The Advance of Real-time Deforestation and Fire Monitoring in the Amazon

Abstract:

The dynamic new field of satellite-based, real-time monitoring holds great potential for the critical conservation of tropical forests, and the Amazon has been one of the leading testing grounds. Since 2013, the Monitoring of the Andean Amazon Project (MAAP) has been testing and applying new techniques and methodologies for real-time monitoring, with a focus on linking technology and policy action. This presentation will describe key cases of deforestation monitoring across the Amazon dealing with major environmental challenges such as illegal gold mining, illegal logging, and the expansion of the agricultural frontier. It will also discuss the latest advances of real-time fire monitoring and its crucial link back to deforestation. There will be an emphasis on how the rapidly changing earth observation technology now provides unprecedented potential for effective and close to actual real-time monitoring of major environmental challenges.