A study led by researchers at the University of Oklahoma’s Center for Earth Observation and Modeling analyzed time-series satellite imagery from 2000 to 2021, revealing the important role of indigenous territories and protected areas in the conservation of the Brazilian Amazon forest.The findings, recently published in natural sustainability, Draws attention to the negative impact of weakening government conservation policies in recent years.
The Brazilian Amazon has the largest tropical forest area and the highest biodiversity in the world. Aboriginal territories and reserves in the region have increased substantially since 2000, and by 2013 they accounted for 43 percent of the total land area and covered about 50 percent of the total forest area.
However, tensions between forest conservation and socio-economic development goals persist. Forest conservation has been threatened by dramatic socio-ecological changes in Brazil in recent years. The weakening of forest and environmental policy and enforcement and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have had a devastating impact on Indigenous groups in the region.
In this U.S.-Brazilian collaborative study, Dr. Yuanwei Qin and Dr. Xiangming Xiao of the OU Center for Earth Observation and Modeling, together with Dr. Fabio de Sa e Silva, International Assistant Professor of Research and Professor Wick Cary of Brazilian Studies at OU’s School of International Studies, collaborated with Brazilian Collaborators at the National Institute for Space Research and the National Institute of the Amazon in Brazil. The research team combined multiple data sources to document and quantify the dynamics and impacts of forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon over the past two decades.
Annual forest maps based on analysis of optical imagery are of average accuracy due to frequent cloud cover and fire-induced smoke in the Brazilian Amazon. In a 2019 paper published in the same journal, the research team combined image data from optical and microwave sensors to generate an annual map of the Brazilian Amazon forest. Using these annual forest maps, they assessed the impact of indigenous territories and protected areas on deforestation dynamics in the Brazilian Amazon through 2021.
“Between 2000 and 2021, areas designated as indigenous territories or protected areas increased to cover approximately 52 percent of the Brazilian Amazon forest, accounting for only 5 percent of net forest loss and 12 percent of total forest loss over the same period,” said Chin . “This finding highlights the important role of Indigenous territories and forest conservation reserves in the region.”
Protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon are subject to different state and national governance arrangements with different management objectives, including strict conservation or sustainable use. They found that from 2003 to 2021, total forest loss in protected areas under strict protection fell by 48%, compared with an 11% decline in protected areas under sustainable use.
“These differential impacts on forest conservation require researchers to conduct a deeper causal analysis and invite stakeholders, policymakers and the public to reassess existing policies in these areas. Legal designation is important, but if laws are not enforced, the Forests and biodiversity will be fantasy. This is an area where Brazil willfully fails,” said Desa Silva.
The results of this study also show that annual forest area loss is influenced by Brazil’s forest policies, as evidenced by a large reduction in forest area loss from the early 2000s to the mid-2010s, in line with the 2003 policy of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva government related – 2010, 2019 to 2021, even in indigenous territories and protected areas, forest area loss increases again, same as Jair Bor 2019 to 2022 President Sonaro’s government corresponds.
“How to re-establish effective policies and reduce forest area loss in the Brazilian Amazon in the coming years will be one of the major challenges facing Lula’s government and the international community,” Xiao said.
The study adds to a series of work by Qin and Xiao documenting forest area in the Brazilian Amazon, including the 2019 paper “Improved estimates of forest cover and loss in the Brazilian Amazon from 2000-2017,” published in natural sustainability; a 2021 paper, “Carbon Losses from Forest Degradation Exceeding from Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon,” published in natural climate change; and two more.
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Material Provided by the University of Oklahoma. Originally written by Chelsea Julian. NOTE: Content may be edited for style and length.
