The number of trees lost in tropical forests in Brazil and Colombia fell dramatically last year because of political action, a new analysis finds.

Researchers say new leaders have prioritised the environment, with tree losses in the Brazilian Amazon down by a huge 39%.

However, increased tree felling and fires in Bolivia, Laos and Nicaragua wiped out many of these gains.

Global losses were up by a quarter, mainly due to forest fires in Canada.

The intense, long-lasting wildfires that burned across Canada drove five times more tree losses in 2023 than in the previous year.

Fires in northern forest areas have a huge impact on the overall global picture of tree cover loss, according to analysts from the University of Maryland’s GLAD lab and the World Resources Institute (WRI) who publish annual data on forest felling.

But for these researchers, the intentional clearing of mature rainforests in the tropical regions is the most important measure when it comes to climate change.

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