We continue our series on the Venezuelan Amazon (see MAAP #155), with a special focus on the key protected area of Yapacana National Park. In recent reports, we showed that Yapacana is currently experiencing intense illegal mining activity with likely thousands of miners (see MAAP #156), including on top of the sacred Yapacana Tepui (see […]
Gold mining continues to be one of the main deforestation drivers in the southern Peruvian Amazon (Madre de Dios region). In a recent report (MAAP #154), we highlighted the key cases of illegal mining in this area. In an attempt to organize mining activities and promote a formalization process,* the Peruvian government has delimited a […]
Since 2017, the Mennonites have arrived in the Peruvian Amazon and created 5 new colonies. Here, we show that these colonies have caused the deforestation of more than 4,800 hectares (11,860 acres) of tropical forest, including 650 hectares (1,600 acres) in 2022. The Base Map shows the current situation regarding the Mennonites in Peru. Note […]
It is increasingly reported that the largest rainforest in the world, the Amazon, is rapidly approaching a tipping point. As repeatedly highlighted by the late Tom Lovejoy (see Acknowledgements), this tipping point is where parts of the rainforest will convert into drier ecosystems due to disrupted precipitation patterns and more intense dry seasons, both exacerbated by […]
In a series of previous reports, we have documented the extensive recent deforestation from new Mennonite colonies arriving in the Peruvian Amazon (see MAAP #149). However, despite the extensive evidence provided by satellite images, the Mennonites have repeatedly denied this deforestation (see References). Most recently, we detected that the Mennonites had resumed deforestation in the […]
Tepuis are stunning table-top mountains found in northern South America. They are considered sacred by indigenous groups of the region; in fact, the word tepui means “house of the gods” in a local indigenous language. Tepuis also have high levels of endemism since they are not connected to other ranges. However, we have documented active […]
The Amazon Soy Moratorium has often been credited with significantly reducing soy-related deforestation in the Amazon over the past 15 years. The Moratorium is a voluntary zero-deforestation agreement in which traders agree not to purchase soy grown on land cleared after 2008. However, increasing soybean prices may be driving a resurgence of the problem of […]
NASA’s GEDI mission uses lasers to provide cutting-edge estimates of aboveground biomass and related carbon on a global scale. Launched in late 2018 and installed on the International Space Station, GEDI’s lasers return an estimate of aboveground biomass density at greater accuracy and resolution than previously available. Here, we zoom in on the Amazon and […]
We present here the first report of a series focused on the Venezuelan Amazon, which covers over 47 million hectares of the northern section of the Amazon biome (above western Brazil). As the Amazon Base Map indicates, Venezuela is a key part to the remaining core Amazon that is still functioning as a critical carbon […]
We present the second report in our series focused on the Venezuelan Amazon. The first (MAAP #155) documented the loss of over 140,000 hectares (345,000 acres) of primary forest over the past four years. We also zoomed in on the major hotspots, showing that mining is one of the primary deforestation drivers, including in protected areas. Here we […]
