Peru’s Ministry of Environment, MINAM, has publicly released its first estimates of deforestation from 2000 to 2011 throughout more than 95% of Peru’s forests. This is the first time the Peruvian government has made estimates of deforestation available online for others to view. This study represents a major milestone toward conserving and managing the western Amazon, 75% of which is contained in Peru.
The results are high-resolution (30m) maps of forest cover and deforestation, and rates of deforestation from 2000-2005, 2005-2009, 2009-2010, and 2010-2011. The team used mosaicked composites of Landsat 5 and 7 images to generate a continuous map, with minimal clouds and shadows, of the study area.
Figure: 2010 and 2011 mosaics of Peru
MINAM’s findings show that the annual deforestation rate spiked from about 91,000 ha/yr during 2000-2005 to 163,000 ha/ya during 2005-2009. The rate dropped to 109,000 ha/yr during 2009-2010 and further declined to 103,000 ha/yr during 2010-2011. This latest rate, though decreased from previous years, still represents an annual loss of 0.16% of the original forest cover of the Peruvian Amazon.
Figure: 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 deforestation in Peru
These results have thus far indicated 92% accuracy against field and aircraft based observations.
For more information and for regional break-downs of forest cover and deforestation, review MINAM’s results and documentation here: https://geoservidor.minam.gob.pe/geoservidor/deforestacion.aspx.
