Rodrigo Agostinho, head of Brazil's Environmental Protection Agency, said Brazil could reach historic lows in deforestation within one to two years as the country steps up environmental protection efforts under leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. According to Reuters' Jake Spring, deforestation has declined since Lula took over the presidency on January 1 from far-right Jair Bolsonaro, whose environmental protection practices were so bad that deforestation reached a 15-year high. In the 12 months to July 2023, deforestation in Brazil's Amazon region fell to 9001 square kilometers. However, this is still almost double the level of 4571 square kilometers recorded in 2012 - an all-time low for deforestation in the Amazon.