INPE and SOS Mata Atlântica Disclose New Data

Hello reader!

It follows a note published on the day (05/29) in the website of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) Stating that the INPE and SOS Mata Atlântica disclose new data from Forest Remnants Atlas.

Duda Falcão

INPE and SOS Mata Atlântica Disclose

New Data from Forest Remnants Atlas

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation and the Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - INPE) announced on Tuesday (5/29) data from the Atlas of Atlantic Forest Remnants (Atlas dos Remanescentes Florestais da Mata Atlântica), concerning 2010 and 2011. The outcomes show Minas Gerais and Bahia as the most deforested states.

The survey shows 13,312 hectares (ha), or 133 square kilometers, of deforestation between 2010 and 2011. Out of these, 12,822 ha correspond to deforestation, 435 ha correspond to the elimination of sandbank vegetation and 56 ha to mangrove vegetation removal. On May 27 (Sunday), the Brazil’s National Day of the Atlantic Forest was celebrated. It is the most threatened biome in Brazil: there are only 7.9% of forests remaining shared in fragments larger than 100 hectares, representing the biodiversity conservation. Considering all the small fragments of natural forest larger 3 hectares, the rate reaches 13.32%.

The survey has evaluated 1,224,751 km2 of the total area of the Atlantic Forest biome (1,315,460 km2), which is about 93%. The states of Espírito Santo, Goiás, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, São Paulo and Bahia were analyzed. Due to cloud cover, which affects the reception of satellite imagery, the states of Bahia (57%), Minas Gerais (58%) and Espírito Santo (36%) were partially evaluated. In the other northeastern states that are in the limits of the biome - Alagoas, Ceará, Paraíba, Pernambuco, Piauí, Sergipe and Rio Grande do Norte - the analysis was not possible due to the clouds.

The data were presented during a press conference in São Paulo by Marcia Hirota, Manager and SOS Mata Atlântica director; Mario Mantovani, Public Policies Director of the Foundation and Flávio Jorge Ponzoni, INPE researcher and technical coordinator of this survey.

"The assessment is being made faster and more accurately every year, validating deforestation through high-resolution images and field work. The base is being complemented with the areas of grasslands, wetlands, riparian forests in order to make more complete versions in the future and allow better monitoring the negative impacts of the changes in Forest Code," said Ponzoni, for INPE.

The Atlas is sponsored by Bradesco Cartões and implemented by ArcPlan The data is available on www.sosma.org.br and www.inpe.br

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