The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) confirmed deforestation by shallow cut in Legal Amazon from August 2008 to July 2009 period, accomplished by PRODES – Monitoring of the Brazilian Forest by Satellite.
The system that uses the satellite images, estimates that the deforestation reached 7,0008 km2. For checking this rate, 92 Landsat images were analyzed. The margin of error for this measure is about 10%.
The smallest deforestation rate since the beginning of PRODES in 1988 already registered, was informed on Thursday (Nov.12th) by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during the event in the “Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil” (CCBB), in Brasília.
Check here: Deforestation by state and also in Legal Amazon (2001-2009)
The tables in the following links present the deforestation annual changes since 1998, and the rates by state in the Legal Amazon. You can get the detailed data at:
http://www.obt.inpe.br/prodes/
Legal Amazon Annual Deforestation rate table since 1988
Legal Amazon Annual Deforestation Rate table by State
The figures below show the distribution of the intensity of the deforestation in the Landsat satellite scenes used to get the calculation rate in 2008 and 2009 periods.
Scenes 2009 – Absolute Deforestation (km2)
Scenes 2008 – Absolute Deforestation (km2)
Check on this link the complete presentation of Gilberto Câmara, INPE’s director, about PRODES information
PRODES
Since 1988 INPE has been using PRODES system to estimate the shallow cut deforestation annual rate, by the time the forest deforestation occurs totally. However, it does not register the partial falling of trees resulting from burns and the wood selective extraction.
Making use of the best space resolution sensors, PRODES enables the capture of all deforestation bigger than 6.26 hectares. The standard measurements of this system are made in months that provide good conditions of observation in Amazon, it happens from July to September.
By the fact of being more detailed and dependable on the dry season climate change conditions to get the images free of clouds, it has been performed only once a year.
PRODES, one of the actions of the Science and Technology Ministry (MCT), in the Plan of Prevention and the Amazon Deforestation Control (PPCDAM), has been recognized as an essential contribution for the PPCDAM goals as well as for the transparency in publishing the information about the Legal Amazon.
INPE opens PRODES information to all society through:
www.obt.inpe.br/prodes.
