Here in MAAP #29, we describe the Nuevo Eden-Boca Manu-Boca Colorado road project in the southern Peruvian Amazon (Madre de Dios region). The objective of this article is to show the current state of construction and quantify the direct and indirect deforestation caused thus far by the road. This is a controversial road project because it cuts […]
We have previously detailed the extensive illegal gold mining problem in the southern Peruvian Amazon (Madre de Dios region), but here in MAAP #28 we detail the emergence of another deforestation hotspot in the region. Image 28a shows the intensification of this hotspot, located along the newly paved Interoceanic highway around the town of Iberia (see Inset F), between 2012-14 […]
Deforestation continues to increase in the land owned and operated by United Cacao near the town of Tamshiyacu in the northern Peruvian Amazon. Since 2013, we have documented the deforestation of 2,380 hectares (5,880 acres) related to this project, the vast majority at the expense of primary forest*. Of this total, 250 hectares were clear-cut after the Peruvian Ministry of […]
Thanks to the newly launched GLAD alerts (developed by the University of Maryland and Google1, and presented by Global Forest Watch), we now have weekly access to high-resolution forest loss data across Peru. Here in MAAP #26, we analyze the first batch of this data to better understand deforestation patterns in the Peruvian Amazon in […]
Deforestation continues to increase in the Peruvian Amazon. According to the latest information from the Peruvian Environment Ministry1, 2014 had the highest annual forest loss on record since 2000 (177,500 hectares, or 438,600 acres per year). 2013 and 2012 had the third and fourth-highest annual forest loss totals, respectively (behind only 2009). To better understand […]
*Note: During the preparation of this analysis, the Peruvian government conducted an operation against the illegal gold mining activity in the area described below (see this news article in Spanish for more information). In MAAP #21, we revealed, using high-resolution images, the first sign of an invasion into the Tambopata National Reserve (an important natural protected area in the […]
The Las Piedras River in the southern Peruvian Amazon (department of Madre de Dios) is increasingly recognized for its outstanding wildlife (for example, see this video by naturalist and explorer Paul Rosolie, and this trailer for the upcoming film Uncharted Amazon). As seen in Image 23a, its headwaters are born in the Alto Purus National […]
Peru recently celebrated a major conservation victory for 2015 with the creation of Sierra del Divisor National Park. Prior to this announcement, Sierra del Divisor was classified as a Reserved Zone, which is a temporary measure to protect an area of biological importance until the government is able to determine a final designation. In these […]
*Note: During the review process for this article, a major operation against illegal mining activities was carried out by the Peruvian government in the area described below. Image 21a illustrates a recent illegal gold mining invasion of the Tambopata National Reserve. Tambopata is an important protected area in the southern Peruvian Amazon (department of Madre de Dios). Image 21a […]
MAAP #10 detailed the extensive deforestation between 2000 and 2014 (538 hectares or 1,329 acres) in the Colorado sector of Bahuaja Sonene National Park, an important protected area in the southern Peruvian Amazon. Additionally, we described how this sector has a high density of coca plantations, one of the main drivers of the observed deforestation. Coca has many traditional […]
