Deforestation rates in the Amazon rainforest are slowing, the Brazilian government announced on Tuesday.

The government attributes the slowdown to improved law enforcement and tougher environmental policies.

The figures show that deforestation of the Amazon rainforest has fallen by about 11 per cent this year.

This compares to a 50 per cent slowdown between 2004 and 2005.

Brazil's Environment Minister Marina Silva said 18,790 sq km (7,255 sq miles) of rainforest was destroyed in the past year.

He told journalists in Brasilia: "We are now, once again, seeing a declining trend, this shows that it's not something sporadic but something that is continuing over many years.

"We have to combat illegal deforestation."

But conservationists say more must be done to prevent the destruction of the world's largest rainforest.

"Ranching, logging and agriculture activities are still responsible for continued degradation of the world’s largest rainforest," the WWF said in a statement.

"A number of factors may explain the decrease, including a reduction in the price of soy, Brazil’s most important agricultural commodity, which may have reduced the incentive to cut down the Amazon to make way for new plantations."

WWF-Brazil's chief executive Denise Hamú added: "The decline is encouraging, but we are not out of the woods yet.

"More concerted action is required to integrate the government's environmental and development policies in order to really crack down on illegal activities that are having an adverse effect on the forest.

Denise Hamú, WWF-Brazil: "The decline is encouraging, but we are not out of the woods yet."

"Encouraging policies that foster a sustainable forestry-based regional economy should be pursued."

The Amazon is home to about 30 per cent of all animal and plant life.

The WWF said at least 40,000 plant species, 427 mammals, 1,294 birds, 378 reptiles, 427 amphibians, and some 3,000 fish species have been scientifically classified in the region.

Threatened species include jaguars, macaws, and harpy eagles, animals that all require large areas of rainforest for their survival.

In the last 15 years, an estimated 250,000 sq km of Amazon rainforest has been cleared - mainly for farming.