"The reduction can be explained by more stringent laws and better control" by environmental protection authorities, said Marcia Hirota of the SOS Mata Atlantica foundation, which carried out the study with the mapping surveys of Brazil`s National Institute for Space Research (INPE).
Between 2008 and 2010, the forest, which is the country`smost devastated ecosystem -- second only in the world to the forests of Madagascar -- lost 32,000 hectares. By comparison, deforestation was proceeding at a rate of 34,000 hectares a year in 2000, the group said.
"At this rate, the forest will be gone by 2050," warned the foundation. One state, Minas Gerais in the southeast, has been responsible for almost 40 per cent of the deforestation, with trees felled to produce charcoal and to be used as fuel for iron and raw steel production.