Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon fell 30.6% in the 12 months through July compared to the same period a year prior, according to government data released on Wednesday, the smallest area destroyed in the world's largest rainforest since 2015.

The Brazilian Amazon experienced its smallest amount of yearly deforestation in nearly a decade, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government reported Wednesday, in line with its promise to combat forest loss.