Amazon Conservation: MAAP63 Shows Patterns of Deforestation

Introduction

Amazon Conservation is in collaboration with Amazon Conservation Team (ACT). For it also has just posted MAAP #63: Patterns of Deforestation in the Colombian Amazon.

The vast Colombian Amazon covers approximately 119 million acres. That’s most interestingly 6.2% of the total Amazon biome (RAISG, 2016). This region also contains a diverse variety of ecosystems. For that’s including montane, lowland, and flooded rainforest. Importantly, much of this region has remained intact. That’s partly due to Colombia’s longstanding civil conflict. One that may be coming to an end.

Amazon Report

This report has two objectives: 1) Illustrate the major deforestation hotspots in the Colombian Amazon between 2001 and 2015 and 2) Focus in on one of the most important hotspots, located in the Caquetá department.

This map, created by Esri’s emerging hotspot software. It identifies forest loss trends over time. Especially to identify new, intensifying, diminishing, and sporadic deforestation hotspots (2001-2018).

In addition, they are excited to present this initial collaborative analysis of the Colombian Amazon. It’s a work that reflects an important partnership. Especially with their colleagues at Amazon Conservation. Moreover and their MAAP Project. It is also MAAP’s reporting in the more interactive “Story Map” format. So that’s incorporating ACT’s expertise with regard to this platform

MAAP

This is the MAAP (Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project) article for the Colombian Amazon. It was also produced in partnership between the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) and Amazon Conservation. It is made possible by support from the MacArthur Foundation. MAAP seeks to improve understanding of current patterns and drivers of deforestation. Especially by harnessing the recent explosion of high-resolution satellite imagery and near-real-time deforestation data, and presenting this information in accessible reports. ACT and ACA will be working together to expand MAAP to include Colombia.

Yet fires this year are very disconcerting!

As National Geographic reports: WILDFIRES ARE CURRENTLY burning so intensely in the Amazon rainforest that smoke from the blaze has covered nearby cities in a dark haze.

Furthermore, multiple news outlets are reporting that Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) reported a record 72,843 fires this year. This is clearly an 80 percent increase from last year.

Some of the Map Downloads:

Map created by Amazon Conservation team & Amazon Conservation, June 2017

Citation
Hettler B, Thieme A, Finer M (2017) Deforestation Patterns in the Colombian Amazon. MAAP Colombia: 1.

Technical notes
The emerging hot spot analysis was run in Esri’s ArcGIS software using annual forest loss data provided by the GLAD laboratory at the University of Maryland.
2016-2017 forest loss from a custom classification of Google Earth Engine Landsat 8 composite