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April 28, 2025

MAAP #225: Carbon in the Amazon (part 4): Protected Areas & Indigenous Territories

We continue our ongoing series about carbon in the Amazon. In part 1 (MAAP #215), we introduced a new dataset (Planet’s Forest Carbon Diligence) with wall-to-wall estimates for aboveground carbon at an unprecedented 30-meter resolution between 2013 and 2022. In part 2 (MAAP #217), we highlighted which parts of the Amazon are currently home to the highest (peak) carbon stocks. […]

April 22, 2025

Protected: MAAP #226: AI to detect Amazon gold mining deforestation – 2024 update

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Bolivia Colombia Ecuador French Guiana Gold Mining Guayana Peru Suriname Venezuela
MAAP #224
April 6, 2025

MAAP #224: Illegal Deforestation in the Colombian Amazon – Chiribiquete National Park & Llanos del Yarí – Yaguará II Indigenous Reserve

The Colombian Environment Ministry recently announced that, after the country experienced its lowest deforestation in over 20 years in 2023, forest clearing rose 35% in 2024 (Graph 1). In addition, the Ministry reported an increase in medium-sized clearing, indicating relatively organized and funded operations (Note 1). Over the past 10 years, 60% of the national deforestation […]

Cattle pasture Coca Colombia Indigenous Territories Protected Areas Roads
MAAP #220
October 28, 2024

MAAP #220: Carbon across the Amazon (part 3): Key Cases of Carbon Loss & Gain

In part 1 of this series (MAAP #215), we introduced a critical new dataset (Planet’s Forest Carbon Diligence) with wall-to-wall estimates for aboveground carbon at an unprecedented 30-meter resolution between 2013 and 2022. This data uniquely merges machine learning, satellite imagery, airborne lasers, and a global biomass dataset from GEDI, a NASA mission. In part […]

Bolivia Brazil Carbon Colombia Ecuador French Guiana Guayana Peru Suriname Venezuela
MAAP #222
October 23, 2024

MAAP #222: Mennonite Colonies Continue Major Deforestation in Peruvian Amazon

In a series of reports, we have demonstrated that the Mennonites have become a leading cause of large-scale deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon. The Mennonites, a global religious group dating back to the 1600s, often require vast tracts of land to support their characteristic industrialized agricultural activity. As such lands have become scarce in other […]

Mennonites Peru
MAAP #221
October 11, 2024

MAAP #221: Illegal mining in protected areas of the Ecuadorian Amazon

In a series of previous reports, we warned about the emergence and expansion of mining deforestation in the Ecuadorian Amazon (MAAP #151, MAAP 182, MAAP #219). Illegal mining in Ecuador tends to operate in remote areas, such as protected areas. Furthermore, this activity’s proximity to Colombia and Peru facilitates cross-border flows essential for the gold trade. […]

Ecuador Gold Mining Minería de Oro Protected Areas
MAAP #217
September 11, 2024

MAAP #217: Carbon across the Amazon (part 2): Peak Carbon Areas

In part 1 of this series (MAAP #215), we introduced a critical new resource (Planet Forest Carbon Diligence) that provides wall-to-wall estimates for aboveground carbon density at an unprecedented 30-meter resolution. This data uniquely merges machine learning, satellite imagery, airborne lasers, and a global biomass dataset from GEDI, a NASA mission.4 In that report, we […]

Bolivia Brazil Carbon Colombia Ecuador French Guiana Guayana Peru Suriname Venezuela
MAAP #219
September 3, 2024

MAAP #219: Illegal mining expansion in the Ecuadorian Amazon (Punino area)

In a series of previous reports, we warned about the emergence and expansion of illegal mining deforestation in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon, in the area surrounding the ​​Punino River, located between the provinces of Napo and Orellana (MAAP #182, MAAP #151). In the most recent report, we informed that this mining impact had […]

Ecuador Gold Mining Indigenous Territories Protected Areas
MAAP #218
August 23, 2024

MAAP #218: Killing of Environmental Defenders in the Peruvian Amazon

                            Amazon Conservation’s MAAP program specializes in reporting on the most urgent deforestation threats facing the Amazon and producing big-picture analyses of key Amazon-wide issues. This report uniquely presents a view into the complicated but critical issue of murders of environmental defenders, […]

Coca Gold Mining Logging Peru
MAAP #215
August 9, 2024

MAAP #215: Unprecedented Look at Carbon across the Amazon (part 1)

The Amazon biome has long been one of the world’s largest carbon sinks, helping stabilize the global climate. Precisely estimating this carbon, however, has been a challenge. Fortunately, new satellite-based technologies are providing major advances, most notably NASA’s GEDI mission (see MAAP #213) and, most recently, Planet Forest Carbon Diligence.1 Here, we focus on the latter, analyzing […]

Bolivia Brazil Carbon Colombia Ecuador French Guiana Guayana Peru Suriname Venezuela