While the broad trend in Brazil was bad news for its forests, there were moments of elation for environmentalists, including the creation of the 12,000 - square - kilometer (4,630 - square - mile) Turubaxi - Téa Indigenous Territory in Amazonas state; some of Temer's most environmentally damaging proposals failed to advance;
infrastructure expansion in Brazil and neighboring countries got bogged down by corruption scandals and
basic economics; indigenous communities won a series of
legal victories and settlements against the state, and the headline deforestation rate in the Brazilian Amazon fell 16 percent versus last year.