Intense rainfall is causing severe and deadly flooding along the northern coast of Peru. The cause is likely “coastal El Niño,” a phenomenon produced by abnormal ocean warming along the equatorial coast of the Pacific Ocean. Image 56 shows a preliminary estimate of the flooded areas along the northern coast (in red). We created this estimation […]
In the previous MAAP #54, we described the phenomenon of natural forest loss due to “hurricane winds,” showing several examples from 2016 in the Peruvian Amazon. Strong winds from these localized storms can knock down hundreds of acres of forest at a time. In January 2017, GLAD tree loss alerts indicated two new hurricane wind events in the southern Peruvian Amazon […]
A little-known, but not uncommon, type of natural forest loss in the Peruvian Amazon is blowdown due to strong winds from localized storms (locally known as “hurricane winds”). The intense winds cause a chain reaction of fallen trees, resulting in a fan-shaped pattern of forest loss with a defined orientation following the direction of the storm winds. […]
We present our second synthesis report, building off our first report published in September 2015. This synthesis is largely based on the 50 MAAP reports published between April 2015 and November 2016. The objective is to synthesize all the information to date regarding deforestation trends, patterns and drivers in the Peruvian Amazon. MAAP methodology includes […]
During 2016, Peru experienced an intense wildfire season, exacerbated by widespread drought conditions across the country. The base map (Image 53, to the left) shows the 2016 fire alert hotspots. These alerts are generated from a moderate-resolution (375 meters) satellite sensor (VIIRS) that detects significant new heat sources. Although there has not yet been a comprehensive […]
In the previous MAAP #51, we gave an initial impact assesment regarding the recent wave of fires in protected areas in northern Peru. Here, we provide a more comprehensive update. Our revised estimate is 6,594 acres (2,668 hectares) burned in 11 Protected Areas (see Image 52a) in late 2016. Note that the image is from November and smoke […]
Peru’s intense 2016 fire season continues, most recently hitting the northern part of the country. As seen in this map on the left, during November 2016 the highest concentration of fire alerts (as detected by the VIIRS satellite sensor) were concentrated in the headwaters of the northern Amazon basin (departments of Cajamarca, Piura, and Lambayeque). […]
We analyzed hundreds of high-resolution satellite images to calculate the amount of recent (October 2012 – October 2016) gold mining deforestation in the southern Peruvian Amazon: 30,895 acres. Combining this finding with previous studies, we estimate the total gold mining deforestation of around 154,440 acres in the region. Image 50a shows the recent gold mining deforestation in red, […]
In a series of articles, we have previously detailed the progress of gold mining deforestation in the southern Peruvian Amazon (mainly in the Madre de Dios region). In the current report, we show the new gold mining frontiers in northern and central Peru (Image 49a): two cases in the region of Amazonas and a case […]
New sugarcane plantations have caused the deforestation of more than 6,175 acres (2,500 hectares) in the department of La Paz. https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/exclusive-rainforest-rapidly-cleared-for-sugarcane-in-bolivia/ https://news.mongabay.com/2016/11/another-700-hectares-of-bolivian-rainforest-lost-to-sugarcane-surge/
