PRODES SYSTEM - DEFORESTATION MONITORING

PRODES (Program for the Calculation of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon) is a project to monitor deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. It is run by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and provides annual estimates of the rate of deforestation in the region. The project uses satellite imagery to map and measure forest loss, and has been widely used as an important tool for the management and conservation of the Amazon rainforest. Annual rates are estimated from the deforestation increments identified in each LANDSAT class satellite image (20 to 30 meters of spatial resolution and 16-day revisit rate) in a combination that seeks to minimize the problem of cloud cover and ensure a full coverage of the Legal Amazon.

It has been considered one of the most accurate and reliable deforestation monitoring systems available, and its estimates are widely used by international organizations, governments, environmental groups, and others interested in conserving the Amazon rainforest. Since satellite images are used to map and measure forest loss, this allows for an accurate estimate of the rate of deforestation in the region. Recent results, based on analyses carried out with independent specialists, indicate a precision level close to 95%.

In addition to providing deforestation estimates, the project also provides important information on the main causes of deforestation, such as agriculture, mining, livestock, urban expansion and road construction. This information is important to help authorities and other stakeholders guide policies and actions to conserve the forest and prevent further loss of natural habitats and species.

According to PRODES estimates, deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon reached a deforestation peak in 1995 with a rate greater than 29,000 km², later this value fell until 2001, to then return to a level close to the peak between the years of 2003 and 2004. Faced with this challenge, the Presidential Decree of July 3, 2003 was signed, which established a Permanent Interministerial Working Group with the purpose of proposing measures and coordinating actions aimed at reducing deforestation rates in the Legal Amazon. A careful assessment of the causes of the problem was then carried out, as a basis for planning a set of integrated actions by the government to be implemented with the active participation of Brazilian society. Thus arose

In the first and second phases, the measures to combat deforestation had the following guidelines: 1) valuing the forest for the purposes of conservation and sustainable use;

2) recovery of degraded areas as a way to increase productivity and reduce pressure on the remaining forests;

3) land and territorial ordering, prioritizing the fight against public land grabbing, the creation of conservation units and the homologation of indigenous lands;

4) improvement of instruments for monitoring, licensing and inspection of deforestation;

5) promotion of activities for the sustainable use of forest resources and/or intensive use of agricultural areas; 6) decentralized and shared management of public policies between the Union, states and municipalities;

In the first and second phases of the PPCDAm (from 2004 to 2011), the actions with the greatest impact on the drop in deforestation stemmed from the monitoring, control and inspection axis. While the third phase proposed to strengthen and promote the viability of the productive chains that constitute alternatives to deforestation.

In 2005, one year after the first year of implementation of the first phase of the PPCDAm, the deforestation rate in the Legal Amazon showed a significant reduction, and this trend was maintained until 2013. The main effects of the plan were the creation and expansion of protected areas and the implementation of the Deter System. In 2008, the rate of deforestation in the Amazon was approximately 12,900 km² per year, and continued to decrease over the years, reaching a rate of approximately 4,600 km² in 2012, this significant reduction is related to the measures implemented by the three phases of the PPCDAm , such as the creation and expansion of protected areas and the implementation of the Deter System. However, after this period of reduction, rates began to advance until reaching the year 2022 at the level of 11,600 km², values close to those observed in 2008 (Graph 1).