These graphs correspond to MAAP Synthesis: 2019 Amazon Deforestation Trends and Hotspots.
Country: Bolivia
MAAP #112: Mennonite Colonies – New Deforestation Driver in the Amazon
Time-lapse deforestation in the “Tierra Blanca” Mennonite colony in Loreto, Peru. Data: Planet.
The Mennonites, a religious (Christian) group often dedicated to organized agriculture, are increasingly inhabiting the western Amazon (Peru and Bolivia).
Here, we reveal the recent deforestation of 18,500 acres (7,500 hectares) in three Mennonite colonies (see the Base Map below).
The two colonies in Peru (Tierra Blanca and Masisea) are new, causing the deforestation of 6,200 acres since 2017 (including 3,500 acres in 2019) in the Loreto and Ucayali regions.
The colony in Bolivia (Río Negro) is older, but deforestation recently began to increase again, causing the deforestation of 12,350 acres since 2017 in the department of Beni.
Next, we present a series of satellite image videos showing the deforestation in the three Mennonite colonies.
Tierra Blanca (Perú)
The Mennonite colony referred to here as “Tierra Blanca” is located in southern Loreto region, near the town of Tierra Blanca.
Video A shows the deforestation of 4,200 acres in the Tierra Blanca colony since 2017 (Planet link). We note that 2019 experienced the most deforestation (2,470 acres).
Masisea (Perú)
The Mennonite colony referred to here as “Masisea” is located in northern Ucayali region, near the town of Masisea.
Video B shows the deforestation of 2,000 acres in the Masisea colony since 2017 (Planet link). We note that 2019 experienced the most deforestation (865 acres).
In the detailed map in the Annex, note that the deforestation has reached the limit of a protected area, Imiría Regional Conservation Area. In addition, deforestation has occurred within two native communities (Buenos Aires and Caimito) and a Conservation Concession managed by a Peruvian university.
Río Negro (Bolivia)
The Mennonite colony Río Negro is located in southeastern Beni department. There are several Mennonite colonies in southern Bolivia, but this is one of the first deeper in the Amazon (Kopp, 2015).
Video C shows the deforestation of 12,350 acres in the Río Negro colony since 2017 (Planet link). Much of the deforestation occurred in 2017-18.
Annex 1: Base Map
Base Map of Mennonite colonies in Peru and Bolivia. Data: MAAP.
Annex 2: Detailed Maps
Deforestation in the three colonies A) Tierra Blanca, B) Masisea y C) río Negro. Data: UMD/GLAD, Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA
References
Kopp Ad (2015) Las colonias menonitas en Bolivia. Tierra. http://www.ftierra.org/index.php/publicacion/libro/147-las-colonias-menonitas-en-bolivia
Planet Team (2017). Planet Application Program Interface: In Space for Life on Earth. San Francisco, CA. https://api.planet.com
Acknowledgements
We thank H. Balbuena, A. Condor, and G. Palacios for helpful comments to earlier versions of this report.
This work was supported by the following major funders: Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), MacArthur Foundation, International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC), Metabolic Studio, and Global Forest Watch Small Grants Fund (WRI).
Citation
Finer M, Mamani N (2019) Mennonite Colonies: New Deforestation Driver in the Amazon. MAAP: 112.
MAAP #111: Fires in the Bolivian Amazon – Using Google Earth Engine to Monitor
Recent fire in the dry forests of the the Bolivian Amazon. Data: Planet.
We begin a new series on how to harness the power of the cloud to improve real-time monitoring in the Amazon and beyond.
As the amount of data from satellite images has skyrocketed, so have the challenges of research teams to fully utilize this abundant and heavy (in terms of terabytes) information.
In response, tech companies such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft have been offering their powerful computer power, via the internet (cloud), to help process, analyze, display, and store big data.
Here, we feature Google Earth Engine, which is designed for the free processing of geospatial information (including satellite imagery) and publishing results on web applications.
In our first example, we show the power of Google Earth Engine to help with fire monitoring in the Bolivian Amazon. As noted in our previous reports, the 2019 fire season in Bolivia has been intense, with numerous major fires in the Amazonian dry forests and savannas.
There is currently an urgent need for real-time monitoring of active fires to assist ongoing fire management efforts at the national level. In response, we developed the application described below.
The App “Amazon Fires – Bolivia”
Screen shot of the “Amazon Fires – Bolivia” app.
We developed the application “Amazon Fires – Bolivia” that allows users to easily access and analyze an archive of recent satellite images of the Bolivian Amazon fires in near real-time.
Specifically, the user can compare aerosol data (from the satellite Sentinel-5P), with recent imagery from five different satellites (Terra, Aqua, Suomi, Sentinel-2, and Sentinel-1 radar).
We recommend viewing the aerosol data on the left panel and most recent imagery on the right panel.
Aeresol data (Ultraviolet Aerosol Index) does a strikingly good job of accurately and precisely highlighting the location of active fires because it is showing the actual emissions (pollutants) from the fires (as opposed to the commonly used fire alert data which detect general temperature anomalies, not actual fires). It is important to note that it can be calculated in the presence of clouds so that daily, global coverage is possible. This app represents one of the first major uses of the aerosol data from Sentinel-5P to detect fires in real-time.
Reds indicate the highest levels of aeresol (and likely the largest fires), followed by orange, yellow, green, light blue, purple, dark blue, and black.
Note that if you zoom out, the aerosol data also covers much of the Brazilian Amazon.
Currently, new images are automatically included in the app when they are added to the Google Earth Engine dataset (typically with a delay of one or two days), but during critical times we will manually upload new imagery daily.
Our hope is that relevant actors, including government and fire-fighting crews, can use this real-time information to better address the fires.
Link to the App “Amazon Fires – Bolivia”:
https://luciovilla.users.earthengine.app/view/monitoring-amazon-fires
Imagery Guide
The app shows images in natural color. As a guide, below we show a series of natural color images in relation to “false color” infrared images, which better highlight burn scars (black) in relation to the vegetation (red).
Guide 1. Data: Planet.
Guide 2. Data: Planet.
Guide 3. Data: Planet.
Acknowledgements
We thank D. Larrea (ACEAA), M. Terán (ACEAA), C. de Ugarte (ACEAA), and A. Condor (ACCA) for helpful comments to earlier versions of this report.
The development of this application was made possible thanks to the support provided by the Google Earth Engine team, with the support of SilvaCarbon (technical advisory program that provides spaces for countries to learn about new tools) and the SERVIR Amazonia program.
This work was supported by the following major funders: MacArthur Foundation, International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC), Metabolic Studio, and Global Forest Watch Small Grants Fund (WRI).
Citation
Villa L, Finer M (2019) Fires in the Bolivian Amazon – Using Google Earth Engine to Monitor. MAAP: 111.
MAAP #108: Understanding the Amazon Fires with Satellites, part 2
Base Map. Updated Amazon fire hotspots map, August 20-26, 2019. Red, Orange, and Yellow indicate the highest concentrations of fire, as detected by NASA satellites that detect fires at 375 meter resolution. Data. VIIRS/NASA, MAAP.
Here we present an updated analysis on the Amazon fires, as part of our ongoing coverage and building off what we reported in MAAP #107.
First, we show an updated Base Map of the “fire hotspots” across the Amazon, based on very recent fire alerts (August 20-26). Hotspots (shown in red, orange, and yellow) indicate the highest concentrations of fire as detected by NASA satellites.
Our key findings include:
– The major fires do NOT appear to be in the northern and central Brazilian Amazon characterized by tall moist forest (Rondônia, Acre, Amazonas, Pará states),* but in the drier southern Amazon of Brazil and Bolivia characterized by dry forest and shrubland (Mato Grosso and Santa Cruz).
– The most intense fires are actually to the south of the Amazon, along the border of Bolivia and Paraguay, in areas characterized by drier ecosystems.
– Most of the fires in the Brazilian Amazon appear to be associated with agricultural lands. Fires at the agriculture-forest boundary may be expanding plantations or escaping into forest, including indigenous territories and protected areas.
– The large number of agriculture-related fires in Brazil highlights a critical point: much of the eastern Amazon has been transformed into a massive agricultural landscape over the past several decades. The fires are a lagging indicator of massive previous deforestation.
– We continue to warn against using satellite-based fire detection data alone as a measure of impact to Amazonian forests. Many of the detected fires are in agricultural areas that were once forest, but don’t currently represent forest fires.
In conclusion, the classic image of wildfires scorching everything in their path are currently more accurate for the unique and biodiverse dry forests of the southern Amazon then the moist forests to the north. However, the numerous fires at the agriculture-moist forest boundary are both a threat and stark reminder of how much forest has been, and continues to be, lost by deforestation.
Next, we show a series of 11 satellite images that show what the fires look like in major hotspots and how they are impacting Amazonian forests. The location of each image corresponds to the letters (A-K) on the Base Map.
*If anyone has detailed information to the contrary, please send spatial coordinates to maap@amazonconservation.org
Zooms A, B: Chiquitano Dry Forest (Bolivia)
Some of the most intense fires are concentrated in the dry Chiquitano of southern Bolivia. The Chiquitano is part of the largest tropical dry forest in the world and is a unique, high biodiversity, and poorly explored Amazonian ecosystem. Zooms A-C illustrate fires in the Chiquitano between August 18-21 of this year, likely burning a mixture of dry forest, scrubland, and grassland.
Zoom A. Recent fires in the dry Chiquitano of southern Bolivia. Data: Planet.
Zoom B. Recent fires in the dry Chiquitano of southern Bolivia. Data: Planet.
Zoom D: Beni Grasslands (Bolivia)
Zoom D shows recent fires and burned areas in Bolivia’s Beni grasslands.
Zoom D. Recent fires and burned areas in Bolivia’s Beni grasslands. Data: ESA.
Zooms E,F,G,H: Brazilian Amazon (Amazonas, Rondônia, Pará, Mato Grosso)
Zoom E-H take us to moist forest forests of the Brazilian Amazon, where much of the media and social media attention has been focused. All fires we have seen in this area are in agricultural fields or at the agriculture-forest boundary. Note Zoom E is just outside a national park in Amazonas state; Zoom F shows fires at the agriculture-forest boundary in Rondônia state; Zoom G shows fires at the agriculture-forest boundary within a protected area in Pará state; and Zoom H shows fires at the agriculture-forest boundary in Mato Grosso state.
Zoom E. Fires at the agriculture-forest boundary outside a national park in Amazonas state. Data: Planet.
Zoom F. Fires at the agriculture-forest boundary in Rondônia state. Data: ESA.
Zoom G. Fires at the agriculture-forest boundary within a protected area in Pará state.
Zoom H. Fires at the agriculture-forest boundary in Mato Grosso. Data: ESA.
Zooms I, J: Southern Mato Grosso (Brazil)
Zooms I and J shows fires in grassland/scrubland at the drier southern edge of the Amazon Basin. Note both of these fires are within Indigenous Territories.
Zoom I. Fires within an Indigenous Territory at the drier southern edge of the Amazon Basin. Data: Planet.
Zoom J. Fires within an Indigenous Territory at the drier southern edge of the Amazon Basin. Data: Planet.
Zooms C, K: Bolivia/Brazil/Paraguay Border
Zooms C and K show large fires burning in the drier ecosytems at the Bolivia-Brazil-Paraguay border. This area is outside the Amazon Basin, but we include it due it’s magnitude.
Zoom C. Recent fires in the dry Chiquitano of southern Bolivia. Data: Planet.
Zoom K. Large fires burning around the Gran Chaco Biosphere Reserve. Data: NASA/USGS.
Acknowledgements
We thank J. Beavers (ACA), A. Folhadella (ACA), M. Silman (WFU), S. Novoa (ACCA), M. Terán (ACEAA), and D. Larrea (ACEAA) for helpful comments to earlier versions of this report.
This work was supported by the following major funders: MacArthur Foundation, International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC), Metabolic Studio, and Global Forest Watch Small Grants Fund (WRI).
Citation
Finer M, Mamani N (2019) Seeing the Amazon Fires with Satellites. MAAP: 108.
MAAP #107: Seeing the Amazon Fires with Satellites
Recent fire (late July 2019) in the Brazilian Amazon. Data: Maxar.
Fires now burning in the Amazon, particularly Brazil and Bolivia, have become headline news and a viral topic on social media.
Yet little information exists on the impact on the Amazon rainforest itself, as many of the detected fires originate in or near agricultural lands.
Here, we advance the discussion on the impact of the fires by presenting the first Base Map of current “fire hotspots” across three countries (Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru). We also present a striking series of satellite images that show what the fires look like in each hotspot and how they are impacting Amazonian forests. Our focus is on the most recent fires in August 2019.
Our key findings include:
- Fires are burning Amazonian forest in Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru.
. - The fires in Bolivia are concentrated in the dry Chiquitano forests in the southern Amazon.
. - The fires in Brazil are much more scattered and widespread, often associated with agricultural lands. Thus, we warn against using fire detection data alone as a measure of impact as many are clearing fields. However, many of the fires are at the agriculture-forest boundary and maybe expanding plantations or escaping into forest.
. - Although not as severe, we also detected fires burning forest in southern Peru, in an area that has become a deforestation hotspot along the Interoceanic Highway.
Given the nature of the fires in Bolivia and Brazil, estimates of total burned forest area are still difficult to determine. We will continue monitoring and reporting on the situation over the coming days.
Base Map
The Base Map shows “fire hotspots” for the Amazonian regions of Bolivia, Brazil, and Peru in August 2019. The data comes from a NASA satellite that detects fires at 375 meter resolution. The letters (A-G) correlate to the satellite image zooms below.
Base Map. Fire Hotspots in the Amazon during August 2019. Data: VIIRS/NASA.
Zoom A: Southern Bolivian Amazon
Fires are concentrated in the dry Chiquitano of southern Bolivia. It is part of the largest tropical dry forest in the world. The fires coincide with areas that have been part of cattle ranching expansion in recent decades (References 1 and 2), suggesting that poor burning practices could be the cause of the fires. Ranching using sown pastures has previously been referred to as a direct cause of forest loss in Bolivia (References 2 and 3). The Bolivian National Service of Meteorology and Hydrology (SENAMHI) issued high wind alerts in July and August for southern Bolivia, which could have led to the expansion of poorly managed fires. Also, August is usually the driest month of the year in this region. These conditions could explain the origin (poor fire practice) and expansion (little rain and strong winds) of the current fires.
Zoom A1. Fire in southern Bolivian Amazon. Data: ESA
Zoom A2. Fire in southern Bolivian Amazon. Data: ESA
Zoom A3. Fire in southern Bolivian Amazon. Data: Planet
Zooms B, C, E, F, G: Western Brazilian Amazon
The major fires in western Brazil seem to be at the agriculture-forest boundary. Note that Zoom B shows fire in a protected area in Amazonas state; Zoom C seems to show fire escaping (or deliberately set) in the primary forests in Rondonia state; and Zooms F and G seems to show fire expanding plantation into forest in Amazonas and Mato Grosso states, respectively.
Zoom B. Fire in a protected area in Amazonas state. Data: ESA
Zoom C. Fires at agriculture-forest boundary in Rondonia state. Data: Sentinel.
Zoom E. Fire escaping (or deliberately set) in the primary forests in Rondonia state. Data: Planet
Zoom F. Fire that seems to be expanding plantation into forest in Amazonas state. Data: Planet.
Zoom G. Fire that seems to be expanding plantation into forest in Mato Grosso state. Data: Planet.
Bonus Zoom. Recent fire in Brazilan Amazon. Data: Planet.
Zoom D: Southern Peruvian Amazon
Fires burning forest near the town of Iberia, an area along the Interoceanic Highway that has become a deforestation hotspot in the region of Madre de Dios (see MAAP #28 and MAAP #47).
Zoom D. Fire in southern Peruvian Amazon (near Iberia, Madre de Dios). Data: ESA
Additonal References
We have these to be some of the most informative additional references:
Technical References
1 Müller, R., T. Pistorius, S. Rohde, G. Gerold & P. Pacheco. 2013. Policy options to reduce deforestation based on a systematic analysis of drivers and agents in lowland Bolivia. Land Use Policy 30(1): 895-907. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j. landusepol.2012.06.019
2 Muller, R., Larrea-Alcázar, D.M., Cuéllar, S., Espinoza, S. 2014. Causas directas de la deforestación reciente (2000-2010) y modelado de dos escenarios futuros en las tierras bajas de Bolivia. Ecología en Bolivia 49: 20-34.
3 Müller, R., P. Pacheco & J. C. Montero. 2014. El contexto de la deforestación y degradación de los bosques en Bolivia: Causas, actores e instituciones. Documentos Ocasionales CIFOR 100, Bogor. 89 p.
Acknowledgements
We thank J. Beavers, D. Larrea, T. Souto, M. Silman, A. Condor, and G. Palacios for helpful comments to earlier versions of this report.
This work was supported by the following major funders: MacArthur Foundation, International Conservation Fund of Canada (ICFC), Metabolic Studio, and Global Forest Watch Small Grants Fund (WRI).
Citation
Novoa S, Finer M (2019) Seeing the Amazon Fires with Satellites. MAAP: 107.
MAAP #100: Western Amazon – Deforestation Hotspots 2018 (a regional perspective)
Base Map. Deforestation Hotspots in the western Amazon. Data: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, GFW, SERNANP, SNAP, SINAP, SERNAP, RAISG
For the 100th MAAP report, we present our first large-scale western Amazon analysis: Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and western Brazil (see Base Map).
We use the new 2018 data for forest cover loss, generated by the University of Maryland (Hansen et al 2013) and presented by Global Forest Watch.
These data indicate 2.5 million acres of forest cover loss in the western Amazon in 2018.*
We conducted an additional analysis that indicates, of this total, 1.9 million acres were primary forest.*
To identify deforestation hotspots consistently across this vast landscape, we conducted a kernel density analysis (see Methodology).
The Base Map shows the hotspots in yellow, orange and red, indicating areas with medium, high, and very high forest loss concentrations, respectively.
Next, we focus on five zones of interest (Zooms A-E) in Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru. For all images, please click to enlarge.
*Forest Cover Loss: 5 acres per minute. Almost half (49%) occurred in Brazil, followed by Peru (20%), Colombia (20%), Bolivia (8%), and Ecuador (3%). see Annex.
**Primary Forest Loss: 3.5 acres per minute. Over half (53%) occurred in Brazil, followed by Peru (20%), Colombia (18%), Bolivia (7%), and Ecuador (2%). see Annex.
Colombia
The largest concentration of 2018 forest loss is in the northeast Colombian Amazon (494,000 acres). Out of this total, 11% (56,800 acres) occurred in national parks. National experts indicate that land grabbing has emerged as a leading direct driver of deforestation (Arenas 2018). See MAAP #97 for more information.
Zoom A shows the forest loss expanding towards western Chiribiquete National Park, including distinct deforestation in this protected area during 2018.
Zoom B shows the extensive 2018 deforestation (30,000 acres) within Tinigua National Park. A recent news report indicates that cattle ranching is one of the factors related to this deforestation.
Zoom A. Colombia-Chiribiquete. Data: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, SINAP, Planet, ESA
Zoom B. Colombia – Tinigua. Data: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, SINAP, Planet, ESA
Brazil (border with Bolivia)
Another important result is the contrast between northern Bolivia (Pando department) and adjacent side Brazil (states of Acre, Amazonas, and Rondônia). Zoom C shows several deforestation hotspots on the Brazilian side, while the Bolivian side is much more intact.
Zoom C. Brazil, Bolivia border. Data: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, ESA, RAISG
Bolivia
In Bolivia, the major forest loss hotspots are further south. Zoom D shows the recent deforestation (5,000 acres in 2018) due to agricultural activity associated with one of the first major Mennonite settlements in Beni department (Kopp 2015). The other Mennonite settlements are located further south.
Zoom D. Bolivia, Black River Mennonite settlement. Data: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, SERNAP, Planet
Peru
The Hansen data indicates over 200,000 acres of forest loss during 2018 in the Peruvian Amazon. One of the most important deforestation drivers, especially in southern Peru, is gold mining. We estimate 23,000 acres of gold mining deforestation during 2018 in the southern Peruvian Amazon (see MAAP #96).
Zoom E shows the most emblematic case of gold mining deforestation: the area known as La Pampa.
It is important to emphasize, however, that in February 2019 the Peruvian government launched “Operation Mercury 2019” (Operación Mercurio 2019), a multi-sectoral and comprehensive mega-operation aimed at eradicating illegal mining and associated crime in La Pampa, as well as promote development in the region.
Zoom D. Peru – La Pampa. Data: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, SERNAP, Planet
Annex
Annex. Forest cover and primary forest loss in the western Amazon. Data: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Watch.
Methods
The 2018 forest loss data presented in this report were generated by the Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) laboratory at the University of Maryland (Hansen et al 2013) and presented by Global Forest Watch. Our study area is strictly what is presented in the Base Map: the areas within the Amazonian biogeographic boundary of the western Amazon.
Specifically, for our estimate of forest cover loss, we multiplied the annual “forest cover loss” data by the density percentage of the “tree cover” from the year 2000 (values >30%).
For our estimate of primary forest loss, we intersected the forest cover loss data with the additional dataset “primary humid tropical forests” as of 2001 (Turubanova et al 2018). For more details on this part of the methodology, see the Technical Blog from Global Forest Watch (Goldman and Weisse 2019).
All data were processed under the geographical coordinate system WGS 1984. To calculate the areas in metric units the UTM (Universal Transversal Mercator) projection was used: Peru and Ecuador 18 South, Colombia 18 North, Western Brazil 19 South and Bolivia 20 South.
Lastly, to identify the deforestation hotspots, we conducted a kernel density estimate. This type of analysis calculates the magnitude per unit area of a particular phenomenon, in this case forest cover loss. We conducted this analysis using the Kernel Density tool from Spatial Analyst Tool Box of ArcGIS. We used the following parameters:
Search Radius: 15000 layer units (meters)
Kernel Density Function: Quartic kernel function
Cell Size in the map: 200 x 200 meters (4 hectares)
Everything else was left to the default setting.
For the Base Map, we used the following concentration percentages: Medium: 10%-20%; High: 21%-35%; Very High: >35%.
References
Arenas M (2018) Acaparamiento de tierras: la herencia que recibe el nuevo gobierno de Colombia. Mongabay, 2 AGOSTO 2018. https://es.mongabay.com/2018/08/acaparamiento-de-tierras-colombia-estrategias-gobierno/
Goldman L, Weisse M (2019) Technical Blog: Global Forest Watch’s 2018 Data Update Explained. https://blog.globalforestwatch.org/data-and-research/blog-tecnico-explicacion-de-la-actualizacion-de-datos-de-2018-de-global-forest-watch
Hansen, M. C., P. V. Potapov, R. Moore, M. Hancher, S. A. Turubanova, A. Tyukavina, D. Thau, S. V. Stehman, S. J. Goetz, T. R. Loveland, A. Kommareddy, A. Egorov, L. Chini, C. O. Justice, and J. R. G. Townshend. 2013. “High-Resolution Global Maps of 21st-Century Forest Cover Change.” Science 342 (15 November): 850–53. Data available on-line from: http://earthenginepartners.appspot.com/science-2013-global-forest.
Kopp Ad (2015) Las colonias menonitas en Bolivia. Tierra. http://www.ftierra.org/index.php/publicacion/libro/147-las-colonias-menonitas-en-bolivia
Planet Team (2017). Planet Application Program Interface: In Space for Life on Earth. San Francisco, CA. https://api.planet.com
Turubanova S., Potapov P., Tyukavina, A., and Hansen M. (2018) Ongoing primary forest loss in Brazil, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Indonesia. Environmental Research Letters https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aacd1c
Acknowledgements
We thank M. Terán (ACEAA), M. Weisse (GFW/WRI), A. Thieme (UMD), R. Catpo (ACCA) and A. Cóndor (ACCA) for helpful comments to this report.
Citation
Finer M, Mamani N (2019) Western Amazon – Deforestation Hotspots 2018 (a regional perspective). MAAP: 100.
Bolivia: Large-scale Sugarcane Deforestation
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/
