A positive start for 2012 as Amazon deforestation drops

The latest statistics reveal that 2011 saw deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fall to its lowest level since records began – a tremendous success. What's more, this drop in forest destruction happened at the same time as food production increased, showing that conservation and agricultural productivity can go hand in hand.

Last year's success has been put down to the Brazilian government's commitment to meet ambitious environmental targets – a result of many years of public pressure at home and abroad. High-tech satellite monitoring systems have also made it possible to track, understand and effectively tackle deforestation on the ground.

The New Year begins with this positive legacy. But there are also challenges ahead, which mean we'll need to work hard to ensure this encouraging trend continues.

Demand for raw materials – like oil, wood and minerals - has never been higher. And it means that cutting down forests is growing more profitable by the day. We need to continue to ensure, through projects like Sky Rainforest Rescue, that sustainable economic alternatives to deforestation become a reality.

Brazilian politics will also be critical this year, as the country's Congress (backed by powerful agribusiness) has been pushing to loosen the Forest Law. This year, we need to continue to put pressure on the Brazilian government to meet its environmental targets instead of opening the path for rapid deforestation.

We're at a critical point in time for the Amazon," says Sarah Hutchison, forest programme manager at WWF-UK. "The possibility of a positive future for the Amazon is more primed than ever, but growing challenges threaten to tip this balance. The help of our supporters this year will be essential in making sure these pressures don't overtake the successes that have taken so much hard work to achieve."