Forest destruction in Brazil and Colombia fell 'steeply' between 2022 and 2023, according to data from the University of Maryland's GLAD Lab that has been shared on the World Resources Institute's Global Forest Watch. In Brazil, primary forest loss decreased by 36%, and in Colombia it decreased by 49%, which the WRI called a 'remarkable' drop.
In Colombia, the shift in forest loss also came alongside a change in leadership, with the administration of President Gustavo Petro Urrego focusing on rural and environmental reform.'As some countries show political will to reduce forest loss and others do not, the frontiers of forest loss are shifting,' the WRI said.'There are just six years remaining until 2030, by which time leaders of 145 countries promised to halt and reverse forest loss,' the WRI said.