Deforestation in Brazil's vast savannah, known as the Cerrado, decreased by 25.7%, the first decline in five years. The area destroyed reached 8,174 square kilometers (3,156 square miles). Located in central Brazil, it is the world’s most biodiverse savannah but has fewer legal protections than the Amazon.

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 in nine years.

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.