MAAP #85: Illegal Logging in the Peruvian Amazon, and how Satellites can help address it
We propose a new tool to address illegal logging in the Peruvian Amazon: using cutting-edge satellites to monitor logging road construction in near real-time. Illegal logging in the Amazon is difficult to detect because it is selective logging of individual…
MAAP #84: New Threats to the Peruvian Amazon (Part 1: Yurimaguas-Jeberos Road)
The efforts and international commitments of the Peruvian Government to reduce deforestation may be compromised by new projects do not have adequate environmental assessment. In this series, we address the most urgent of these projects, those that threaten large areas…
MAAP #83: Climate Change Defense: Amazon Protected Areas and Indigenous Lands
Tropical forests, especially the Amazon, sequester huge amounts of carbon, one of the main greenhouse gases driving climate change. Here, we show the importance of protected areas and indigenous lands to safeguard these carbon stocks. In MAAP #81, we estimated…
MAAP #81: Carbon loss from deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon
When tropical forests are cleared, the enormous amount of carbon stored in the trees is released to the atmosphere, making it a major source of global greenhouse gas emissions (CO2) that drive climate change. In fact, a recent study revealed…
MAAP #80: Amazon Beauty, in High-Resolution
MAAP tracks the most urgent deforestation cases in the Andean Amazon, thus it can be a bit depressing. However, it is important to remember why we do it: the Amazon is spectacular. Here, we present a series of high-resolution satellite…
MAAP #79 – Seeing through the Clouds: Monitoring Deforestation with Radar
MAAP has repeatedly emphasized the power and importance of Earth observation satellites with optical sensors (such as Landsat, Planet, DigitalGlobe). However, they also have a key limitation: clouds block the data about Earth from reaching the sensor, a common problem…
MAAP #78: Deforestation Hotspots in the Peruvian Amazon, 2017
As we begin a new year, we make an initial assessment of 2017, estimating deforestation hotspots in the Peruvian Amazon based on early warning alert data.* We estimate the annual forest loss of 354,410 acres (143,425 hectares) across Peru in…
MAAP #76: Proposed Road would cross Primary Forest along Peru-Brazil Border
In December 2017, the Peruvian Congress approved a bill that declared it in the national interest to construct new roads in the border zone of Ucayali region, which shares a remote border with Brazil. The main proposed road in this…
MAAP #75: Pope to visit Madre de Dios, region with Deforestation Crisis (Peru)
Pope Francis, as part of his upcoming visit to Peru in January, will visit the Madre de Dios region in the southern Peruvian Amazon. He is expected to address issues facing the Amazon and its indigenous communities, including deforestation. In…
MAAP Interactive: Deforestation Drivers in the Andean Amazon
Since its launch in April 2015, MAAP has published over 70 reports related to deforestation (and natural forest loss) in the Andean Amazon. We have thus far focused on Peru, with several reports in Colombia and Brazil as well. These…