved into a new kind of regime where that can happen more and more. 'from a carbon sink to a carbon source, and widespread dieback could emit enough carbon to heat the globe by as much as 0.2°C. It would also destroy the world's biggest store of terrestrial biodiversity.

EU removes leather from anti-deforestation rules following industry pressureThe European Union has removed leather from parts of its anti-deforestation legislation following sustained pressure from industry groups and trade stakeholders.The
"
The main driver of deforestation is the expansion of agricultural land ‌linked to the production of seven commodities covered by the regulation of cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some of their derived products.
"

EU removes leather from anti-deforestation rules following industry pressure The European Union has removed leather from parts of its anti-deforestation legislation following sustained pressure from…

AFTER struggling for years to track and punish deforestation across the world's largest rainforest, Brazil is recruiting new allies in the battle to protect the Amazon: bank managers.
A new rule requires banks to check if rural loan applicants have any deforestation on their farms using government tools that provide data about them based on satellite imagery.
If bank managers detect any clearing since 2019 in the Amazon or woodlands, farmers applying for government-funded rural credit must show proof of deforestation permits to get their loans approved.
'We turned every bank manager who handles subsidised credit into an inspector of illegal deforestation,' said Andre Lima, who leads efforts to fight deforestation in Brazil's Environment Ministry.
A deforested area at the National Forest Bom Futuro in Rio Pardo, Rondonia state, Brazil. — Reuters
The new policy has drawn blowback from Brazil's powerful agribusiness sector, whose deep pockets and growing opposition to the government may shape Octo­ber elections.
The Agriculture Ministry itself argued to scrap the rule late last year.
But advocates argue that the government needs more weapons in its anti- deforestation arsenal.
As on-the-ground enforcement has become more difficult, the rule change aims to bring deforesters to heel by withholding billions of dollars of subsidised public credit.
About 17% of all rural lending disbur­sed from 2020 to 2024 went to farms on land deforested between 2020 and 2023, according to an analysis of public data and satellite images by the Climate Policy Initiative, a think tank in Rio de Janeiro.
The new rule will cover about US$53bil in loans to farmers with federal subsidies, or roughly a third of rural credit in Brazil, central bank data show.
It will also affect a fast-growing type of private lending for farmers known as agribusiness letters of credit, a popular asset for individual investors exempt from income taxes, because around half of it goes through the same rural credit channels in banks.
By 2025, investment in letters of credit had grown to US$114bil.
Farmers use the funds to invest in their farms and to cover operational costs, like planting new crops.
'This signals to the sector: look, the financial system will no longer be a partner in these (deforestation) activities,' said Juliano Assuncao, the executive director of the Climate Policy Initiative.
The policy and its blowback reflect President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's commitment to one of his most globally salient pledges: to end deforestation in Brazil by 2030 – an ambitious goal in a country that still records the most tropical forest loss every year.
Denying public credit to some farmers on Brazil's fast-expanding agricultural frontier may stir deeper resistance from rural powerbrokers already sceptical of the leftist Lula, and hurt his appeal in farm states such as Mato Grosso and Goias as he runs for re-election.
The new policy includes a provision blocking subsidised credit to farms if those funds would be used to clear native vegetation, even where farmers have permits to deforest.
'You can still do it, but with your money, not with public money,' Lima said.
Debate over the new rule may wind up in Congress, where Lula has already lost many battles over the environment, inclu­ding over a law that gutted the country's permitting process.
Brazil's National Confederation of Agri­culture and Livestock (CNA), the biggest farm lobby group, said it will work to change the rule in Congress, which has a powerful farm caucus.
In a statement, the group said government tools using satellite images to detect deforestation make mistakes and could lead banks to withhold credit unfairly.
Data from two academic studies between 2019 and 2021 pointed to 93% accuracy in the government satellite ­system tracking deforestation, known as Prodes.
The studies found that Prodes errs more often in ignoring deforested lands than in reporting deforestation where it never happened.
Beyond technical limitations, CNA argued in its statement that the new policy 'shifts responsibilities to the financial ­system that are not theirs.'
But previous government rules had already involved banks in environmental policy.
In 2008, the government blocked credit to farms that received environmental fines. In 2024, a fresh rule barred farms located in protected areas from receiving credit.
Financial industry groups have not complained about the new rule, saying the measure reinforces sustainability commitments they already have.
Banking lobby Febraban said in a statement the measures strengthen its sustainability commitments and ensure bank decisions about operations are made safely.
The measure could reduce risk for banks by rejecting loan applications from farmers who could later be blocked from supply chains over environmental problems, said a senior executive from a major bank who requested anonymity to discuss internal processes.
When environmental offenders face boycotts or blacklists, the banker said, 'my risk of not getting repaid increases'. — Reuters

AFTER struggling for years to track and punish deforestation across the world's largest rainforest, Brazil is recruiting new allies in the battle to protect the Amazon: bank managers.

Brazil's bank-led forest defence

The European Union is set to roll out long-awaited regulation this year to reduce deforestation across the globe. But, a new trade deal with South American countries could test how well that works in practice.
On Monday, the EU published its simplified version of the European Union Deforestation Regulation, which is set to come into force at the end of the year.

More goods are expected to flow between the European Union and South American countries, increasing the chance of exports from deforested lands.

Europe Wants To Stop Deforestation. A New Trade Deal Is Putting That Under Strain.

FRANKFURT. Around two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest could shift into degraded forest or savannah-like ecosystems at 1.5-1.9°C of global warming if deforestation increases to roughly 22-28 percent of the Amazon, according to a new study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) published in Nature. Without additional deforestation, by contrast, such large-scale changes would likely occur only at much higher warming levels of around 3.7-4°C.
'Deforestation makes the Amazon far less resilient than we previously anticipated. It dries out the atmosphere and weakens the forest's own rainfall generation,' says Nico Wunderling, PIK scientist/Professor of Earth System Sciences at Goethe University Frankfurt's Center for Critical Computational Studies and lead author of the study. 'Even moderate additional warming could then trigger cascading impacts across large parts of the forest.' Around 17-18 percent of the Amazon forest has already been lost, placing the system closer to the critical range identified in the study.
Climate Change and Deforestation Interact to Cascade Impacts Across the Amazon
The study provides the most detailed quantification yet of how warming and deforestation simultaneously impact the stability of the Amazon. It combines climate projections, hydrological modelling and a network approach of atmospheric moisture transport.
'Global warming and deforestation affect rainfall feedbacks across the Amazon system,' explains Arie Staal, Assistant Professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands and co-author of the study. 'When deforestation interrupts moisture transport in one area of the Amazon, entire regions hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away can also lose resilience through cascading drought effects.'
A key reason for forest degradation is that the Amazon is able to generate part of its own rainfall; up to half of its precipitation comes from water recycled by trees themselves. Trees release water vapor into the atmosphere that later falls again as rain across the Amazon basin. When rainforest is lost, this moisture recycling weakens, drought stress increases and other forest regions become more vulnerable to degradation.
The scientists underline that halting deforestation and restoring forest cover could substantially strengthen the Amazon's resilience to unavoidable warming. 'Until now, the Amazon rainforest has played a vital role in stabilizing the Earth system as a carbon sink, regulator of moisture recycling and host of Earth's richest biodiversity on land. Continued deforestation is undermining this stability, pushing the forest closer to a tipping point. This would not only be devastating for the region, but could have far-reaching consequences for the entire planet,' says Johan Rockström, PIK Director and co-author of the study. 'However, these changes are not inevitable. Stopping deforestation, together with ecologically restoring degraded forests and rapid emission cuts can still reduce the risks,' Rockström concludes.

Around two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest could shift into degraded forest or savannah-like ecosystems at 1.5-1.9°C of global warming if deforestation increases to roughly 22-28 percent of the Amazon, according to a new study from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) published in Nature. Climate Change and Deforestation Interact to Cascade Impacts Across the Amazon The study provides the most detailed quantification yet of how warming and deforestation simultaneously impact the stability of the Amazon. 'When deforestation interrupts moisture transport in one area of the Amazon, entire regions hundreds or even thousands of kilometers away can also lose resilience through cascading drought effects.' A key reason for forest degradation is that the Amazon is able to generate part of its own rainfall; up to half of its precipitation comes from water recycled by trees themselves.

Deforestation Lowers Threshold for Amazon Degradation to Below 2°C Warming

© Mitja Kobal / Greenpeace
After long delay, governments and companies must prepare for full application of the law by end 2026
Brussels, 4 May 2026 – The European Commission has completed its review of the delayed EU anti-deforestation law (EUDR) and found it can be applied by the end of the year. However, in a disappointing move, the Commission has caved in to pressure from lobbyists by recommending an exemption for leather and leather products with supply chains linked to deforestation.
EU governments and the European Parliament retain the power to block this exemption, if they consider the Commission has exceeded its powers.
Andrea Carta, Greenpeace EU senior legal strategist, said: 'The anti-deforestation law is fit for purpose, an important signal for forest protection. It can finally enter into application on 30 December – governments and companies must prepare accordingly. After several false starts, EU environment commissioner Roswall has to stick to this commitment and make sure that everything is in place by the end of the year.
'However, carving a hole in the law to please powerful fashion brands is inexcusable. The leather supply chain is just as much a driver of forest destruction as it was when it was written into the law. Governments and the EU Parliament need to correct this mistake and reject the Commission's exclusion of leather products.'
Leather is part and parcel of the cattle supply chain, and as such contributes to deforestation, particularly in the Brazilian Amazon. The expansion of cattle pasture accounted for 42% of global deforestation driven by agriculture between 2001 and 2022, destroying an area of forest the size of Spain and releasing half of all carbon emissions caused by commodity-driven deforestation globally. Several investigations have documented how trade in leather is linked to illegal deforestation and related human rights violations.(1)
In December 2025, the European Parliament and EU governments requested a 'simplification review' of the EUDR. In order to fulfill this mandate, the Commission has proposed changes to guidance documents and FAQs related to the law, in order to facilitate compliance, but has not reopened the text of the law.
Notes:
Contacts:
Andrea Carta, Greenpeace EU senior legal strategist: mobile +32 (0)496 161582, [email protected]
Greenpeace EU press desk: +32 (0)2 274 1911, [email protected]
This press comment is also available on: www.greenpeace.eu
For breaking news and comment on EU affairs: Bluesky

After long delay, governments and companies must prepare for full application of the EU anti-deforestation law by the end of 2026

Forest-protection law gets EU Commission green light, but leather loophole is unacceptable

DEFOREST, Wis. (WMTV) - Young Blood Beer Co. announced on Tuesday it will be opening up a location in DeForest.
The Madison-based brewery will be located at the new DeForest Yards development.
'We want this to feel like home the second you walk through those doors,' said Billy DuPlanty, Co-Owner and Director of Sales at Young Blood. 'The taproom experience has always been a core part of who we are as a brewery, and that only becomes meaningful as we put down roots in a new community.'
Young Blood has locations at King Street and North Street in Madison.
The brewery will have a brewhouse on site at the DeForest location.
To celebrate the new location, Young Blood will feature specialty releases called Amburana Aged Demogorgon and Bourbon Barrel Espresso Stout.
These beers will be available on tap during opening week while supplies last.
Doors will officially open at the DeForest location on Friday, May 29.

Young Blood Beer Co. announced on Tuesday it will be opening up a location in DeForest.

Young Blood Beer Co. opening brewery in DeForest

Logged stubs and trees are seen at one of the last primeval forests in Europe, Bialowieza forest, near Bialowieza village, Poland February 15, 2018. Picture taken February 15, 2018.... Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
BRUSSELS, May 4 (Reuters) - The European Commission has decided to exclude imports of leather from ​its anti-deforestation law, it said on Monday, after ‌a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming ​that fuels forest destruction.
The exemption will ​remove leather, hides and skins from the ⁠world-first law, which from December will ​require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef ​and palm oil into the EU to prove their products did not cause deforestation.
Sign up here.
The EU's decision ​confirmed a Reuters report from last week.
"The main ​driver of deforestation is the expansion of agricultural land ‌linked ⁠to the production of seven commodities covered by the regulation – cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some ​of their derived ​products," ⁠said the European Commission in a statement."
"Under the Regulation, any operator ​or trader who places these commodities ​on ⁠the EU market, or exports from it, must be able to prove that the ⁠products ​do not originate from ​recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation," it ​added.
Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

The European Commission has decided to exclude imports of leather from ​its anti-deforestation law, it said on Monday, after ‌a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming ​that fuels forest destruction.

With only a few years left until the 2030 deadline for a crucial roadmap on reversing deforestation and forest degradation, capable leadership is needed to take forward the work and possible recommendations. With that leadership in place, the COP30 Presidency Roadmap on halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation ( the COP30 Presidency Roadmap ) can achieve far greater and faster implementation.
The Brazilian Presidency put forests at the center of COP30, hosting the climate conference in Belém, Brazil—a town in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest. A key priority was demonstrating progress in halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030, a target set by the first global stocktake ( GST1 ) in 2023.
Ahead of and during COP30, governments and civil society campaigned for a roadmap to halt and reverse deforestation. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization's ( FAO ) 2025 Global Forests Assessment Report, deforestation has slowed but the world is still off track to meet the goal. While there were many countries calling for the COP30 Presidency Roadmap as a formal outcome at COP30, consensus was not reached. However, acknowledging the desire for one, the COP30 President André Corrêa do Lago announced that he would set out the COP30 Presidency Roadmap under the Presidency's responsibility.
In his 12 th letter released in January 2026, the COP30 President reaffirmed the commitment to delivering on the COP30 Presidency Roadmap. The letter anchors the COP30 Presidency Roadmap in the GST, ensuring the COP30 Presidency Roadmap is tied to the collective assessment of the progress towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. Looking ahead to COP31 and the launch of the GST2, Parties could consider the role of the COP30 Presidency Roadmap, including its recommendations, as an input to GST2 starting at COP31. The COP30 Presidency called for submissions on barriers, levers, best practice and lessons learned for halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation. You can find C2ES' submission here .
While welcome, the COP30 Presidency Roadmap raises questions about who will lead the implementation of the Roadmap, its contents, and timeline. For instance, if the COP30 Presidency Roadmap is to be published at the end of 2026, what happens from 2027-2030? How will momentum drive achievement of the 2030 goal?
The landscape of organizations and leaders dedicated to halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation is a fragmented one. Globally recognized leadership has yet to emerge to take forward this issue and drive its effective implementation.
Leadership is needed to drive networks, organizations, and coalitions of countries in relation to halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation to coordinate their efforts more effectively in pursuit of the 2030 goal. The COP30 Presidency has an opportunity to convene a global forum or a task force to identify and endorse leadership that can focus on delivering the goal of halting and reversing deforestation. Such leadership should use innovative thinking to drive global forest conservation, have experience in successfully implementing forest conservation policies and programs, deploy diplomatic skills to foster enhancing international cooperation, and have expertise in mechanisms such as payment for ecosystem services and results-based payments.
Alternatively, the COP30 Presidency Roadmap could explicitly outline a coalition of the willing to enhance implementation and bring together countries, institutions, and initiatives to collectively assume a leadership role. However, the COP30 Presidency Roadmap would need to clearly identify who is responsible for driving action and tracking progress. This approach could also be linked to the Global Climate Action Agenda under Axis 2 – stewarding forests, oceans and biodiversity, which includes a coalition working on forests and climate.
To enhance the COP30 Presidency's Roadmap credibility and impact, the COP30 Presidency could further consider addressing the following elements: Synergies across the Rio Conventions: 2026 is a triple COP year—there is a COP for the three Rio Conventions (Biological Diversity, Climate Change and Desertification), offering an opportunity to align efforts. The COP30 Presidency Roadmap could include concrete recommendations for enhancing cooperation across the Rio Conventions on the 2030 goal. International cooperation: Halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation is a global challenge that cannot be addressed solely through isolated national action. Enhanced international cooperation—a key mandate of the GST—must be a core pillar of the COP30 Presidency Roadmap. Sustainable agriculture: As agriculture remains the primary driver of deforestation, including in the COP30 Presidency Roadmap ways to transform to sustainable agriculture could be part of the solutions. Addressing existing gaps and advancing national deforestation strategies: Consideration could be given to critical gaps in coordination, and finance, and accelerating the development and implementation of national strategies to the 2030 goal.
With 2030 fast approaching, urgent action is needed to halt and reverse deforestation and forest degradation, while also clearly addressing who will take the lead in driving this work forward.
Find more resources from C2ES related to these issues here .

With only a few years left until the 2030 deadline for a crucial roadmap on reversing deforestation and forest degradation, capable leadership is needed to take forward the work and possible…

Leadership and Recommendations for the COP30 Roadmap to Halt and Reverse Deforestation and Forest Degradation by 2030

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Reuters) - The European Commission has decided to exclude imports of ‌leather from its anti-deforestation law, it said ‌on Monday, after a campaign by industry groups which argued ​that production does not incentivise the cattle farming that fuels forest destruction.
The exemption will remove leather, hides and skins from the world-first law, ‌which from ⁠December will require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef and palm ⁠oil into the EU to prove their products did not cause deforestation.
The EU's decision confirmed ​a Reuters ​report from last ​week.
"The main driver of ‌deforestation is the expansion of agricultural land linked to the production of seven commodities covered by the regulation – cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some of ‌their derived products," said the ​European Commission in a ​statement."
"Under the Regulation, ​any operator or trader who places ‌these commodities on the ​EU market, ​or exports from it, must be able to prove that the products do not ​originate from ‌recently deforested land or have contributed to ​forest degradation," it added.

BRUSSELS, May 4 () - The European Commission has decided to exclude imports of ‌leather from its anti-deforestation law, it said ‌on Monday, after a campaign by industry groups which argued ​that…

The European Commission has announced a significant decision to exclude leather imports from its new anti-deforestation law, effective this December. This comes after substantial lobbying from industry groups, which argued that leather production does not encourage the cattle farming responsible for deforestation.
This exemption removes leather, hides, and skins from a pivotal regulation designed to ensure that commodities entering the European Union—such as soy, coffee, beef, and palm oil—do not originate from deforested land. The law is groundbreaking in its requirement for proof of sustainable origins.
The EU confirmed the exclusion in a statement, emphasizing that the primary cause of deforestation is the expansion of agricultural land for seven commodities, including cattle and soy, which remain covered under the regulation.
(With inputs from agencies.)

The European Commission has excluded leather from its anti-deforestation law following advocacy by industry groups. The regulation, effective December, mandates proof that products like soy, coffee,…

EU Excludes Leather from Landmark Anti-Deforestation Law

is an environmental correspondent at Vox, covering biodiversity loss and climate change. Before joining Vox, he was a senior energy reporter at Business Insider. Benji previously worked as a wildlife researcher.
Satellite images show the loss of forest in Bolivia's eastern lowlands between 1984 and 2022, mostly from expanding farmland. ﻿Planet Observer/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Over the last few decades, wildfires, farmers, and cattle ranchers have razed millions of acres of tropical forests across the planet. Much of that deforestation has occurred in three countries: Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia.
But in the last few years, another, smaller nation has risen in the ranks of nations with the most severe forest loss — Bolivia.
Situated just west of Brazil, Bolivia lost 1.5 million acres of primary forest in 2025 alone, more than any other country aside from Brazil, according to a new analysis by the University of Maryland and the World Resources Institute (WRI), a research group. That's just shy of the surface area of Delaware.
Those lost acres in Bolivia are part of threatened and globally important ecosystems, including the Amazon rainforest and the Chiquitano dry forests. They are rich not only in wildlife — including the elusive maned wolf, a long-legged canine that is actually not a wolf — but also in carbon. After trees are cleared, much of the carbon they store returns quickly to the atmosphere, accelerating climate change. (Not-so-fun fact: Yearly carbon emissions from deforestation in the tropics are greater than the output from the entire European Union.)
On the surface, the story of deforestation in Bolivia mirrors that of other tropical countries: People are knocking down trees there to make way for cattle ranches and farms, the two leading drivers of tropical forest loss. Often, people clear land with fire. And as climate change makes droughts more severe in places like Bolivia, those fires more easily spread out of control and into areas that weren't meant to burn, taking out even larger stretches of primary forest.
But when you look more closely at who, exactly, is fueling much of the recent deforestation, Bolivia starts to stand out — thanks to an unexpected player.
A brown-throated sloth on a tree in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Insights/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The white religious sect cutting down Bolivia's trees
The main reason people clear forests in Bolivia is to make way for cattle. It's typically cheaper to buy forested land and remove the trees than to acquire existing pasture, says Daniel Larrea, science and technology program director at Conservación Amazónica, a Bolivian NGO. Plus, under the country's legal system, landowners risk losing their land in Bolivia if they don't demonstrate that they're using it 'productively,' such as by raising cattle for beef, effectively creating an incentive for deforestation.
The other major source of forest loss in Bolivia is the rapid expansion of soy farms, the nation's top export crop, by weight. Between 2001 and 2021, soy farms in Bolivia — which feed global demand for animal feed and soybean oil — destroyed some 2.2 million acres of forests, according to a 2023 report by the nonprofit Amazon Conservation Association (affiliated with Conservación Amazónica). That's roughly the size of Puerto Rico.
Soy farming is among the leading causes of deforestation across the tropics, in places like Brazil, Argentina, and parts of Africa. What makes it more unusual in Bolivia is the people behind much of its production and related environmental harm: Mennonites.
A mostly white Christian group, Mennonites — who have similar origins to the Amish — started migrating to Latin America from Canada in the early 1900s. They first settled in Mexico and Paraguay and then later expanded into a number of other South American countries, including Peru and Bolivia, in the mid-20th century. Bolivia is now home to the largest and fastest-growing community of Mennonites in Latin America, says Yann le Polain de Waroux, a geographer at McGill University, who has studied Mennonites.
As they spread across Latin America, Mennonites typically made a living by farming, which they've done for centuries. And in Bolivia, one of the main crops they grew — and still grow — is soy. In fact, Mennonites were among the first groups to introduce commercial soy farming to Bolivia, helping turn the country into a top-10 soy producer globally, according to Susanna Hecht, a researcher at the University of California Los Angeles. While Mennonite colonies often eschew modern household technologies, like smartphones and TVs, their farms typically use the same machinery as any modern farm, including large tractors and herbicide-tolerant seeds, Hecht told Vox.
In the last few decades, Mennonites have produced between about 20 percent and 40 percent of Bolivia's soy, according to different studies and reports. And much of that production came at the expense of Bolivia's tropical and dry forests, which stood in the places where fields of soy now grow. Researchers estimate that Mennonites caused nearly a quarter of the soy-related deforestation in Bolivia over the last two decades — and that share has risen in more recent years, according to Amazon Conservation Association's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program.
Satellite images show the progression of soy-related deforestation between 2017 and 2022. Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program
To be clear, it's not that Mennonites operate their farms in an especially destructive way; you can't farm soy in forest habitats without first clearing trees. Blame for surging deforestation more fairly lies on the government — which has, over the years, made expanding agricultural production a state policy and allowed people to clear forests without penalty. Mennonites have, for example, 'been able to capitalize on government incentives through the duty-free import of heavy machinery for mechanized agriculture,' Larrea said.
Food companies and consumers also play a large role in driving this deforestation: Demand for soybeans has skyrocketed in the last few decades, in step with a rise in the demand for meat and the soy-based livestock feed — yet another reminder that meat production destroys tropical forests.
One 2023 report by the advocacy group Global Witness linked Cargill — the largest private company in the US, which sells animal feed, beef, and a wide range of other food and pharmaceutical products — to soy grown by Mennonites on land that was recently deforested. (Cargill told Vox that it did not find evidence that the soy it sourced from Bolivia, referenced in the Global Witness report, came from areas that were recently deforested.)
Is there an alternative path for Bolivia?
Slowing deforestation globally remains one of the most challenging and complex environmental problems of our time. In each year of the last two decades, millions of acres of tropical forest — among the world's most important regions for biodiversity and carbon sequestration — have vanished. Though global deforestation dipped in 2025, it still consumed 10.6 million acres, according to WRI's analysis, equivalent to more than 11 soccer fields per minute.
If there's one way to distill the problem, it's that forests today are not as valuable standing as they are cut down. Absent strong markets for carbon and biodiversity — which can make intact trees more valuable — well-enforced government regulations are among the only measures that work to cut deforestation rates.
And that brings us to a rare bit of good news: Last year, Brazil — which contains about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest — saw a 42 percent drop in forest loss compared to 2024, according to WRI's recent analysis. That drop is part of a larger trend over the past few years of declining deforestation in Brazil, the analysis shows.
WRI researchers attribute Brazil's success to stronger environmental policies and enforcement that were put in place by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ('Lula'). Lula stepped into power in 2023, following the rule of Jair Bolsonaro, who showed wanton disregard for environmental laws and oversaw a spike in deforestation during his tenure. Lula, for example, relaunched a comprehensive anti-deforestation framework — known as the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon — that includes establishing new parks and bulking up environmental enforcement, among other measures.
A farmer sprays pesticides on a field of soybeans in eastern Bolivia. Diego Giudice/Bloomberg via Getty Images
WRI similarly links a recent deforestation slump in a few other countries, including Colombia and Malaysia, to stronger environmental policies. Early last year, for example, the government of Colombia put in place a regulation that grants rural communities the rights to use forests on the condition that they keep them standing.
These positive outcomes for forests hold important lessons for curbing deforestation in Bolivia. They show that attaining such a goal is possible. And that good governance works. 'A shift in the country's development vision is necessary,' Larrea said of Bolivia — 'a vision based on the sustainable use of the forest, not its destruction.'
In a paper published early last year, a group of mostly academic researchers made a number of recommendations for Bolivia's new center-right government that was elected last year. They urged the new administration of Rodrigo Paz to make a number of changes, including strengthening environmental agencies, halting permits for farming and ranching in critical ecosystems, and helping Indigenous communities secure ownership over their lands.

What you didn't know about Mennonites, soy, and Bolivia.

These tropical forests are critically important. Why is this religious sect cutting them down?

Over the last few decades, wildfires, farmers, and cattle ranchers have razed millions of acres of tropical forests across the planet. Much of that deforestation has occurred in three countries: Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia.
But in the last few years, another, smaller nation has risen in the ranks of nations with the most severe forest loss — Bolivia.
Situated just west of Brazil, Bolivia lost 1.5 million acres of primary forest in 2025 alone, more than any other country aside from Brazil, according to a new analysis by the University of Maryland and the World Resources Institute (WRI), a research group. That's just shy of the surface area of Delaware.
View Link
Those lost acres in Bolivia are part of threatened and globally important ecosystems, including the Amazon rainforest and the Chiquitano dry forests. They are rich not only in wildlife — including the elusive maned wolf, a long-legged canine that is actually not a wolf — but also in carbon. After trees are cleared, much of the carbon they store returns quickly to the atmosphere, accelerating climate change. (Not-so-fun fact: Yearly carbon emissions from deforestation in the tropics are greater than the output from the entire European Union.)
On the surface, the story of deforestation in Bolivia mirrors that of other tropical countries: People are knocking down trees there to make way for cattle ranches and farms, the two leading drivers of tropical forest loss. Often, people clear land with fire. And as climate change makes droughts more severe in places like Bolivia, those fires more easily spread out of control and into areas that weren't meant to burn, taking out even larger stretches of primary forest.
But when you look more closely at who, exactly, is fueling much of the recent deforestation, Bolivia starts to stand out — thanks to an unexpected player.
The white religious sect cutting down Bolivia's trees
The main reason people clear forests in Bolivia is to make way for cattle. It's typically cheaper to buy forested land and remove the trees than to acquire existing pasture, says Daniel Larrea, science and technology program director at Conservación Amazónica, a Bolivian NGO. Plus, under the country's legal system, landowners risk losing their land in Bolivia if they don't demonstrate that they're using it 'productively,' such as by raising cattle for beef, effectively creating an incentive for deforestation.
The other major source of forest loss in Bolivia is the rapid expansion of soy farms, the nation's top export crop, by weight. Between 2001 and 2021, soy farms in Bolivia — which feed global demand for animal feed and soybean oil — destroyed some 2.2 million acres of forests, according to a 2023 report by the nonprofit Amazon Conservation Association (affiliated with Conservación Amazónica). That's roughly the size of Puerto Rico.
View Link
Soy farming is among the leading causes of deforestation across the tropics, in places like Brazil, Argentina, and parts of Africa. What makes it more unusual in Bolivia is the people behind much of its production and related environmental harm: Mennonites.
A mostly white Christian group, Mennonites — who have similar origins to the Amish — started migrating to Latin America from Canada in the early 1900s. They first settled in Mexico and Paraguay and then later expanded into a number of other South American countries, including Peru and Bolivia, in the mid-20th century. Bolivia is now home to the largest and fastest-growing community of Mennonites in Latin America, says Yann le Polain de Waroux, a geographer at McGill University, who has studied Mennonites.
As they spread across Latin America, Mennonites typically made a living by farming, which they've done for centuries. And in Bolivia, one of the main crops they grew — and still grow — is soy. In fact, Mennonites were among the first groups to introduce commercial soy farming to Bolivia, helping turn the country into a top-10 soy producer globally, according to Susanna Hecht, a researcher at the University of California Los Angeles. While Mennonite colonies often eschew modern household technologies, like smartphones and TVs, their farms typically use the same machinery as any modern farm, including large tractors and herbicide-tolerant seeds, Hecht told Vox.
In the last few decades, Mennonites have produced between about 20 percent and 40 percent of Bolivia's soy, according to different studies and reports. And much of that production came at the expense of Bolivia's tropical and dry forests, which stood in the places where fields of soy now grow. Researchers estimate that Mennonites caused nearly a quarter of the soy-related deforestation in Bolivia over the last two decades — and that share has risen in more recent years, according to Amazon Conservation Association's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program.
To be clear, it's not that Mennonites operate their farms in an especially destructive way; you can't farm soy in forest habitats without first clearing trees. Blame for surging deforestation more fairly lies on the government — which has, over the years, made expanding agricultural production a state policy and allowed people to clear forests without penalty. Mennonites have, for example, 'been able to capitalize on government incentives through the duty-free import of heavy machinery for mechanized agriculture,' Larrea said.
Food companies and consumers also play a large role in driving this deforestation: Demand for soybeans has skyrocketed in the last few decades, in step with a rise in the demand for meat and the soy-based livestock feed — yet another reminder that meat production destroys tropical forests.
One 2023 report by the advocacy group Global Witness linked Cargill — the largest private company in the US, which sells animal feed, beef, and a wide range of other food and pharmaceutical products — to soy grown by Mennonites on land that was recently deforested. (Cargill told Vox that it did not find evidence that the soy it sourced from Bolivia, referenced in the Global Witness report, came from areas that were recently deforested.)
Is there an alternative path for Bolivia?
Slowing deforestation globally remains one of the most challenging and complex environmental problems of our time. In each year of the last two decades, millions of acres of tropical forest — among the world's most important regions for biodiversity and carbon sequestration — have vanished. Though global deforestation dipped in 2025, it still consumed 10.6 million acres, according to WRI's analysis, equivalent to more than 11 soccer fields per minute.
If there's one way to distill the problem, it's that forests today are not as valuable standing as they are cut down. Absent strong markets for carbon and biodiversity — which can make intact trees more valuable — well-enforced government regulations are among the only measures that work to cut deforestation rates.
And that brings us to a rare bit of good news: Last year, Brazil — which contains about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest — saw a 42 percent drop in forest loss compared to 2024, according to WRI's recent analysis. That drop is part of a larger trend over the past few years of declining deforestation in Brazil, the analysis shows.
WRI researchers attribute Brazil's success to stronger environmental policies and enforcement that were put in place by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ('Lula'). Lula stepped into power in 2023, following the rule of Jair Bolsonaro, who showed wanton disregard for environmental laws and oversaw a spike in deforestation during his tenure. Lula, for example, relaunched a comprehensive anti-deforestation framework — known as the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon — that includes establishing new parks and bulking up environmental enforcement, among other measures.
WRI similarly links a recent deforestation slump in a few other countries, including Colombia and Malaysia, to stronger environmental policies. Early last year, for example, the government of Colombia put in place a regulation that grants rural communities the rights to use forests on the condition that they keep them standing.
These positive outcomes for forests hold important lessons for curbing deforestation in Bolivia. They show that attaining such a goal is possible. And that good governance works. 'A shift in the country's development vision is necessary,' Larrea said of Bolivia — 'a vision based on the sustainable use of the forest, not its destruction.'
In a paper published early last year, a group of mostly academic researchers made a number of recommendations for Bolivia's new center-right government that was elected last year. They urged the new administration of Rodrigo Paz to make a number of changes, including strengthening environmental agencies, halting permits for farming and ranching in critical ecosystems, and helping Indigenous communities secure ownership over their lands.
'By placing nature at the heart of its agenda, Bolivia can stem the loss of species and habitats, honour its international commitments, and forge a legacy of social–ecological resilience,' the authors wrote. 'The world will be watching whether Bolivia chooses to continue down a path of extractive depletion or to lead a just and sustainable transformation worthy of its extraordinary biological and cultural wealth.'

Background
Across Amazonian deforestation frontiers, phlebotomine sand flies transmit Leishmania spp., the causative agents of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL). Landscape modification can alter vector ecology and transmission risk, yet the relative roles of forest cover, landscape configuration, and deforestation timeline remain poorly understood. We evaluated how landscape composition and configuration, assessed across multiple spatial scales, and deforestation timeline influence sand fly abundance and Leishmania infection in Cruzeiro do Sul, Acre, Brazil.
Methods
Sand flies were collected at 20 study sites during two cross-sectional surveys conducted in 2022 and 2024. Landscape metrics, including forest cover and edge density, were quantified within circular buffers of 3, 5, and 7 km2 around each site. Deforestation timeline, defined as time since initial forest loss, was used as a proxy for the duration of human occupation. Associations with sand fly abundance and Leishmania infection were assessed using Bayesian regression models, applying negative binomial models for abundance and binomial models for infection probability. Infection was detected using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and confirmed by Sanger sequencing.
Results
Forest cover and edge density, across all spatial scales, were not associated with sand fly abundance or Leishmania infection. In contrast, longer deforestation timelines were consistently associated with higher sand fly abundance, driven largely by increased captures of the sand fly species Nyssomyia antunesi. No landscape variable showed a clear association with infection occurrence.
Conclusions
Sand fly abundance in this Amazonian frontier was associated with the duration of human occupation rather than with current forest structure. These findings suggest that vector populations can persist in human-modified landscapes and highlight the importance of incorporating deforestation timeline into ACL surveillance and risk assessment.
Graphical Abstract

Background Across Amazonian deforestation frontiers, phlebotomine sand flies transmit Leishmania spp., the causative agents of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL). Landscape modification can alter…

Human occupation, not forest structure, determines sand fly abundance in the Amazon - Parasites & Vectors

By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS, April 30 (Reuters) - The European Commission is set to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, EU officials told Reuters, after ‌a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise ‌the cattle farming that fuels forest destruction.
The exemption will remove leather, hides and skins from the world-first law, ​which from December will require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef and palm oil into the EU to prove their products did not cause deforestation.
A Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the plan.
Those breaking the rules risk hefty fines and a potential ban on ‌accessing the EU market.
Environmental groups ⁠have urged the EU not to exempt leather, arguing that this would weaken the law's ability to curb deforestation.
Leather industry groups have argued ⁠that as a by-product of the meat industry, with a relatively low value, leather's production does not incentivise the cattle farming that drives deforestation. Beef imports are covered by the ​EU law.
Including ​leather "will have a devastating impact on the EU ​tanning industry," Europe's tanning and dressing ‌industry body COTANCE said in a public submission to the EU last year, adding that tanneries would not be able to force cattle farming firms further up the supply chain to comply with the EU law.
Industry groups have stepped up their calls in recent weeks, making their case to EU lawmakers and representatives from the European Commission at ‌an event at the European Parliament on April 8.
Europe's ​tanning industry is the world's largest supplier of ​leather, according to the EU.
European tanneries ​import around 40% of the raw materials - such as hides - they ‌use from countries including Brazil and the ​U.S., industry data shows.
The ​Commission's analysis, when it first designed the law in 2021, had said leather is "a relevant factor of deforestation according to literature and feedback from stakeholders".
Brussels had ​already delayed the launch of ‌the policy by two years, after opposition from Brazil, Indonesia and the United ​States, which say complying would be costly and hurt their exports to ​Europe.

BRUSSELS, April 30 (Reuters) - The European Commission is set to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, EU officials told Reuters, after ‌a campaign by industry groups which…

EU to remove leather from anti-deforestation law after industry pressure, officials say

Brussels : The European Commission has decided to exclude imports of leather from ​its anti-deforestation law, it said on Monday, after ‌a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming ​that fuels forest destruction.
The exemption will ​remove leather, hides and skins from the ⁠world-first law, which from December will ​require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef ​and palm oil into the EU to prove their products did not cause deforestation.
The EU's decision ​confirmed a Reuters report from last week.
"The main ​driver of deforestation is the expansion of agricultural land ‌linked ⁠to the production of seven commodities covered by the regulation – cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some ​of their derived ​products," ⁠said the European Commission in a statement."
"Under the Regulation, any operator ​or trader who places these commodities ​on ⁠the EU market, or exports from it, must be able to prove that the ⁠products ​do not originate from ​recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation," it ​added.

Industry groups argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming ​that fuels forest destruction.

EU Removes Leather From Anti-Deforestation Law After Industry Pressure

EU to Exclude Leather From New Anti-Deforestation Law Amid Industry Pressure
EU's Anti-Deforestation Law and the Leather Industry
By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS, April 30 (Reuters) - The European Commission is set to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, EU officials told Reuters, after a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming that fuels forest destruction.
The exemption will remove leather, hides and skins from the world-first law, which from December will require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef and palm oil into the EU to prove their products did not cause deforestation.
A Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the plan.
Implications and Enforcement of the Law
Those breaking the rules risk hefty fines and a potential ban on accessing the EU market.
Environmental Groups' Concerns
Environmental groups have urged the EU not to exempt leather, arguing that this would weaken the law's ability to curb deforestation.
Leather Industry's Arguments
Leather industry groups have argued that as a by-product of the meat industry, with a relatively low value, leather's production does not incentivise the cattle farming that drives deforestation. Beef imports are covered by the EU law.
Industry Impact and Advocacy
Including leather "will have a devastating impact on the EU tanning industry," Europe's tanning and dressing industry body COTANCE said in a public submission to the EU last year, adding that tanneries would not be able to force cattle farming firms further up the supply chain to comply with the EU law.
Industry groups have stepped up their calls in recent weeks, making their case to EU lawmakers and representatives from the European Commission at an event at the European Parliament on April 8.
Europe's Leather Market
Europe's tanning industry is the world's largest supplier of leather, according to the EU.
European tanneries import around 40% of the raw materials - such as hides - they use from countries including Brazil and the U.S., industry data shows.
Background and Policy Development
The Commission's analysis, when it first designed the law in 2021, had said leather is "a relevant factor of deforestation according to literature and feedback from stakeholders".
Brussels had already delayed the launch of the policy by two years, after opposition from Brazil, Indonesia and the United States, which say complying would be costly and hurt their exports to Europe.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

The EU will exclude leather from its anti-deforestation law after industry lobbying. Law covers soy, coffee, beef; environmental groups warn of weakened protection.

EU Exempts Leather from Anti-Deforestation Law After Industry Pressure

In 2023, the European Union adopted regulations to prevent global deforestation and combat climate change. Originally set to go into effect in 2024, implementation has faced multiple delays and growing calls to reduce the scope of the regulation. On May 4, the European Commission released the results of a simplification review of the EU Deforestation Regulation. Despite push back from the United States, and possible conflicts with the agreement reached in August, the review did not result in delays or significant reductions.
Following the adoption of European Green Deal in 2020, the EU passed a series of new regulations aimed at addressing climate change by impacting the actions of businesses. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and the Taxonomy focused on the overall environmental actions of a company. The scope of these regulations were significantly reduced in 2025 as the EU underwent a 'simplification' process to 'reduce the burden on businesses.'
Other regulations passed under the Green Deal targeted specific industries, each with their own acronym creating a letter soup of regulations. The EUDR, adopted in 2023, 'aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss by boosting the consumption of 'deforestation-free' products and by reducing the EU's impact on global deforestation and forest degradation.'
Targeting the forest, rubber, palm oil, soy, beef, and coffee and cacao industries, the EUDR requires companies to verify that the products have not come from land that was deforested or degraded after December 31, 2020. Compliance occurs through reporting and geolocation.
The European Commission was tasked with submitting a simplification report to the European Parliament to address updates to the EUDR. The report was due on April 30, but was not made public until May 4.
Five Key Points to EU Deforestation Regulation Report
The original start date of reporting under the EUDR has faced two delays. The first was a general delay to allow for changes to the EUDR. The second delay was blamed on technical issues relating to the EU's ability to process the reports. It was heavily speculated that the European Commission would suggest a third delay. However, the final recommendation kept the original requirements in place.
'The Regulation will apply from 30 December 2026 for large and medium companies, as well as for micro and small enterprises from the timber sector, and from 30 June 2027 for other micro and small enterprises.'
One major complaint during the simplification process of the CSRD, CSDDD, and taxonomy was the potential cost to businesses to comply. The focus was primarily on the impact to SMEs, as it was argued that the cost of compliance of the various environmental regulations would force small businesses to close and make the EU noncompetitive in an international market. Those same arguments were part of the EUDR discussion.
The new proposal claims a 75% reduction in compliance costs. However, that is inclusive of all changes made since June 2023. 'These measures together will lead to a substantial reduction in administrative burden. They are expected to reduce annual compliance costs for companies subject to EUDR obligations by about 75%, compared to the original EUDR.'
'The main driver of deforestation is the expansion of agricultural land linked to the production of seven commodities covered by the regulation." Those categories are cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, and rubber. A draft delegated act attached to the report keeps most of the covered products in scope, only making minor changes to subcategories.
The proposal adds 'palm oil derivatives used in the oleochemicals industry' into the scope. It also adds soluble coffee, or what is commonly called instant coffee in the U.S. The proposal removes leather and retreaded tires. Other smaller categories are removed as well.
Since the initial passage in 2023, the U.S. has objected to the impact the EUDR. In May 2024, President Joe Biden's administration requested a two year delay for implementation. The Trump Administration continues to pressure the European Commission to exclude U.S. companies from enforcement.
The US-EU Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade, signed in August 2025, states 'Recognizing that production of the relevant commodities within the territory of the United States poses negligible risk to global deforestation, the European Union commits to work to address the concerns of US producers and exporters regarding the EU Deforestation Regulation, with a view to avoiding undue impact on US-EU trade.'
Despite that agreement, no changes to the status of the U.S. was included in the proposal.
The proposal included a draft Delegated Act and staff working proposal relating to the proposed changes to the products in scope. These proposals build off public feedback from April 2025.
The new draft is open for public feedback until June 1. Stakeholders, impacted companies, and other interest parties wishing to provide feedback can use the Have Your Say portal through a link provided on the Commission's website.
One clear message of the simplification report is that the EU Deforestation Regulation is not going away. Some level of reporting will continue, and covering most of the original products. What is uncertain is if the U.S. will be able to sway the EU, or if the US- EU Framework will collapse as a result.

On May 4, the European Commission released a report on the simplification of the EU Deforestation Regulation, claiming a 75% reduction in compliance costs.

European Commission Releases ‘Simplified' Deforestation Regulation

If deforestation and global warming continue unchecked, the Amazon rainforest could begin a gradual transition to a degraded, grassland-like ecosystem in just a few decades, according to new research published on Wednesday.
The study, published in the journal Nature, provides new insight into when the forest might start to slip over a so-called tipping point at which an incremental but profound and irreversible ecosystem transformation begins.
The analysis examined the relationship between deforestation and global warming. Deforestation can worsen the effects of rising temperatures by reducing rainfall. Those intensified effects, in turn, can lower the warming threshold at which ecosystem changes begin.
'The consequences of the Amazon tipping point are catastrophic for the entire planet,' said Bernardo M. Flores, an ecology researcher at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain and an author of the study. 'We need to be careful not to get anywhere near those risks.'
The Amazon, home to millions of species of plants and animals, is the largest tropical rainforest on Earth. Year after year, it absorbs more than a billion tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to offset the effects of human-caused emissions.
In past decades, though, wildfire, logging, mining and expanding agriculture have taken a heavy toll on the rainforest. Degradation has caused some areas, like an infamous 'arc of deforestation' that stretches across Brazil, to become a source of planet-warming carbon rather than a so-called sink where carbon is locked away.
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Researchers examined the combined effects of tree loss and global warming in an effort to better understand how and when an ecosystem collapse could unfold.

New Study Shows Risks of Amazon Deforestation. And Rewards of Protection.

BRUSSELS, April 30 (Reuters) - The European Commission is set to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, EU officials told Reuters, after a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming that fuels forest destruction.
The exemption will remove leather, hides and skins from the world-first law, which from December will require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef and palm oil into the EU to prove their products did not cause deforestation.
A Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the plan.
Those breaking the rules risk hefty fines and a potential ban on accessing the EU market.
Environmental groups have urged the EU not to exempt leather, arguing that this would weaken the law's ability to curb deforestation.
Leather industry groups have argued that as a by-product of the meat industry, with a relatively low value, leather's production does not incentivise the cattle farming that drives deforestation. Beef imports are covered by the EU law.
Including leather "will have a devastating impact on the EU tanning industry," Europe's tanning and dressing industry body COTANCE said in a public submission to the EU last year, adding that tanneries would not be able to force cattle farming firms further up the supply chain to comply with the EU law.
Industry groups have stepped up their calls in recent weeks, making their case to EU lawmakers and representatives from the European Commission at an event at the European Parliament on April 8.
Europe's tanning industry is the world's largest supplier of leather, according to the EU.
European tanneries import around 40% of the raw materials - such as hides - they use from countries including Brazil and the U.S., industry data shows.
The Commission's analysis, when it first designed the law in 2021, had said leather is "a relevant factor of deforestation according to literature and feedback from stakeholders".
Brussels had already delayed the launch of the policy by two years, after opposition from Brazil, Indonesia and the United States, which say complying would be costly and hurt their exports to Europe.
By Kate Abnett

The European Commission is set to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, EU officials told Reuters, after a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not...

By Kate Abnett
BRUSSELS, April 30 (Reuters) - The European Commission is set to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, EU officials told Reuters, after a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming that fuels forest destruction.
The exemption will remove leather, hides and skins from the world-first law, which from December will require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef and palm oil into the EU to prove their products did not cause deforestation.
A Commission spokesperson declined to comment on the plan.
Those breaking the rules risk hefty fines and a potential ban on accessing the EU market.
Environmental groups have urged the EU not to exempt leather, arguing that this would weaken the law's ability to curb deforestation.
Leather industry groups have argued that as a by-product of the meat industry, with a relatively low value, leather's production does not incentivise the cattle farming that drives deforestation. Beef imports are covered by the EU law.
Including leather "will have a devastating impact on the EU tanning industry," Europe's tanning and dressing industry body COTANCE said in a public submission to the EU last year, adding that tanneries would not be able to force cattle farming firms further up the supply chain to comply with the EU law.
Industry groups have stepped up their calls in recent weeks, making their case to EU lawmakers and representatives from the European Commission at an event at the European Parliament on April 8.
Europe's tanning industry is the world's largest supplier of leather, according to the EU.
European tanneries import around 40% of the raw materials - such as hides - they use from countries including Brazil and the U.S., industry data shows.
The Commission's analysis, when it first designed the law in 2021, had said leather is "a relevant factor of deforestation according to literature and feedback from stakeholders".
Brussels had already delayed the launch of the policy by two years, after opposition from Brazil, Indonesia and the United States, which say complying would be costly and hurt their exports to Europe.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)

BRUSSELS, April 30 (Reuters) - The European Commission is set to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, EU officials told Reuters, aft

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Reuters) - The European Commission has decided to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, it said on Monday, after a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming that fuels forest destruction.
The exemption will remove leather, hides and skins from the world-first law, which from December will require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef and palm oil into the EU to prove their products did not cause deforestation.
The EU's decision confirmed a Reuters report from last week.
"The main driver of deforestation is the expansion of agricultural land linked to the production of seven commodities covered by the regulation - cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some of their derived products," said the European Commission in a statement."
"Under the Regulation, any operator or trader who places these commodities on the EU market, or exports from it, must be able to prove that the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation," it added.

The European Commission has decided to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, it said on Monday, after a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not...
-May 04, 2026 at 06:16 am EDT
- MarketScreener

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Monday proposed to remove leather from the scope of the revised European Union (EU) Deforestation Regulation, in a move to avoid penalizing EU producers of goods such as handbags and shoes.
The draft delegated act, open for public feedback until June 1, proposes targeted amendments to the product scope, including adding soluble coffee and certain palm oil derivatives while excluding leather and retreaded tyres and so on, said the Commission in a statement.
The Commission also unveiled a package of supporting measures to ensure the smooth and effective implementation of the revised law, following the adoption of the revised text by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in December 2025.
The measures include a simplification review report, updated guidance and frequently asked questions. The supporting measures are expected to reduce annual compliance costs for companies subject to the EU Deforestation Regulation obligations by about 75 percent compared to the original regulation.
The Commission said the package is designed to provide additional clarity to economic operators, members and third countries while guaranteeing legal stability and predictability.
The EU Deforestation Regulation aims to ensure that key goods placed on the EU market do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation, which are major drivers of climate change and biodiversity loss. It covers seven commodities -- cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some of their derived products.
Under the regulation, any operator or trader placing these goods on the EU market or exporting them must prove the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation.
The regulation is set to apply from December 30, 2026, for large and medium companies, and from June 30, 2027, for other micro and small enterprises. ■

EU seeks to exclude leather from revised anti-deforestation law-

EU seeks to exclude leather from revised anti-deforestation law

If deforestation and global warming continue unchecked, the Amazon rainforest could begin a gradual transition to a degraded, grassland-like ecosystem in just a few decades, according to new research published on Wednesday.
The study, published in the journal Nature, provides new insight into when the forest might start to slip over a so-called tipping point at which an incremental but profound and irreversible ecosystem transformation begins.
The analysis examined the relationship between deforestation and global warming. Deforestation can worsen the effects of rising temperatures by reducing rainfall. Those intensified effects, in turn, can lower the warming threshold at which ecosystem changes begin.
'The consequences of the Amazon tipping point are catastrophic for the entire planet,' said Bernardo M. Flores, an ecology researcher at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain and an author of the study. 'We need to be careful not to get anywhere near those risks.'
The Amazon, home to millions of species of plants and animals, is the largest tropical rainforest on Earth. Year after year, it absorbs more than a billion tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping to offset the effects of human-caused emissions.
In past decades, though, wildfire, logging, mining and expanding agriculture have taken a heavy toll on the rainforest. Degradation has caused some areas, like an infamous 'arc of deforestation' that stretches across Brazil, to become a source of planet-warming carbon rather than a so-called sink where carbon is locked away.
Recently, tropical countries, and notably Brazil, have made progress in slowing deforestation. And research shows that some tropical forests are capable of regrowing quickly, although some areas of the Amazon are already too degraded to recover without human help.
The new study examines a known consequence of deforestation: it can create a feedback loop that reduces rainfall and causes even more trees to die. That's because trees in the rainforest act as a kind of weather machine by sucking up water from the ground with their roots and releasing moisture into the air through their leaves.
When trees are lost on a large scale, the regional climate becomes drier and other effects of climate change, like drought and wildfire, become more dangerous.
'If you lose forests, then you lose rainfall,' Dr. Flores said. 'This interaction between rain and forests is at the heart of the Amazon's resilience.'
Separate research has found that deforestation has played a role in the majority of rainfall declines in the Amazon in recent decades, with the most heavily deforested regions sustaining correspondingly larger reductions in rainfall.
Usually, scientists study the effects of deforestation and climate change separately, said Nico Wunderling, a professor of computational Earth system sciences at the University of Frankfurt, who led the research published on Wednesday. The new study is one of the first that looks comprehensively at both factors to determine a tipping point, he said.
In a theoretical world without deforestation in the Amazon, the rainforest would be able to withstand up to 3.7 degrees Celsius, or about 6.7 degrees Fahrenheit, of global warming over preindustrial temperatures, the researchers found.
But in today's world, the planet has already warmed an estimated 1.4 degrees Celsius and at least 17 percent of the Amazon rainforest has already been cut down, burned or otherwise lost.
That means a tipping point could be reached relatively quickly, the researchers found. According their analysis, in a scenario where 22 percent or more of the Amazon rainforest is deforested, the majority of the ecosystem becomes vulnerable to collapse at temperatures over 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming.
If both global warming and deforestation continue at the current pace, this danger zone could be reached in about 25 years, according to Dr. Flores.
It is also possible, Dr. Wunderling said, that the Amazon could avoid a midcentury tipping point if Brazil continues to successfully slow deforestation.
More than 140 countries have agreed to halt and then reverse forest loss by 2030, but deforestation remains 70 percent higher than the level needed for the world to meet that commitment, a recent report found.
The vast majority of the countries have also agreed to the Paris Agreement, a global pact to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius over preindustrial levels, but scientists generally agree that the world is likely to overshoot this target. President Trump has withdrawn the United States from the agreement.
'Even if we reduce emissions very rapidly, the Amazon is facing a tremendous challenge,' said Carlos Nobre, a Brazilian scientist who has spent his career studying the region and was not involved in the new study.
Dr. Nobre first published a similar hypothesis on how deforestation and climate change could compound and create a tipping point for the Amazon a decade ago. The new study, he said, uses updated climate models and provides greater clarity on the timeline ahead.
Avoiding a tipping point will require reaching zero deforestation as quickly as possible and restoring large areas of forest, he said. 'This is what we have been saying for many, many years and now, again, this important paper shows the risk.'
A few important factors that were not included in the new study could also influence whether or not the Amazon reaches a tipping point, and how quickly it could happen, Dr. Flores said.
The paper focuses on completely deforested areas, but partially degraded areas of rainforest may also contribute to regionwide dynamics. A continued increase in wildfires could tip the scales, too.
On the other hand, some regrowing areas could eventually help restore the forest's natural ability to recycle moisture.
Sachi Kitajima Mulkey covers climate and the environment for The Times.
The post New Study Shows Risks of Amazon Deforestation. And Rewards of Protection. appeared first on New York Times.

If deforestation and global warming continue unchecked, the Amazon rainforest could begin a gradual transition to a degraded, grassland-like ecosystem

The European Commission has proposed excluding leather from the EU's deforestation rules, one of the key changes in a package adopted today aimed at simplifying the implementation of the law.
The rules will require companies, from 30 December 2026, to demonstrate that certain products sold in the EU – including cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil, rubber, livestock, and timber – did not contribute to deforestation.
Responding to demands from industry and farm groups, under a revision agreed last year, MEPs and the Council mandated the Commission to present, by April, a report on options to simplify the regulation.
Alongside new guidance and frequently asked questions – both non-binding documents providing clarification – the Commission is also proposing targeted changes to the list of products covered.
Leather would be removed from the scope of the EU deforestation regulation (EUDR), a Commission official told reporters, arguing that keeping it in would risk 'an unbalanced approach,' since finished goods like – shoes or handbags – are not covered by the rules.
The move has been strongly opposed by NGOs. WWF's policy manager Anke Schulmeister‑Oldenhove said exempting specific sectors would 'undermine the regulation's cridibility and make compliance more complex.'
Retreaded tires – used tires reprocessed with a new rubber layer for reuse – are also set to be excluded. 'All new tires remain in the scope of EUDR,' the official clarified.
At the same time, the Commission plans to expand the scope in some areas. As reported by Euractiv, soluble coffee will be added – aligning it with other coffee products – along with certain palm-oil-based goods such as soap.
According to the Commission, the adjustments follow a methodology ensuring 'a coherent approach across commodities,' as well as environmental impact and compliance costs. The draft legislation proposing changes to the list of products covered will be open for public feedback until 1 June.
EXCLUSIVE: EU to tweak product list under deforestation rules without reopening text
The European Commission has said it will not reopen the EU's deforestation rules again, but…
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Another front with the US?
The package also includes an implementing act updating the IT system underpinning the rules, including simplified paperwork for small primary operators – mainly EU farmers and foresters.
The system will also include a 'grouping feature', allowing organisations to submit data on behalf of multiple producers, and will make it easier to connect the EU platform with national databases.
The Commission further clarified key responsibilities along the supply chain. 'Upstream operators' – those first placing products on the EU market – remain subject to full due diligence obligations, while the 'first downstream operator' must collect reference numbers from suppliers but is not required to actively verify compliance.
Despite the simplification push, the Commission stopped short of introducing country-level simplification. No new 'no risk' category was added to the benchmarking system classifying countries as high, standard or low risk of deforestation – a change sought by partners including the US to secure exemptions from EUDR obligations.
'We are confident that with all the changes since the entry into force in 2023 and this latest package, we are equipped for a smooth and effective implementation at the end of the year,' the official said, while acknowledging 'continued criticism' from some partners.
Any review of the benchmarking and its methodology will only take place once the EUDR enters into application, they added.
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There will be no new "no risk country" category as sought by the US

EU to drop leather, add soluble coffee to deforestation rules

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Monday proposed to remove leather from the scope of the revised European Union (EU) Deforestation Regulation, in a move to avoid penalizing EU producers of goods such as handbags and shoes.
The draft delegated act, open for public feedback until June 1, proposes targeted amendments to the product scope, including adding soluble coffee and certain palm oil derivatives while excluding leather and retreaded tyres and so on, said the Commission in a statement.
The Commission also unveiled a package of supporting measures to ensure the smooth and effective implementation of the revised law, following the adoption of the revised text by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in December 2025.
The measures include a simplification review report, updated guidance and frequently asked questions. The supporting measures are expected to reduce annual compliance costs for companies subject to the EU Deforestation Regulation obligations by about 75 percent compared to the original regulation.
The Commission said the package is designed to provide additional clarity to economic operators, members and third countries while guaranteeing legal stability and predictability.
The EU Deforestation Regulation aims to ensure that key goods placed on the EU market do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation, which are major drivers of climate change and biodiversity loss. It covers seven commodities -- cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some of their derived products.
Under the regulation, any operator or trader placing these goods on the EU market or exporting them must prove the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation.
The regulation is set to apply from December 30, 2026, for large and medium companies, and from June 30, 2027, for other micro and small enterprises.

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Monday proposed to remove leather from the scope of the revised European Union (EU) Deforestation Regulation, in a move to avoid penalizing EU…

EU seeks to exclude leather from revised anti-deforestation law--China Economic Net

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Reuters) - The European Commission has decided to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, it said on Monday, after a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming that fuels forest destruction.
The exemption will remove leather, hides and skins from the world-first law, which from December will require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef and palm oil into the EU to prove their products did not cause deforestation.
The EU's decision confirmed a Reuters report from last week.
"The main driver of deforestation is the expansion of agricultural land linked to the production of seven commodities covered by the regulation – cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some of their derived products," said the European Commission in a statement."
"Under the Regulation, any operator or trader who places these commodities on the EU market, or exports from it, must be able to prove that the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation," it added.
(Reporting by Kate Abnett;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Reuters) - The European Commission has decided to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, it said on Monday, after a c

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Reuters) – The European Commission has decided to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation ​law, it said on ‌Monday, after a campaign by industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming that fuels forest destruction.
The exemption ‌will ​remove leather, hides and ⁠skins from the ⁠world-first law, which from December will require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef and palm oil into ​the EU to prove their products did not cause deforestation.
The EU's ⁠decision confirmed a ⁠Reuters report from last week.
'The ​main driver of deforestation is the ​expansion of agricultural land linked to ‌the production of seven commodities covered by the regulation – cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and ⁠some of their derived products,' said the European Commission in a statement.'
'Under the Regulation, ⁠any operator ‌or trader who places ⁠these commodities on the EU ​market, ‌or exports from it, must ​be ⁠able to prove that the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation,' it added.

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Reuters) - The European Commission has decided to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation ​law, it said on ‌Monday, after a campaign by industry groups which argued…

Logged stubs and trees are seen at one of the last primeval forests in Europe, Bialowieza forest, near Bialowieza village, Poland February 15, 2018. Picture taken February 15, 2018.... Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab
BRUSSELS, April 30 (Reuters) - The European Commission is set to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, EU officials told Reuters, after a campaign by ​industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming that fuels forest ‌destruction.
The exemption will remove leather, hides and skins from the world-first law, which from December will require companies selling goods including soy, coffee, beef and palm oil into the EU to prove ​their products did not cause deforestation.
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A Commission spokesperson declined to comment on ​the plan.
Those breaking the rules risk hefty fines and a potential ⁠ban on accessing the EU market.
Environmental groups have urged the EU not to ​exempt leather, arguing that this would weaken the law's ability to curb deforestation.
Leather industry ​groups have argued that as a by-product of the meat industry, with a relatively low value, leather's production does not incentivise the cattle farming that drives deforestation. Beef imports are covered by ​the EU law.
Including leather "will have a devastating impact on the EU tanning industry," Europe's ​tanning and dressing industry body COTANCE said in a public submission to the EU last year, ‌adding ⁠that tanneries would not be able to force cattle farming firms further up the supply chain to comply with the EU law.
Industry groups have stepped up their calls in recent weeks, making their case to EU lawmakers and representatives from the European ​Commission at an ​event at the ⁠European Parliament on April 8.
Europe's tanning industry is the world's largest supplier of leather, according to the EU.
European tanneries import around ​40% of the raw materials - such as hides - they use from ​countries including ⁠Brazil and the U.S., industry data shows.
The Commission's analysis, when it first designed the law in 2021, had said leather is "a relevant factor of deforestation according to literature ⁠and feedback ​from stakeholders".
Brussels had already delayed the launch of ​the policy by two years, after opposition from Brazil, Indonesia and the United States, which say complying would ​be costly and hurt their exports to Europe.
Reporting by Kate Abnett;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle
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The European Commission is set to exclude imports of leather from its anti-deforestation law, EU officials told Reuters, after a campaign by ​industry groups which argued that production does not incentivise the cattle farming that fuels forest ‌destruction.

BRUSSELS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Monday proposed to remove leather from the scope of the revised European Union (EU) Deforestati.....

The European Commission proposed removing leather from the revised EU Deforestation Regulation to ease pressure on industries like footwear and handbags. The draft also adds certain products and cuts compliance costs, while maintaining rules against goods linked to deforestation
Published Date - 4 May 2026, 09:05 PM
Photo: Reuters
Brussels: The European Commission on Monday proposed to remove leather from the scope of the revised European Union (EU) Deforestation Regulation, in a move to avoid penalising EU producers of goods such as handbags and shoes.
The draft delegated act, open for public feedback until June 1, proposes targeted amendments to the product scope, including adding soluble coffee and certain palm oil derivatives while excluding leather and retreaded tyres and so on, said the Commission in a statement, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The Commission also unveiled a package of supporting measures to ensure the smooth and effective implementation of the revised law, following the adoption of the revised text by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in December 2025.
The measures include a simplification review report, updated guidance and frequently asked questions. The supporting measures are expected to reduce annual compliance costs for companies subject to the EU Deforestation Regulation obligations by about 75 per cent compared to the original regulation.
The Commission said the package is designed to provide additional clarity to economic operators, members and third countries while guaranteeing legal stability and predictability.
The EU Deforestation Regulation aims to ensure that key goods placed on the EU market do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation, which are major drivers of climate change and biodiversity loss. It covers seven commodities — cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some of their derived products.
Under the regulation, any operator or trader placing these goods on the EU market or exporting them must prove the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation.
The regulation is set to apply from December 30, 2026, for large and medium companies, and from June 30, 2027, for other micro and small enterprises.

The European Commission proposed removing leather from the revised EU Deforestation Regulation to ease pressure on industries like footwear and handbags. The draft also adds certain products and cuts…

EU proposes removing leather from deforestation rules

Aside from the sheer loss of natural habitats and biodiversity, Thailand's agriculture, tourism, and even climate resilience are all under threat from the unsustainable greed fueling its deforestation.
This week on #TheSignal, we take a closer look at deforestation in Thailand and the real factors behind it:
🌳 Recent MAJOR incidents of illegal logging and wildfire
🌳 The economic pressures against Thai forests
🌳 What happens when Thai forests disappear, hectare by hectare
🌳 How Thailand is moving to protect what's left

Thailand is blessed with a fertile land, and its forests have long been considered one of its greatest natural assets. But recent incidents — from illegal logging to suspected arson — remind us that…

The unchecked GREED of deforestation in Thailand.

DeForest residents have spoken when it comes to the type of playground that will be installed at the new Rivers Turn Phase III park.
The Village of DeForest announced on Thursday, April 30 that the vote had been tallied between the three proposed options presented to residents. Voters settled on 'Option 1' proposed by Lee Recreation.
The option won with just over 40% of the total vote, with Lee's second proposed option being the runner-up and Gerber Leisure's proposal coming in third.
A rendering of the playground equipment that will be installed at the "Rivers Turn Phase III" park, selected via a online vote by DeForest residents.
Online voting was held on EngageDeForest from March 18 until April 3. Not only were residents able to choose the playground equipment they liked the most, but they also determined the name of the park.
While the winning name has not yet been revealed to the public, residents had their choice between "Sedge Meadow Park,' 'Riverbend Park''and 'Stonecrop Grounds.'
The winning name will be presented to the DeForest Village Board at a future meeting for final approval and adoption.
The future park is set to be comprised of 1.6 acres in the Rivers Turn neighborhood. In addition to the playground equipment that residents have selected, the park is also poised to include an open-air shelter and a multi-use court for basketball and tennis.
Direct public engagement formed the vision for the park, just as much as it did for its name.Village staff identified what amenities it would include through public input that was fielded leading up to the adoption of DeForest's Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan in 2024.

DeForest residents have spoken when it comes to the type of playground that will be installed at the new Rivers Turn Phase III park.

DeForest community selects new playground equipment

Aside from the sheer loss of natural habitats and biodiversity, Thailand's agriculture, tourism, and even climate resilience are all under threat from the unsustainable greed fueling its…

Video The unchecked GREED of deforestation in Thailand.

A new model policy to help companies become more sustainable and turn commitments into actionable change has been launched after it was revealed that global soy pledges to deliver deforestation- and conversion-free supply chains have fallen short.
Today, the Retail Soy Group (RSG) unveils its new framework for more sustainable soy sourcing, providing companies with the latest guidance from the Accountability Framework initiative).
In recent years, some global retailers and food companies have been working toward ambitious deforestation commitments to ensure a more sustainable soy supply chain. But many are struggling, according to RSG, as making measurable change across such a complex commodity market is extremely challenging. Soy sustainability efforts stall
There has been some progress to strengthen corporate policies, enhance transparency, and support responsible production, including certification schemes and landscape initiatives, but voluntary commitments alone have not delivered. Targets for 2025 have not materialized.
According to RSG, without clear, market-wide rules that apply to everyone, progress remains limited — highlighting the need for regulation such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which has faced a series of complications and delays. Limitations of voluntary protections
Recent events have shown that voluntary protections in production areas can be fragile. In January, several major soy exporters left the Amazon Soy Moratorium. Retailers responded by warning traders that this could weaken efforts to prevent deforestation and undo progress made over the past two decades.
Delivering deforestation- and conversion-free soy requires a coordinated approach built on focused supplier requirements, strong regulation to create a level playing field, and direct incentives for producers to protect forests. The new RSG Model Policy turns this into practical guidance, helping companies implement consistent standards for sourcing, traceability, monitoring, and accountability. Turning commitments into supply chain change
Will Schreiber, representative for RSG, tells Food Ingredients First how eliminating deforestation and land conversion from soy supply chains requires stronger regulatory frameworks and greater investment in sustainable production.
'The biggest barrier has been the continued absence of market-level regulation to eliminate deforestation from at risk commodities. It was expected that the private and public sector would each play their role in driving this change, but the continued delays in the EUDR, and the UK Forest Risk Commodities secondary legislation, have presented a material blocker to the commercial case for driving segregated supply chains,' he says.
'This is a model policy for implementing commitments companies may have already made, or are yet to, set. By standardizing reporting structures, establishing a clear preference hierarchy, and having common definitions and thresholds, supply chains have the potential for more consistent customer expectations.' Coordinated action crucial
Schreiber explains why 'coordinated action' between governments, companies, and producers is crucial to deliver deforestation-free soy supply chains. But what does this look like in reality, and what needs to change for it to happen at scale?
'Aligned incentives and disincentives for production combined with multiple angles for compliance checks. For example, a producing nation can police deforestation events and prosecute bad actors, but private sector companies can also play a critical role in verifying their own supply chains aren't connected to these landscapes.'
'If government enforcement doesn't occur, then the situation just gets worse, and private companies may struggle to mitigate risks or secure supply,' says Schreiber.

A new model policy to help companies become more sustainable and turn commitments into actionable change has been launched after it was revealed that global soy pledges to deliver deforestation- and…

Retail Soy Group launches policy framework as deforestation targets fall short

A major analysis led by the University of Cambridge has found that many REDD+ projects achieved meaningful reductions in forest loss - offering real environmental benefits.
This is despite the study confirming that almost eleven times more carbon credits were issued from the REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) voluntary carbon market than was justified.
Tropical forests are an invaluable global asset under increasing threat, and carbon markets have the potential to contribute substantial funds to their protection.
The researchers say future projects must ensure the claimed impacts reflect real reductions in deforestation: the REDD+ carbon credit market should not be abandoned, but far fewer credits should be issued, at a higher price.
Over the last two decades the voluntary carbon market - through which people can buy carbon credits to offset their carbon emissions - has boomed and almost bust. REDD+ schemes use funds from the sale of carbon credits to protect existing forests, but their valuation methods have come under heavy scrutiny leading to a crisis of confidence in the market.
The new study reveals that nine high‑issuing REDD+ projects accounted for much of the over‑crediting, skewing both market value and public perception. The researchers say that these 'bad credits' are not necessarily reflective of bad forest conservation projects.
The synthesis of six independent evaluations of the effectiveness of 44 REDD+ projects, representing almost half of the projects producing REDD+ carbon credits by 2020 - found that four in five projects successfully protected forests.
The report is published today in the journal Nature Communications.
'We found that many REDD+ projects were at far lower risk of deforestation than anticipated by project-led evaluations. Credits were issued based on predictions that these forests were at imminent risk of deforestation, but in reality this risk was often lower,' said Dr Tom Swinfield, a researcher in the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology and first author of the study.
He added: 'It's vital that future forest carbon credits accurately represent their benefits for these schemes to be a meaningful solution to deforestation.'
'A key take-home message is that 'bad credits' do not necessarily mean 'bad projects'. Many projects have successfully slowed deforestation, even if more credits were sold than are justified,' said Professor Julia Jones at Bangor University, a co-author of the study.
She added: 'The over-crediting scandal in the voluntary carbon market has left many with the unhelpful impression that anything to do with funding tropical forest conservation through carbon finance is a bit dodgy. It is important to set the record straight, as forest conservation is so vital to tackling climate change.'
How are carbon credits generated?
REDD+ schemes generate carbon credits by investing in the protection of the world's most important forests, from the Congo to the Amazon basin. Credits represent the carbon that is no longer released through deforestation as a result. Organisations and individuals can then offset their own carbon footprint by buying credits equivalent to a given quantity of emissions.
Carbon credits are generated by comparing the anticipated deforestation in a region before protection, with the projected deforestation once areas of forest are protected through a REDD+ project. This depends on accurately selecting other, unprotected areas of forest against which robust comparisons can be made.
The problem many independent evaluators have discovered is that the comparison areas chosen by crediting agencies were often more exposed to deforestation than project areas would have been, so too many credits have been issued.
An evolving market
The value of the carbon market has plummeted to only around one quarter of its 2022 US $2 billion high, following widespread evidence that carbon credits were oversold.
Although the first generation of REDD+ methodologies has largely been phased out, the next generation has yet to be fully implemented - with major delays perhaps driven by concerns about getting the system right.
The researchers say to avoid over-crediting, future REDD+ projects must draw on more representative reference forests to better assess the true contribution of projects to forest protection.
Several improvements - such as using independent data providers to remove any bias in valuing credits - are already helping to make these credits more robust, but researchers say retrospective checking of project performance is also essential.
'This study confirms concerns widespread over‑crediting in the carbon market. But despite the challenges, carbon markets remain one of the few mechanisms we have to protect tropical forests while giving organisations and individuals the chance to compensate for their emissions,' said Swinfield.
Reference: Swinfield, T. et al: 'Learning lessons from over-crediting to ensure additionality in forest carbon credits.' Nature Communications, April 2026.

A major analysis led by the University of Cambridge has found that many REDD+ projects achieved meaningful reductions in forest loss - offering real environmental benefits. This is despite the study

Carbon credits have enabled vital protection of tropical forests, despite being oversold tenfold

FILE - An illegal mining camp is visible from a Brazil Environmental Agency helicopter during an operation to try to contain illegal mining in Yanomami Indigenous territory, Roraima state, Brazil, Feb. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Edmar Barros, File)
Gold prices have surged in recent years, sparking a mining rush in the Amazon that accelerates deforestation and mercury contamination
Gold prices have surged in recent years, sparking a mining rush in the Amazon that accelerates deforestation and mercury contamination
SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.

Gold prices have surged in recent years, sparking a mining rush in the Amazon that accelerates deforestation and mercury contamination. A study by Amazon Conservation and Instituto Socioambiental…

A gold-fueled mining rush scars Brazil's Amazon, spiking deforestation and mercury risks

Climate change and deforestation together could push two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest towards critical ecological breakdown at lower levels of global warming than previously estimated, a new study has found.
The research, published in the journal Nature on May 6, 2026, has warned that the Amazon may undergo destabilising shifts not from warming alone, but from multiple pressures occurring simultaneously — including rising temperatures, deforestation, drought and forest degradation.
These combined stresses are weakening the rainforest's resilience and pushing it closer to a tipping point at which it could begin driving its own decline, said the researchers from Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) in their study.
The study found that if deforestation rises to around 22 per cent-28 per cent alongside global warming of 1.5-1.9 degrees Celsius (°C), close to a third of the Amazon could transition into degraded forest systems. This is lower than previous Earth system model estimates, which projected critical thresholds between 2°C and 6°C of warming.

A study warns the Amazon could approach ecological collapse at just 1.5-1.9°C of global warming when combined with deforestation. With 17-18% of the forest already lost, researchers say up to two…

As warming and deforestation intensify, the Amazon could begin driving its own collapse, study warns

The European Commission has published a further review of the EU Deforestation Regulation, moving to simplify implementation of one of the bloc's most closely watched environmental compliance regimes before it enters into application for large and medium-sized companies at the end of 2026.
The measure is part of the Commission's broader effort to reduce administrative costs for companies while preserving the law's core objective: ensuring that certain goods placed on, or exported from, the EU market are not linked to recent deforestation or forest degradation. The Commission said in its latest simplification review that the focus is now on facilitating implementation and ensuring a successful entry into application by 30 December 2026.
The regulation covers cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy and wood, as well as a range of derived products. Under the rules, operators and traders must be able to show that covered products are deforestation-free, legally produced in the country of origin, and backed by a due diligence statement.
According to the Commission's policy overview, the regulation is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss linked to EU consumption. It also aims to address agricultural expansion, which remains the principal driver of global deforestation associated with several of the commodities covered by the law.
The latest simplification push follows previous amendments agreed in December 2024 and December 2025. Those changes adjusted the timetable and introduced burden-reduction measures for companies within scope. The current entry into application is 30 December 2026 for large and medium-sized operators, 30 June 2027 for micro and small operators, and 30 December 2026 for micro and small operators already covered by the EU Timber Regulation.
For companies, the practical challenge remains substantial. Importers, exporters and traders will need to collect and submit supply-chain information, assess the risk that products are linked to deforestation, and mitigate risks where necessary. For sectors such as cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil, rubber, timber, leather and furniture, compliance may require more detailed supplier documentation, geolocation data and closer checks across complex international value chains.
The Commission's approach appears intended to respond to concerns from businesses and trading partners that the regulation could create significant administrative pressure, particularly where supply chains include small producers or intermediaries outside the EU. The simplification measures are therefore likely to be judged by whether they reduce procedural friction without weakening traceability and enforcement.
The regulation has wider trade implications. Producers in third countries supplying the EU market will have to meet documentation standards if their goods are to remain eligible for sale in the bloc. That gives the measure an external dimension beyond EU environmental policy, as it places EU market access conditions on products linked to forest-risk commodities.
The EU institutions have presented the law as part of a wider attempt to reduce the bloc's global environmental footprint. The European Parliament's background material notes that EU consumption has been linked to about 10 per cent of global deforestation, mainly through palm oil and soy, while also pointing to wood, cocoa, coffee and rubber as relevant import categories. Parliament's summary of the legislation and its timetable is available in its deforestation policy briefing.
The regulation also repeals the EU Timber Regulation, replacing a narrower timber-focused framework with a broader commodity-based due diligence regime. That shift is significant because it moves EU policy from illegal timber enforcement towards a wider model covering agricultural expansion and forest degradation.
Implementation will now depend on the clarity of guidance, the operation of the EU information system, the classification of country risk, and the capacity of national authorities to enforce the rules consistently. Divergent enforcement across member states would risk creating uncertainty for businesses and uneven conditions in the single market.
The Commission's simplification review therefore does not remove the central compliance burden. Rather, it seeks to make the system more workable before the main obligations begin. For affected companies, the remaining months before application are likely to be used to map supply chains, test documentation systems, and determine whether suppliers can provide the information required under the regulation.
For policymakers, the issue is now one of balance. A system that is too burdensome could disrupt trade and prove difficult for smaller producers to navigate. A system that is too loose would weaken the regulation's purpose and raise questions over whether products entering the EU can genuinely be described as deforestation-free.
The latest Commission move confirms that the EU intends to proceed with the regulation, but with further effort to reduce administrative costs. The next phase will show whether simplification can make the regime more practical without altering its main enforcement logic.

The European Commission has published a further review of the EU Deforestation Regulation, moving to simplify implementation of one of the bloc's most closely

Commission publishes simplification review of EU deforestation rules - https://eutoday.net

Satellite imagery shows mining-related deforestation spreading rapidly.

Satellite imagery shows mining-related deforestation spreading rapidly....

A gold-fueled mining rush scars Brazil\u2019s Amazon, spiking deforestation and mercury risks

A major analysis led by the University of Cambridge has found that many REDD+ projects achieved meaningful reductions in forest loss - offering real environmental benefits.
This is despite the study confirming that almost eleven times more carbon credits were issued from the REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) voluntary carbon market than was justified.
Tropical forests are an invaluable global asset under increasing threat, and carbon markets have the potential to contribute substantial funds to their protection.
The researchers say future projects must ensure the claimed impacts reflect real reductions in deforestation: the REDD+ carbon credit market should not be abandoned, but far fewer credits should be issued, at a higher price.
Over the last two decades the voluntary carbon market - through which people can buy carbon credits to offset their carbon emissions - has boomed and almost bust. REDD+ schemes use funds from the sale of carbon credits to protect existing forests, but their valuation methods have come under heavy scrutiny leading to a crisis of confidence in the market.
The new study reveals that nine high‑issuing REDD+ projects accounted for much of the over‑crediting, skewing both market value and public perception. The researchers say that these 'bad credits' are not necessarily reflective of bad forest conservation projects.
The synthesis of six independent evaluations of the effectiveness of 44 REDD+ projects, representing almost half of the projects producing REDD+ carbon credits by 2020 - found that four in five projects successfully protected forests.
The report is published today in the journal Nature Communications.
"We found that many REDD+ projects were at far lower risk of deforestation than anticipated by project-led evaluations. Credits were issued based on predictions that these forests were at imminent risk of deforestation, but in reality this risk was often lower," said Dr Tom Swinfield, a researcher in the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology and first author of the study.
He added: "It's vital that future forest carbon credits accurately represent their benefits for these schemes to be a meaningful solution to deforestation."
"A key take-home message is that 'bad credits' do not necessarily mean 'bad projects'. Many projects have successfully slowed deforestation, even if more credits were sold than are justified," said Professor Julia Jones at Bangor University, a co-author of the study.
She added: "The over-crediting scandal in the voluntary carbon market has left many with the unhelpful impression that anything to do with funding tropical forest conservation through carbon finance is a bit dodgy. It is important to set the record straight, as forest conservation is so vital to tackling climate change."
How are carbon credits generated?
REDD+ schemes generate carbon credits by investing in the protection of the world's most important forests, from the Congo to the Amazon basin. Credits represent the carbon that is no longer released through deforestation as a result. Organisations and individuals can then offset their own carbon footprint by buying credits equivalent to a given quantity of emissions.
Carbon credits are generated by comparing the anticipated deforestation in a region before protection, with the projected deforestation once areas of forest are protected through a REDD+ project. This depends on accurately selecting other, unprotected areas of forest against which robust comparisons can be made.
The problem many independent evaluators have discovered is that the comparison areas chosen by crediting agencies were often more exposed to deforestation than project areas would have been, so too many credits have been issued.
An evolving market
The value of the carbon market has plummeted to only around one quarter of its 2022 US $2 billion high, following widespread evidence that carbon credits were oversold.
Although the first generation of REDD+ methodologies has largely been phased out, the next generation has yet to be fully implemented - with major delays perhaps driven by concerns about getting the system right.
The researchers say to avoid over-crediting, future REDD+ projects must draw on more representative reference forests to better assess the true contribution of projects to forest protection.
Several improvements - such as using independent data providers to remove any bias in valuing credits - are already helping to make these credits more robust, but researchers say retrospective checking of project performance is also essential.
"This study confirms concerns widespread over‑crediting in the carbon market. But despite the challenges, carbon markets remain one of the few mechanisms we have to protect tropical forests while giving organisations and individuals the chance to compensate for their emissions," said Swinfield.

A major analysis led by the University of Cambridge has found that many REDD+ projects achieved meaningful reductions in forest loss - offering real

Carbon Credits Vital for Forests Despite Overselling

The European Commission has published draft proposals to cut the annual cost of compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by around 75 per cent by further simplifying the flagship deforestation...

Commission reveals proposals to slash the cost of EUDR compliance by 75 per cent, but campaigners slam latest weakening of key forest protection rules

'Ridiculous loophole': European Commission proposes exempting leather industry from flagship deforestation rules

REDD projects in many major geographies now able to move ahead with implementation
Verra today released unplanned deforestation allocated risk maps for an additional three jurisdictions, Colombia, Cambodia, and the Mai Ndombe province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, marking a major milestone in the operationalization of VM0048 Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, v1.0 in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program. With the availability of these additional data, proponents can now proceed with project development and registration in nine jurisdictions that represent a high percentage of REDD project activity.
Previously, Verra had published risk maps for Peru and the Brazilian states of Acre, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, and Rondônia.
The availability of deforestation risk maps enables proponents to request activity data for projects in these jurisdictions, a necessary step for registering a REDD project with the VCS Program under VM0048 and its associated module VMD0055 Estimation of Emission Reductions from Avoiding Unplanned Deforestation, v1.1. Proponents can use these VMD0055-compliant data to set the baselines for their projects, which are used to calculate the emission reductions achieved by the project.

Verra Publishes Final Deforestation Risk Maps for Colombia, Cambodia, and Mai Ndombe (DRC)

Over the last few decades, wildfires, farmers, and cattle ranchers have razed millions of acres of tropical forests across the planet. Much of that deforestation has occurred in three countries: Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia.
But in the last few years, another, smaller nation has risen in the ranks of nations with the most severe forest loss — Bolivia.
Situated just west of Brazil, Bolivia lost 1.5 million acres of primary forest in 2025 alone, more than any other country aside from Brazil, according to a new analysis by the University of Maryland and the World Resources Institute (WRI), a research group. That's just shy of the surface area of Delaware.
View Link
Those lost acres in Bolivia are part of threatened and globally important ecosystems, including the Amazon rainforest and the Chiquitano dry forests. They are rich not only in wildlife — including the elusive maned wolf, a long-legged canine that is actually not a wolf — but also in carbon. After trees are cleared, much of the carbon they store returns quickly to the atmosphere, accelerating climate change. (Not-so-fun fact: Yearly carbon emissions from deforestation in the tropics are greater than the output from the entire European Union.)
On the surface, the story of deforestation in Bolivia mirrors that of other tropical countries: People are knocking down trees there to make way for cattle ranches and farms, the two leading drivers of tropical forest loss. Often, people clear land with fire. And as climate change makes droughts more severe in places like Bolivia, those fires more easily spread out of control and into areas that weren't meant to burn, taking out even larger stretches of primary forest.
But when you look more closely at who, exactly , is fueling much of the recent deforestation, Bolivia starts to stand out — thanks to an unexpected player. A brown-throated sloth on a tree in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. | Insights/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) The white religious sect cutting down Bolivia's trees
The main reason people clear forests in Bolivia is to make way for cattle. It's typically cheaper to buy forested land and remove the trees than to acquire existing pasture, says Daniel Larrea, science and technology program director at Conservación Amazónica, a Bolivian NGO. Plus, under the country's legal system, landowners risk losing their land in Bolivia if they don't demonstrate that they're using it 'productively,' such as by raising cattle for beef, effectively creating an incentive for deforestation.
The other major source of forest loss in Bolivia is the rapid expansion of soy farms, the nation's top export crop, by weight. Between 2001 and 2021, soy farms in Bolivia — which feed global demand for animal feed and soybean oil — destroyed some 2.2 million acres of forests, according to a 2023 report by the nonprofit Amazon Conservation Association (affiliated with Conservación Amazónica). That's roughly the size of Puerto Rico.
View Link
Soy farming is among the leading causes of deforestation across the tropics, in places like Brazil, Argentina, and parts of Africa. What makes it more unusual in Bolivia is the people behind much of its production and related environmental harm: Mennonites.
A mostly white Christian group, Mennonites — who have similar origins to the Amish — started migrating to Latin America from Canada in the early 1900s. They first settled in Mexico and Paraguay and then later expanded into a number of other South American countries, including Peru and Bolivia, in the mid-20th century. Bolivia is now home to the largest and fastest-growing community of Mennonites in Latin America, says Yann le Polain de Waroux, a geographer at McGill University, who has studied Mennonites.
As they spread across Latin America, Mennonites typically made a living by farming, which they've done for centuries. And in Bolivia, one of the main crops they grew — and still grow — is soy. In fact, Mennonites were among the first groups to introduce commercial soy farming to Bolivia, helping turn the country into a top-10 soy producer globally, according to Susanna Hecht, a researcher at the University of California Los Angeles. While Mennonite colonies often eschew modern household technologies, like smartphones and TVs, their farms typically use the same machinery as any modern farm, including large tractors and herbicide-tolerant seeds, Hecht told Vox.
In the last few decades, Mennonites have produced between about 20 percent and 40 percent of Bolivia's soy, according to different studies and reports. And much of that production came at the expense of Bolivia's tropical and dry forests, which stood in the places where fields of soy now grow. Researchers estimate that Mennonites caused nearly a quarter of the soy-related deforestation in Bolivia over the last two decades — and that share has risen in more recent years, according to Amazon Conservation Association's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program. Satellite images show the progression of soy-related deforestation between 2017 and 2022. | https://www.maapprogram.org/soy-bolivia-amazon/'>Monitoring of the Andes Amazon Program'
To be clear, it's not that Mennonites operate their farms in an especially destructive way; you can't farm soy in forest habitats without first clearing trees. Blame for surging deforestation more fairly lies on the government — which has, over the years, made expanding agricultural production a state policy and allowed people to clear forests without penalty. Mennonites have, for example, 'been able to capitalize on government incentives through the duty-free import of heavy machinery for mechanized agriculture,' Larrea said.
Food companies and consumers also play a large role in driving this deforestation: Demand for soybeans has skyrocketed in the last few decades, in step with a rise in the demand for meat and the soy-based livestock feed — yet another reminder that meat production destroys tropical forests.
One 2023 report by the advocacy group Global Witness linked Cargill — the largest private company in the US, which sells animal feed, beef, and a wide range of other food and pharmaceutical products — to soy grown by Mennonites on land that was recently deforested. (Cargill told Vox that it did not find evidence that the soy it sourced from Bolivia, referenced in the Global Witness report, came from areas that were recently deforested.) Is there an alternative path for Bolivia?
Slowing deforestation globally remains one of the most challenging and complex environmental problems of our time. In each year of the last two decades, millions of acres of tropical forest — among the world's most important regions for biodiversity and carbon sequestration — have vanished. Though global deforestation dipped in 2025, it still consumed 10.6 million acres, according to WRI's analysis, equivalent to more than 11 soccer fields per minute.
If there's one way to distill the problem, it's that forests today are not as valuable standing as they are cut down. Absent strong markets for carbon and biodiversity — which can make intact trees more valuable — well-enforced government regulations are among the only measures that work to cut deforestation rates.
And that brings us to a rare bit of good news: Last year, Brazil — which contains about 60 percent of the Amazon rainforest — saw a 42 percent drop in forest loss compared to 2024, according to WRI's recent analysis. That drop is part of a larger trend over the past few years of declining deforestation in Brazil, the analysis shows.
WRI researchers attribute Brazil's success to stronger environmental policies and enforcement that were put in place by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ('Lula'). Lula stepped into power in 2023, following the rule of Jair Bolsonaro, who showed wanton disregard for environmental laws and oversaw a spike in deforestation during his tenure. Lula, for example, relaunched a comprehensive anti-deforestation framework — known as the Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon — that includes establishing new parks and bulking up environmental enforcement, among other measures. A farmer sprays pesticides on a field of soybeans in eastern Bolivia. | Diego Giudice/Bloomberg via Getty Images
WRI similarly links a recent deforestation slump in a few other countries, including Colombia and Malaysia, to stronger environmental policies. Early last year, for example, the government of Colombia put in place a regulation that grants rural communities the rights to use forests on the condition that they keep them standing.
These positive outcomes for forests hold important lessons for curbing deforestation in Bolivia. They show that attaining such a goal is possible. And that good governance works. 'A shift in the country's development vision is necessary,' Larrea said of Bolivia — 'a vision based on the sustainable use of the forest, not its destruction.'
In a paper published early last year, a group of mostly academic researchers made a number of recommendations for Bolivia's new center-right government that was elected last year. They urged the new administration of Rodrigo Paz to make a number of changes, including strengthening environmental agencies, halting permits for farming and ranching in critical ecosystems, and helping Indigenous communities secure ownership over their lands.
'By placing nature at the heart of its agenda, Bolivia can stem the loss of species and habitats, honour its international commitments, and forge a legacy of social–ecological resilience,' the authors wrote. 'The world will be watching whether Bolivia chooses to continue down a path of extractive depletion or to lead a just and sustainable transformation worthy of its extraordinary biological and cultural wealth.'
The post These tropical forests are critically important. Why is this religious sect cutting them down? appeared first on Vox.

Over the last few decades, wildfires, farmers, and cattle ranchers have razed millions of acres of tropical forests across the

Fact sheet: A Potsdam Institute study reveals that deforestation in the Amazon, which destroyed 0.55 million km² in 2020, disrupts rainfall recycling and destabilizes humidity, increasing the risk of droughts and affecting the ecosystem. Tap to see the full context.
Context: Nico Wunderling, a scientist at the Potsdam Institute, mentions that deforestation reduces the resilience of the Amazon. Arie Staal, a researcher from Utrecht, highlights th…

Fact sheet: A Potsdam Institute study reveals that deforestation in the Amazon, which destroyed 0.55 million km² in 2020, disrupts rainfall recycling and destabilizes humidity, increasing the risk of…

Study Reveals How Deforestation Impacts Global Warming

A major analysis led by the University of Cambridge has found that many REDD+ projects achieved meaningful reductions in forest loss - offering real environmental benefits.
This is despite the study confirming that almost eleven times more carbon credits were issued from the REDD+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) voluntary carbon market than was justified.
Tropical forests are an invaluable global asset under increasing threat, and carbon markets have the potential to contribute substantial funds to their protection.
The researchers say future projects must ensure the claimed impacts reflect real reductions in deforestation: the REDD+ carbon credit market should not be abandoned, but far fewer credits should be issued, at a higher price.
Over the last two decades the voluntary carbon market - through which people can buy carbon credits to offset their carbon emissions - has boomed and almost bust. REDD+ schemes use funds from the sale of carbon credits to protect existing forests, but their valuation methods have come under heavy scrutiny leading to a crisis of confidence in the market.
The new study reveals that nine high‑issuing REDD+ projects accounted for much of the over‑crediting, skewing both market value and public perception. The researchers say that these 'bad credits' are not necessarily reflective of bad forest conservation projects.
The synthesis of six independent evaluations of the effectiveness of 44 REDD+ projects, representing almost half of the projects producing REDD+ carbon credits by 2020 - found that four in five projects successfully protected forests.
The report is published today in the journal Nature Communications.
"We found that many REDD+ projects were at far lower risk of deforestation than anticipated by project-led evaluations. Credits were issued based on predictions that these forests were at imminent risk of deforestation, but in reality this risk was often lower," said Dr Tom Swinfield, a researcher in the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology and first author of the study.
He added: "It's vital that future forest carbon credits accurately represent their benefits for these schemes to be a meaningful solution to deforestation."
"A key take-home message is that 'bad credits' do not necessarily mean 'bad projects'. Many projects have successfully slowed deforestation, even if more credits were sold than are justified," said Professor Julia Jones at Bangor University, a co-author of the study.
She added: "The over-crediting scandal in the voluntary carbon market has left many with the unhelpful impression that anything to do with funding tropical forest conservation through carbon finance is a bit dodgy. It is important to set the record straight, as forest conservation is so vital to tackling climate change." How are carbon credits generated?
REDD+ schemes generate carbon credits by investing in the protection of the world's most important forests, from the Congo to the Amazon basin. Credits represent the carbon that is no longer released through deforestation as a result. Organisations and individuals can then offset their own carbon footprint by buying credits equivalent to a given quantity of emissions.
Carbon credits are generated by comparing the anticipated deforestation in a region before protection, with the projected deforestation once areas of forest are protected through a REDD+ project. This depends on accurately selecting other, unprotected areas of forest against which robust comparisons can be made.
The problem many independent evaluators have discovered is that the comparison areas chosen by crediting agencies were often more exposed to deforestation than project areas would have been, so too many credits have been issued. An evolving market
The value of the carbon market has plummeted to only around one quarter of its 2022 US $2 billion high, following widespread evidence that carbon credits were oversold.
Although the first generation of REDD+ methodologies has largely been phased out, the next generation has yet to be fully implemented - with major delays perhaps driven by concerns about getting the system right.
The researchers say to avoid over-crediting, future REDD+ projects must draw on more representative reference forests to better assess the true contribution of projects to forest protection.
Several improvements - such as using independent data providers to remove any bias in valuing credits - are already helping to make these credits more robust, but researchers say retrospective checking of project performance is also essential.
"This study confirms concerns widespread over‑crediting in the carbon market. But despite the challenges, carbon markets remain one of the few mechanisms we have to protect tropical forests while giving organisations and individuals the chance to compensate for their emissions," said Swinfield.
Reference: Swinfield, T. et al: 'Learning lessons from over-crediting to ensure additionality in forest carbon credits.' Nature Communications, April 2026.

Carbon Credits Aid Vital Tropical Forest Protection

The Brazilian agribusiness caucus is accelerating a bill to ban remote embargoes, a tool that allows environmental agents to block deforested land using satellite data.
The measure impacts IBAMA's raids and risks reversing the system that halved Amazon deforestation under the Lula administration.
IBAMA officials warn that banning the technology is equivalent to 'going back to the fax machine,' as it makes enforcement in remote areas significantly slower and more expensive.
The proposal is part of a broader 'Destruction Package' gaining momentum in Congress ahead of October's general elections.
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​In May 2025, a delegation of angry politicians and agribusinessmen from the Brazilian state of Pará traveled to the national capital to protest against the actions of the federal environmental agency, IBAMA. Their frustration stemmed from embargoes imposed by IBAMA on 544 rural properties in the municipality of Altamira, one of the Amazon's deforestation hotspots. In each case, satellite imagery had detected illegal forest clearing, prompting authorities to block the areas from further production activities.
​'Everyone came here to present their concerns and ask for solutions regarding productive areas in the state of Pará,' Pará Governor Helder Barbalho said at the time.
​Almost a year later, their resentment has been distilled into a new bill proposing a ban on the so-called remote embargoes. Today, IBAMA uses satellite imagery to identify where illegal deforestation is occurring. Once they detect a recently deforested area, environmental agents verify whether there's an environmental license authorizing that clearance — in the Amazon, around 90% of forest felling is illegal. If there's no authorization, the agency issues an embargo as a preventive measure from behind its computers.
The system is one of the tools that helped the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva halve deforestation numbers in the Amazon since taking office at the start of 2023.
'Today we have a wealth of ultra-high-resolution satellite imagery, and we can cross-reference information from various databases,' Wallace Lopes, a representative of the federal environmental agents association, ASCEMA, told Mongabay.
​Jair Schmitt, director of environmental protection and acting president of IBAMA, said the agency issues around 4,000 embargoes in the Amazon per year, accounting for about 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of land. Around half of these embargoes are issued remotely, which means more efficiency at lower costs.
​An agent on the ground traveling long distances in the Amazon issues an average of two embargoes per day at the cost of about 50 reais per hectare ($10 per hectare, or $4 per acre), Schmitt said. By issuing remote embargoes, however, productivity reaches up to 10 embargoes per day, at a cost of 3.54 reais per hectare (70 U.S. cents per hectare, or 29 cents per acre).
Lawmakers argue that the system undermines owners' rights to present a defense before the measure is issued. Owners can still appeal the decision after the embargo.
The new bill, if approved, would establish a new protocol. It would require IBAMA officials to first notify the violators so they can present their defense before the embargo takes effect.
Once an area is embargoed, it cannot receive loans from banks and can be banned from suppliers' lists of slaughterhouses and grain traders that don't want to be associated with illegal deforestation. The goal is to hit deforesters' bottom line and dissuade them from further clearances.
​'Anyone whose property has been seized cannot access public credit,' said Márcio Astrini, executive secretary of the Climate Observatory, a network of nonprofits advocating for climate solutions. 'This creates an additional penalty for the offender.'​
​The bill is one of 70 proposals under the so-called Destruction Package, a set of measures currently before the Brazilian Congress that critics warn undermines environmental legislation and Indigenous rights in favor of the interests of land grabbers, deforesters and illegal miners.
​One of these measures, deemed as Brazil's largest environmental setback in 40 years, was approved in 2025 and loosened the environmental licensing framework. In 2026, the situation is particularly concerning given the October elections, when Brazilians will choose a president, governors, federal deputies and senators.​
According to the Climate Observatory, backing anti-environmental bills is seen by many legislators as a key reelection tactic. It also tends to concentrate key votes in the first half of the year, 'which further reduces the space for public debate and civic engagement.'
​Back to the fax machines
The new bill also questions all environmental agencies' 'precautionary measures,' which include the seizure and eventual destruction of machinery during ground operations, and which are invoked in 70% of IBAMA's raids.
​In raids against illegal mining, for example, environmental agents often set fire to dredges and backhoes, since removing this heavy equipment from the middle of the forest is far too complicated. 'If we leave the machinery there, within 10 minutes [the illegal miners] will be operating it again and destroying the forest,' Lopes said.
Like the embargo, machinery seizures also mean an immediate financial loss for offenders. 'You are seizing the instrument used to commit the crime, and at the same time, that item is an asset; it has value,' Schmitt told Mongabay. 'That is why these precautionary measures are so feared — because they have a practical impact on a person's life.'
​Both embargoes and equipment seizures can be legally contested afterward and are followed by the issuance of environmental fines. According to Lopes, however, offenders usually pay less than 5% of the fines' value. In many cases, they pay nothing, since the processes are prescribed after multiple court appeals.​
'A fine today does not impose any restrictions on the offender. What causes the offender headaches is precisely the precautionary measures, which take effect immediately upon being imposed,' Lopes said. 'The text [of the new bill] is terrible because it will undermine the most effective enforcement tools.'
​IBAMA has been using satellite imagery to detect illegal deforestation and issue embargoes throughout Brazil since 2016. When Marina Silva took office as environment minister in 2023, she intensified this strategy to get around the agency's reduced number of agents — IBAMA has only 750 inspectors to cover all Brazilian biomes, including remote and hard-to-reach areas.
​'That is what has contributed to these record-breaking declines in deforestation during the Lula administration,' Astrini said. 'The bill exists solely to try to block a measure that works.'
The bill is under accelerated review in the Chamber of Deputies, Brazil's lower house of Congress, and could be voted on any day. Given the strength of the agribusiness caucus, the chances of approval are considered high.
​'It's like wanting to put down our cellphones and go back to sending messages by fax,' Schmitt said. 'The people behind this bill are trying to hinder enforcement efforts and, in a way, give offenders preferential treatment.'
Banner image: High-resolution satellite imagery allows IBAMA to detect deforestation in almost real time. Image courtesy of Airbus/Earthrise.
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The agribusiness caucus is pushing restrictions on the technology that has helped halve deforestation since 2023.

Brazil bill aims to ban satellite tool used to slow Amazon deforestation

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.
READ MORE: As record acreage burns in Brazil's Amazon, criminals are exploiting rainforest to clear land
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.
Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
"What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories," said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.
Enforcement is often a 'cat-and-mouse' game
In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.
Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a "cat-and-mouse game."
"Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land," Porreca said. "The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned."
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon. "They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais."
While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.
Gold has driven mercury contamination
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
"It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold," Porreca said. He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.
Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous
Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury…

Brussels, May 4 : The European Commission on Monday proposed to remove leather from the scope of the revised European Union (EU) Deforestation Regulation, in a move to avoid penalising EU producers of goods such as handbags and shoes.
The draft delegated act, open for public feedback until June 1, proposes targeted amendments to the product scope, including adding soluble coffee and certain palm oil derivatives while excluding leather and retreaded tyres and so on, said the Commission in a statement, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The Commission also unveiled a package of supporting measures to ensure the smooth and effective implementation of the revised law, following the adoption of the revised text by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in December 2025.
The measures include a simplification review report, updated guidance and frequently asked questions. The supporting measures are expected to reduce annual compliance costs for companies subject to the EU Deforestation Regulation obligations by about 75 per cent compared to the original regulation.
The Commission said the package is designed to provide additional clarity to economic operators, members and third countries while guaranteeing legal stability and predictability.
The EU Deforestation Regulation aims to ensure that key goods placed on the EU market do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation, which are major drivers of climate change and biodiversity loss. It covers seven commodities -- cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some of their derived products.
Under the regulation, any operator or trader placing these goods on the EU market or exporting them must prove the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation.
The regulation is set to apply from December 30, 2026, for large and medium companies, and from June 30, 2027, for other micro and small enterprises.

The European Commission on Monday proposed to remove leather from the scope of the revised European Union (EU) Deforestation Regulation, in a move to ....

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A controversial new bill in Brazil's Congress aims to ban the use of satellite technology for environmental enforcement in the Amazon rainforest, potentially undermining one of the most effective tools in the fight against illegal deforestation.
The legislation, pushed by Brazil's powerful agribusiness lobby, would prohibit remote embargoes—a system where environmental authorities use satellite imagery to detect illegal forest clearing and immediately block those areas from production activities. The technology has been remarkably successful, helping to cut Amazon deforestation rates in half since 2023 by enabling rapid response to illegal logging.
Currently, Brazil's environmental agency uses high-resolution satellite data to monitor the Amazon in real-time. When satellites detect freshly cleared forest areas, agents can quickly verify whether proper environmental licenses exist—around 90% of Amazon deforestation occurs illegally. If no authorization is found, authorities can issue immediate embargoes from their offices, preventing further destruction while investigations proceed.
The push for this ban originated from angry politicians and agribusiness representatives from Pará state, home to Altamira, one of the Amazon's worst deforestation hotspots. In May 2024, a delegation traveled to Brazil's capital to protest after 544 rural properties were embargoed following satellite detection of illegal clearing. Their frustration has now crystallized into legislation that environmental advocates warn could severely hamper conservation efforts and reverse recent progress in protecting the world's largest rainforest.
This article was written by the EnviroLink News Team. # Conservation # Deforestation # Environment

A controversial new bill in Brazil's Congress aims to ban the use of satellite technology for environmental enforcement in the Amazon rainforest, potentially undermining one of the most effective…

Brazilian Lawmakers Target Satellite Technology That Cut Amazon Deforestation in Half

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.
Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
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'What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,' said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.
Enforcement is often a 'cat-and-mouse' game
In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.
Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a 'cat-and-mouse game.'
'Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,' Porreca said. 'The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.'
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon. 'They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais.'
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While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.
Gold has driven mercury contamination
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
'It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,' Porreca said. He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.
Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous
Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
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The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The European Commission on Monday proposed changes to the scope of the regulation against deforestation, including the exclusion of items such as leather and the inclusion of other derivatives, such as instant coffee or some palm oil products, as part of a package of measures to facilitate its implementation before it comes into force.
The European Commission has confirmed it will not reopen its regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR), defying pressure from the Trump administration, but has proposed excluding leather and retreaded tyres from its scope.

The European Commission has confirmed it will not reopen its regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR), defying pressure from the Trump administration, but has proposed excluding leather and…

UPDATE – EU Defies US Pressure on Anti-Deforestation Rules, but Proposes Leather Exemption

SAO PAULO — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.
Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
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Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
'What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,' said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.
Enforcement is often a 'cat-and-mouse' game
In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.
Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a 'cat-and-mouse game.'
'Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,' Porreca said. 'The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.'
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon. 'They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais."
While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.
Gold has driven mercury contamination
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
'It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,' Porreca said. He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.
Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous
Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

By GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA
SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025. Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
'What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,' said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming. Enforcement is often a 'cat-and-mouse' game
In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.
Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a 'cat-and-mouse game.'
'Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,' Porreca said. 'The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.'
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon. 'They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais.'
While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon. Gold has driven mercury contamination
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
'It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,' Porreca said. He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum. Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous
Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.
Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
'What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,' said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.
Enforcement is often a 'cat-and-mouse' game
In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.
Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a 'cat-and-mouse game.'
'Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,' Porreca said. 'The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.'
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon. 'They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais."
While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.
Gold has driven mercury contamination
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
'It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,' Porreca said. He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.
Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous
Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Gold prices have surged in recent years, sparking a mining rush in the Amazon that accelerates deforestation and mercury contamination | 104.1 FM KMOX

SAO PAULO — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazil ian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.
Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazil ian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazil ian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
'What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,' said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.
Enforcement is often a 'cat-and-mouse' game
In 2023, Brazil ian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory - about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) - had taken place by 2023.
Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazil ian Amazon, described enforcement as a 'cat-and-mouse game.'
'Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,' Porreca said. 'The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.'
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazil ian Amazon. 'They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais.'
While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazil ian Amazon.
Gold has driven mercury contamination
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
'It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,' Porreca said. He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.
Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous
Under Brazil ian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.

SAO PAULO — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.
Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
'What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,' said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.
Enforcement is often a 'cat-and-mouse' game
In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.
Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a 'cat-and-mouse game.'
'Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,' Porreca said. 'The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.'
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon. "They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais."
While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.
Gold has driven mercury contamination
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
'It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,' Porreca said. He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.
Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous
Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Gold prices have surged in recent years, sparking a mining rush in the Amazon that accelerates deforestation and mercury contamination

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.
Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
'What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,' said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.
Enforcement is often a 'cat-and-mouse' game
In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.
Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a 'cat-and-mouse game.'
'Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,' Porreca said. 'The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.'
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon. 'They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais.'
While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.
Gold has driven mercury contamination
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
'It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,' Porreca said. He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.
Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous
Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Gabriela Sá Pessoa, The Associated Press

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.
Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
'What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,' said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.
Enforcement is often a 'cat-and-mouse' game
In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.
Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a 'cat-and-mouse game.'
'Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,' Porreca said. 'The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.'
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon. 'They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais."
While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.
Gold has driven mercury contamination
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
'It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,' Porreca said. He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.
Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous
Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Gabriela Sá Pessoa, The Associated Press

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.
Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
'What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,' said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.
Enforcement is often a 'cat-and-mouse' game
In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.
Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a 'cat-and-mouse game.'
'Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,' Porreca said. 'The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.'
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon. 'They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais.'
While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.
Gold has driven mercury contamination
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
'It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,' Porreca said. He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.
Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous
Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous…

#image_title
The European Union is moving to exempt leather products from its landmark deforestation regulation after an intensive year-long lobbying campaign by the leather industry. On May 4, the European Commission formally proposed excluding leather, hides, and skins from the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), just months before the law takes effect at year's end.
The Commission is using a streamlined legal process called a 'delegated act' to remove these products from the regulation's scope. This mechanism allows EU executives to modify non-essential parts of existing laws without triggering a full legislative review. The change would alter the regulation's product list, effectively removing leather goods from requirements designed to ensure imported commodities don't contribute to global forest destruction.
The proposal comes as part of what the Commission calls a 'simplification review' aimed at reducing administrative burdens associated with the deforestation law. However, the timing coincides with sustained pressure from leather industry groups who have argued for exemption from the environmental protections. Public feedback on the proposal is open until June 1, after which the Commission could formally adopt the changes.
If approved, the European Parliament and Council would have two months to object to the exemption. Without formal objection, the changes would automatically become law. The development highlights the ongoing tension between environmental protection goals and industry concerns about compliance costs and regulatory complexity in implementing comprehensive deforestation prevention measures.
This article was written by the EnviroLink News Team. # Conservation # Deforestation # Environment # Wildlife Protection

The European Union is moving to exempt leather products from its landmark deforestation regulation after an intensive year-long lobbying campaign by the leather industry. On May 4, the European…

EU Proposes Removing Leather from Deforestation Law Following Industry Pressure

Brussels, May 4 The European Commission on Monday proposed to remove leather from the scope of the revised European Union (EU) Deforestation Regulation, in a move to avoid penalising EU producers of goods such as handbags and shoes.
The draft delegated act, open for public feedback until June 1, proposes targeted amendments to the product scope, including adding soluble coffee and certain palm oil derivatives while excluding leather and retreaded tyres and so on, said the Commission in a statement, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The Commission also unveiled a package of supporting measures to ensure the smooth and effective implementation of the revised law, following the adoption of the revised text by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU in December 2025.
The measures include a simplification review report, updated guidance and frequently asked questions. The supporting measures are expected to reduce annual compliance costs for companies subject to the EU Deforestation Regulation obligations by about 75 per cent compared to the original regulation.
The Commission said the package is designed to provide additional clarity to economic operators, members and third countries while guaranteeing legal stability and predictability.
The EU Deforestation Regulation aims to ensure that key goods placed on the EU market do not contribute to deforestation and forest degradation, which are major drivers of climate change and biodiversity loss. It covers seven commodities -- cattle, wood, cocoa, soy, palm oil, coffee, rubber, and some of their derived products.
Under the regulation, any operator or trader placing these goods on the EU market or exporting them must prove the products do not originate from recently deforested land or have contributed to forest degradation.
The regulation is set to apply from December 30, 2026, for large and medium companies, and from June 30, 2027, for other micro and small enterprises.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

EU seeks to exclude leather from revised anti-deforestation law - Brussels, May 4 The European Commission on Monday proposed to remove leather from the scope of the revised ... Get Latest News on…

A surge in global gold prices has ignited a renewed mining rush within Brazil's Amazon rainforest, leading to an alarming acceleration of deforestation in protected areas and pushing mercury contamination to hazardous levels, according to officials and experts.
A recent study, published by the non-governmental organisation Amazon Conservation in collaboration with Brazilian non-profit Instituto Socioambiental, reveals that illegal mining operations have driven extensive clear-cutting across three conservation zones within the Xingu region.
This area, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spans the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with crucial ground research to document the destruction.
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station, for instance, recorded its first instances of illegal mining in September 2024.
By the close of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had expanded to cover 30 hectares (74 acres).
Similarly, at the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining was responsible for 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025.
A new mining front that emerged in 2024 grew to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half of the mining-related deforestation recorded in that unit during the year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.
Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018.
About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon.
Amazon Conservation estimates that 80 per cent of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion.
In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
'What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,' said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate.
Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.
Enforcement is often a 'cat-and-mouse' game
In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis.
Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.
Still, localised enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave.
Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a 'cat-and-mouse game.'
'Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,' Porreca said. 'The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.'
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon.
'They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais."
While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin.
The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.
Gold has driven mercury contamination
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
'It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,' Porreca said.
He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon.
The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organisation.
Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.
Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous
Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Gold rush fuels Amazon deforestation and mercury poisoning in Brazil's protected areas

By GABRIELA SÁ PESSOA
SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
'What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,' said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.
In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.
Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a 'cat-and-mouse game.'
'Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,' Porreca said. 'The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.'
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon. 'They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais.'
While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
'It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,' Porreca said. He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.
Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say.
A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, found illegal mining sites drove clear-cutting inside three conservation areas in the Xingu region, one of the world's largest expanses of protected forest, spanning the states of Para and Mato Grosso. The analysis combined satellite imagery with ground research.
The Terra do Meio Ecological Station recorded its first cases of illegal mining in September 2024. By the end of 2025, mining-related deforestation there had spread to 30 hectares (74 acres). At the Altamira National Forest, illegal mining accumulated 832 hectares (2,056 acres) of deforestation between 2016 and September 2025. A new mining front that opened in 2024 expanded to 36 hectares (89 acres) by October 2025, accounting for nearly half the mining-related deforestation recorded in the unit during that year.
Satellite monitoring also detected a clandestine airstrip used by illegal miners at the Nascentes da Serra do Cachimbo Biological Reserve last year. Illegal mining in the reserve grew from 2 hectares (5 acres) to at least 26.8 hectares (66 acres) in 2025.
Most deforestation from mining is illegal, group says
In 2023, Amazon Conservation teamed up with Earth Genome and the Pulitzer Center to develop the Amazon Mining Watch, a platform that uses satellite imagery to track mining across the Amazon since 2018. About 496,000 hectares (1,225,640 acres) of rainforest have been cleared for mining since then, including approximately 223,000 hectares (551,045 acres) in the Brazilian Amazon. Amazon Conservation estimates that 80% of mining-related deforestation in Brazil carries a high risk of taking place illegally.
Mining remains a relatively small driver of deforestation in Brazil, where forest loss is largely linked to agribusiness expansion. In 2025, for example, some 579,600 hectares (1,432 acres) of the Brazilian Amazon were cleared, according to official data. About 17,000 hectares (42,000 acres) were related to mining, according to the Mining Watch.
'What makes mining particularly problematic is that it targets protected areas and Indigenous territories,' said Matt Finer, director of Amazon Conservation's Monitoring of the Andes Amazon program.
Protecting Indigenous territories is widely seen as an effective way to curb deforestation in the Amazon, the world's largest rainforest and a key regulator of global climate. Researchers warn that continued forest loss could accelerate global warming.
Enforcement is often a 'cat-and-mouse' game
In 2023, Brazilian authorities launched a major crackdown on illegal gold mining in the Yanomami Indigenous territory in Roraima state, along the border with Venezuela, after a surge led to a humanitarian and health crisis. Annual growth in newly mined areas there fell sharply after that year, according to Amazon Conservation data. Although mining has not been fully eliminated, nearly all deforestation inside the Yanomami territory — about 5,500 hectares (13,590 acres) — had taken place by 2023.
Still, localized enforcement has not curbed illegal mining across the Amazon. When authorities destroy dredges and equipment in one region, miners often relocate or resume operations once officials leave. Federal prosecutor André Luiz Porreca, who investigates illegal mining in the western Brazilian Amazon, described enforcement as a 'cat-and-mouse game.'
'Last year, I took part in an operation that destroyed more than 500 dredges on an Indigenous land,' Porreca said. 'The following week, Indigenous people showed me photos proving the miners had already returned.'
Porreca said illegal gold mining is financed by Brazil's largest criminal organizations, including the Red Command and the First Capital Command, or PCC, which operate in about a third of the cities in the Brazilian Amazon. 'They have the money to bankroll these operations. Some dredges cost as much as 15 million reais.'
While enforcement eased pressure in Yanomami territory, illegal mining has intensified elsewhere, particularly across Indigenous lands in the Xingu River basin. The most critical situation is on the Kayapo Indigenous land, where roughly 7,940 hectares (19,620 acres) of rainforest have been cleared by illegal mining, the largest such area in the Brazilian Amazon.
Gold has driven mercury contamination
Record-breaking gold prices, driven largely by investor demand for safe assets amid rising global risks, have provided a strong incentive for illegal mining.
'It's basic market logic. With more buyers, there are more people exploiting gold,' Porreca said. He said Brazil's mineral export control system remains weak, allowing laundering schemes that give illicit gold the appearance of legality.
Environmental damage extends beyond deforestation. Illegal mining operations dump mercury into rivers, contaminating waterways and accumulating in fish consumed by riverine and Indigenous communities.
In April, Porreca submitted a report to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights describing widespread mercury contamination in the Amazon. The report cited a study by Fiocruz, a state-run research institution, which found that 21.3% of fish sold in public markets across the Amazon exceeded mercury limits set by the World Health Organization. Children ages 2 to 4 were consuming mercury at levels up to 31 times higher than the recommended maximum.
Mining an increasing concern among environmentalists and Indigenous
Under Brazilian law, mining is prohibited on Indigenous lands. The Ministry of Indigenous peoples said in a statement that combating illegal mining on Indigenous lands is a priority of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's administration. The ministry said mining invasions are sustained by criminal networks and confronting them requires dismantling those economic and logistics chains.
The Ministry of Environment said mercury contamination from illegal gold mining remains a persistent problem in the Amazon, adding that it is expanding scientific monitoring while supporting enforcement efforts.
Brazil's Federal Police did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
___
The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
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SAO PAULO (AP) — The surge in gold prices in recent years has fueled a renewed mining rush in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, accelerating deforestation in protected areas and driving mercury contamination to hazardous levels, officials and experts say. A study released Tuesday by the nongovernmental organization Amazon Conservation, in partnership with Brazilian nonprofit Instituto Socioambiental, […]

Global Deforestation

This section is intended to collect data on the current status of global deforestation. This is accomplished through the utilization of APIs, databases, news sources, MapBuilders, and academic journals.