As gold prices continue to increase, small-scale gold mining activity also continues to be one of the major deforestation drivers across the Amazon. It often targets remote areas, thus impacting carbon-rich primary forests. Moreover, in many cases, we presume that this mining is illegal based on its location within conservation areas (such as protected areas and […]
In part 1 of this series (MAAP #215), we introduced a critical new dataset (Planet’s Forest Carbon Diligence) with wall-to-wall estimates for aboveground carbon at an unprecedented 30-meter resolution between 2013 and 2022. This data uniquely merges machine learning, satellite imagery, airborne lasers, and a global biomass dataset from GEDI, a NASA mission. In part […]
In a series of reports, we have demonstrated that the Mennonites have become a leading cause of large-scale deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon. The Mennonites, a global religious group dating back to the 1600s, often require vast tracts of land to support their characteristic industrialized agricultural activity. As such lands have become scarce in other […]
In part 1 of this series (MAAP #215), we introduced a critical new resource (Planet Forest Carbon Diligence) that provides wall-to-wall estimates for aboveground carbon density at an unprecedented 30-meter resolution. This data uniquely merges machine learning, satellite imagery, airborne lasers, and a global biomass dataset from GEDI, a NASA mission.4 In that report, we […]
Amazon Conservation’s MAAP program specializes in reporting on the most urgent deforestation threats facing the Amazon and producing big-picture analyses of key Amazon-wide issues. This report uniquely presents a view into the complicated but critical issue of murders of environmental defenders, […]
The Amazon biome has long been one of the world’s largest carbon sinks, helping stabilize the global climate. Precisely estimating this carbon, however, has been a challenge. Fortunately, new satellite-based technologies are providing major advances, most notably NASA’s GEDI mission (see MAAP #213) and, most recently, Planet Forest Carbon Diligence.1 Here, we focus on the latter, analyzing […]
A burst of new data and online visualization tools are revealing key land use patterns across the Amazon, particularly regarding the critical topic of agriculture. This type of data is particularly important because agriculture is the leading cause of overall Amazonian deforestation. These new datasets include: Crops. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a […]
In a recent report (MAAP #199), we presented the updated version of NASA’s GEDI data,1 which uses lasers aboard the International Space Station to provide cutting-edge estimates of aboveground carbon globally, including our focal area, the Amazon. These lasers, however, have not yet achieved full coverage, leaving considerable gaps in the data and resulting maps. Here, we […]
Gold Mining is one of the major deforestation drivers across the Amazon.* It often targets remote areas, thus impacting carbon-rich primary forests. Moreover, in most cases, this mining is illegal, given that it is occurring in protected areas and indigenous territories. Given the vastness of the Amazon, however, it has been a challenge to accurately monitor mining deforestation across the […]
Illegal gold mining has generated massive deforestation in the southern Peruvian Amazon (MAAP #208). This activity also affects several of the main rivers (such as the Madre de Dios, Inambari, Tambopata, Malinowski and Colorado), and also their tributaries and secondary bodies of water. All of them are contaminated by excess sediment and the presence of […]
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