Agriculture and livestock farming are advancing and now occupy 15% of the biome, which has also lost water surfaces and non-forest natural covers.

Access the Highlights of the Amazon in Collection 7 of MapBiomas Brazil

September 5, 2022 - According to the latest survey from MapBiomas, which updated land use and land cover data from 1985 to 2021, the Amazon lost 12% of its forest area in 37 years. This represents a net loss of 44 million hectares of forest, equivalent to ten times the area of the entire state of Rio de Janeiro. Until last year, the forest area occupied 78.7% of the biome.

MapBiomas also assessed what happened to deforested areas: between 1985 and 2021, 44.5 million hectares of native vegetation - including forest, savanna, grassland formations, wetlands, and mangroves - were converted to agriculture. In 2021, this activity occupied 15% of the biome, constituting its main deforestation vector. Over the past 37 years, pastures have tripled, now occupying 13% of the biome. Of all nine states in the Amazon, the most affected was Pará: 35.2% of the state's forests were converted to agricultural or pasture areas.

"The current model of economic development, based on uncontrolled conversion of areas of natural vegetation, puts Brazil face to face with serious problems in the current scenario of climate change," explains Tasso Azevedo, coordinator of MapBiomas. "It's not just about implementing command and control actions: Brazil needs public policies and business models that reconcile biome conservation with the country's development while also cooperating with addressing the climate crisis," he emphasizes.

In addition to the loss of native vegetation, the Amazon is also losing water. In 20 years, the Amazon lost 1.7 million hectares of water surface, a decrease of 14.5%. The most affected state was Roraima: in 25 years, 317 thousand hectares were lost - a reduction of 53%. Amazonas and Pará, where large hydrographic basins such as the Amazon and Tapajós rivers are located, concentrate 84.2% of all water surfaces in the biome.

Another point of concern is the advance of mining. In 2021, mining activity accounted for three out of every four hectares (74%) mapped as mining in the Amazon. Of the just over 217 thousand hectares of mined area in the biome, 64% were mapped in the state of Pará. This state also recorded the greatest urban expansion in the last 37 years. Throughout the Amazon, urban areas continue to expand and already occupied 339 thousand hectares last year.

MapBiomas also assessed changes in non-forest natural covers in the Amazon. In 2021, 3.7% of the biome (15.7 million hectares) consisted of non-forest formations, and another 2.7% of water bodies (11.4 million hectares). The survey also shows that only 1% of the natural vegetation cover in the Amazon in 2021 was savanna or mangrove formations. "These ecosystems are relevant from a biological, social, and economic perspective and are under strong anthropogenic pressure, which adds to the growing risks posed by the climate crisis. They are also off the monitoring radar. MapBiomas allowed us to understand the extent and changes in these areas," emphasizes Carlos Souza Jr., a scientist who coordinates the mapping of the Amazon biome.

Amazonas, Pará, and Mato Grosso, the three largest states in the biome, hold the largest forest area. Together, they account for 81% of the forests in the Amazon. Savanna formations, in turn, occupied 2 million hectares in 2021, mainly concentrated in the states of Mato Grosso, Pará, and Roraima, which together hold 87% of the total. Between 1985 and 2021, approximately 1 million hectares of savanna were converted to agricultural and livestock use.

Just over half (54.3%) of the remaining forest areas are in legally protected areas, such as Indigenous Lands and Conservation Units (except for APA) – a percentage similar to that of grassland formations within protected areas (58.7%). When considering all native vegetation in the biome, whether forested or not, it is noted that 4% (12.8 million hectares) consisted of secondary vegetation in 2020, meaning they have been deforested at least once. "The recent records of deforestation and wildfires prove that the Amazon is not protected. It is important to emphasize that it is not just about deforestation: part of the remaining forest is degraded. This process brings the forest closer to the tipping point from which it collapses," warns Luis Oliveira Jr., who is part of the Amazon team at MapBiomas.