Global Deforestation Slowed in 2025, but Congo Basin Losses Surged
PARIS: Global deforestation slowed in 2025, but the improvement is unlikely to last as the situation deteriorates in Central Africa and an exceptionally strong El Nino weather pattern intensifies, a new study said on Wednesday.
Seven million hectares of forest, roughly the size of the Republic of Ireland, were permanently destroyed in 2025, according to the annual Forest Declaration Assessment. That is a 15 per cent drop from the previous year.
Global deforestation in 2025: the numbers
The slowdown, however, is not enough to keep the world from missing a pledge to end deforestation by 2030. The report was drafted by a coalition of research groups and non-governmental organisations.
The 2025 figure is “encouraging but so far it’s the exception, not a new trajectory,” Erin Matson, the study’s co-author and lead consultant at advisory group Climate Focus, said in a media briefing.
To meet the target agreed at the United Nations’ COP26 climate talks in 2021, deforestation would have to fall by around one million hectares per year. Clearing forests for agriculture or mining operations remains the leading driver of deforestation.
Last year’s improvement was due in part to progress in Latin America, with a 33 per cent drop in what has historically been the world’s deforestation “hot spot”, according to the study. The authors pointed particularly to Brazil’s deforestation action plan and increased enforcement in the country’s Amazon.
Congo Basin losses approach Amazon levels
The brighter global picture hides a sharp deterioration in Central Africa. Rainforest loss in the Congo Basin reached 2.4 million hectares, putting it near parity with the Amazon’s deforestation rate, according to the assessment.
Environmentalists called the loss a disaster. Sam Nguiffo, a lawyer and founder of the Centre for Environment and Development in Cameroon, warned that the irreversible loss of these forests would hit local and indigenous communities, who depend on the forest for their cultural identity and livelihood.
Progress in Latin America “rests heavily on the choices of a small number of governments and remains highly vulnerable” to recent and upcoming elections across the Amazon basin. Brazil’s left-wing leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has vowed to end illegal deforestation by 2030, faces populist right Senator Flavio Bolsonaro in a runoff presidential election.
El Nino threatens to undo the gains
“If projections of the historically strong 2026-27 El Nino materialise, drought and fire risks will intensify further across tropical forest regions,” the deforestation report said.
El Nino events bring strong droughts to tropical forest regions, creating conditions for wildfires that can destroy in weeks what took decades to regrow.
Why Pakistan should care
Pakistan sits on the sharp end of climate disruption. Lahore’s air quality index hit 210, in the “very unhealthy” band, this week as smog settled over the city again.
Related: Lahore Chokes as Air Quality Index Hits 210 ‘Very Unhealthy’
The country has also lived through devastating monsoon seasons in recent years, when deforested catchments worsened flooding. Last month, Sindh recorded a sharp monsoon rainfall deficit, underlining how unstable weather patterns have become.
Related: Sindh Monsoon Rainfall Deficit 2026
Climate action abroad cannot fix Pakistan’s own tree cover, but the global deforestation assessment is a reminder that the 2030 pledge is slipping at exactly the moment vulnerable countries need it most.
FAQs
How much forest was lost in 2025?
Seven million hectares were permanently destroyed, roughly the size of the Republic of Ireland. That is a 15 per cent drop from the previous year.
Why is the Congo Basin a concern?
Rainforest loss there reached 2.4 million hectares, close to the Amazon’s rate. Environmentalists say the loss is irreversible for local and indigenous communities.
Will the world meet the 2030 deforestation pledge?
Not at the current pace. The report says deforestation would need to fall by around one million hectares per year to meet the COP26 target.
What drove the 2025 improvement?
Progress in Latin America, with a 33 per cent drop in the former “hot spot”, driven by Brazil’s deforestation action plan and stronger enforcement in the Amazon.
