MAAP #206: Rapid expansion of illegal mining in Ecuadorian Amazon
In a series of previous reports, we warned about the emergence of alluvial mining in the Ecuadorian Amazon, specifically in the area around the Punino River, located between the provinces of Napo and Orellana (MAAP #151, MAAP #182). Here, we…
MAAP #204: New Road Construction in Waorani Indigenous Territory (Ecuadorian Amazon)
We analyze a new road project that enters the western sector of the Waorani Indigenous Territory, located in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon (see Base Map, below). The project, called “Construction of the Arajuno-Nushiño-Ishpingo-Toñampade Road”, has been designed in…
MAAP #202: Protecting Strategic, Free-flowing River Corridors in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Here, we present a model river conservation strategy proposed by the Ecuadorian Rivers Institute, designed to protect strategic free-flowing river corridors with intact surrounding forests in the critical transition zone between the Andes mountains and the Amazon lowlands. The vision…
MAAP #200: State of the Amazon in 2023
The first MAAP report, published in March 2015, took a detailed look at the escalating gold mining deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon. The following 198 reports, over the past 8.5 years, continued to examine the most urgent deforestation-related issues across…
MAAP #201: Amazon Deforestation & Carbon Update for 2023
As national policymakers begin the global COP28 climate summit in Dubai, we provide here a concise update on the current state of Amazon forest loss and remaining carbon reserves, both based on the latest cutting-edge data. For Amazon forest loss,…
MAAP #199: Amazon Carbon Update, based on NASA’s GEDI Mission
As we approach the COP28 climate summit, starting in Dubai in late November, we provide here a concise update on the current state of remaining Amazon carbon reserves. We present the newly updated version of NASA’s GEDI data1, which uses…
MAAP #187: Amazon Deforestation & Fire Hotspots 2022
We present a detailed look at the major 2022 Amazon forest loss hotspots, based on the final annual data recently released by the University of Maryland (and featured on Global Forest Watch). This dataset is unique in that it is…
MAAP #183: Protected Areas & Indigenous Territories Effective Against Deforestation Across Amazon
As deforestation continues to threaten primary forest across the Amazon, key land use designations are one of the best hopes for the long-term conservation of critical remaining intact forests. Here, we evaluate the impact of two of the most important: …
MAAP #178: Gold Mining Deforestation Across the Amazon
Gold Mining is one of the major deforestation drivers across the Amazon. Although not typically at the scale of agricultural deforestation, gold mining has the potential to severely impact critical areas such as protected areas & indigenous territories. Relatedly, gold…
MAAP #182: Gold Mining Deforestation in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Gold mining is one of the major deforestation drivers across the Amazon, with well-known cases in Peru, Brazil, and Venezuela. In a recent series of technical articles*, in collaboration with the Ecuadorian organization Foundation EcoCiencia, we have also shown that…