According to official monitoring, Amazon rainforest loss in Brazil dropped by one-third compared to the previous year, according to official monitoring.

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.

Brazil’s environment minister, a renowned former activist, helped push climate change to the top of President Lula’s agenda. Her next task is to do the same thing for the world.