Report says global forest loss fell in 2025, while wildfire pressure remained a major factor

Wednesday, April 29, 2026Science & ClimateWell-covered4 frames

The World Resources Institute's annual analysis reported that global tree loss fell 14% in 2025 from the previous year.
Tropical primary forest loss fell in 2025 after reaching a record high in 2024.
The world lost 4.3 million hectares of tropical primary forest in 2025, a 36% decline from 2024.
The 2025 loss of tropical primary forest was roughly equivalent to the area of Denmark, or about 11 football fields per minute.
Multiple reports said the decline reflected both government action to reduce deforestation and a relative lull after the extreme fire conditions of 2024.
Brazil was identified as a major driver of the global decline in tropical forest loss, with several reports attributing much of the improvement to reduced deforestation there.
Despite the year-over-year decline, tropical primary forest loss in 2025 remained above levels from a decade earlier.
Researchers and news reports said the main ongoing pressures on forests include agricultural expansion and increasingly severe fires linked to warmer temperatures and drought.

The World Resources Institute's annual analysis reported that global tree loss fell 14% in 2025 from the previous year.
Tropical primary forest loss fell in 2025 after reaching a record high in 2024.
The world lost 4.3 million hectares of tropical primary forest in 2025, a 36% decline from 2024.
The 2025 loss of tropical primary forest was roughly equivalent to the area of Denmark, or about 11 football fields per minute.
Multiple reports said the decline reflected both government action to reduce deforestation and a relative lull after the extreme fire conditions of 2024.
Brazil was identified as a major driver of the global decline in tropical forest loss, with several reports attributing much of the improvement to reduced deforestation there.
Despite the year-over-year decline, tropical primary forest loss in 2025 remained above levels from a decade earlier.
Researchers and news reports said the main ongoing pressures on forests include agricultural expansion and increasingly severe fires linked to warmer temperatures and drought.