DETER Has Warned 253.8 km² of Amazon Deforestation

Hello reader!

It follows one communicates published on the day (10/31) in the website of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) noting that in september, DETER System hás warned 253.8 km² of Amazon deforestation.

Duda Falcão

In September, DETER Has Warned

253.8 km² of Amazon Deforestation

Monday, October 31, 2011

DETER, Real Time Deforestation Detection System of Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - INPE), has identified that 253.8 km ² of Amazon forest have been clearcut or suffered progressive degradation in September 2011. The distribution of warning areas in Amazon states is presented in the following table:

Mato Grosso 110,8 km²

Rondônia 49,9 km²

Pará 46,9 km²

Amazonas 27,7 km²

Acre 6,1 km²

Maranhão 7,7 km²

Roraima 2,5 km²

Tocantins 2,2 Km²

TOTAL: 253,8 km²

On the map below, yellow dots represent the location of an alert issued by DETER. Pink areas demonstrate places that could not be monitored due clouds coverage, which was 5% in September, 2011.

DETER system produces daily Amazon deforestation alerts, which guide supervision and ensure effective actions of forest clearing control. The successful of this warning system can be proven by PRODES annual results (INPE’s system that maps in detail the forest cutting), which since DETER is operating, recorded a significant drop in deforestation rates.

Each one of these systems has its own characteristics and different purposes: while the deforestation rate is annually measured by PRODES, deforestation alerts indicated by DETER can be quickly verified by the surveillance authorities and thus, the system contributes to forest conservation. Another important difference concerns to the range adopted, because DETER does not capture small points of deforestation.

Alert

Working since 2004, DETER is an Alert System for Support and Control Deforestation. Although its data is released monthly or bimonthly, DETER results have been sent to IBAMA - responsible to overseeing warning areas - almost daily.

Due to cloud cover variation between two months, also to satellite resolution, INPE does not recommend to compare data from different months or years obtained by DETER.

DETER uses data from MODIS Terra satellite sensor, with a 250-meters space resolution, which makes possible to detect deforestation polygons with an area larger than 25 hectares. Some deforestation areas are not identified by the system due to possible cloud coverage.

The low resolution used by DETER is compensated by the ability of daily observation, which makes the system a perfect tool to quickly inform deforestation to surveillance authorities.

This system records both clearcutting, when satellites detect complete removal of native forest, and areas classified as progressive degradation, that reveal the process of deforestation in the region.

The numbers demonstrated by DETER are important indicators for control and supervision organizations. However, to compute an annual rate of forest removal by clear-cutting on Amazon, INPE works with PRODES (www.obt.inpe.br/Prodes), that uses high resolution images capable of showing small deforestation points.

Jointly every disclosure of DETER’s data, INPE presents a sample evaluation report. Whether reports or data generated by DETER can be found at www.obt.inpe.br/deter

Source: Website of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE)