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MAAP #221
October 9, 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
MAAP #214
July 27, 2024

MAAP #214: Agriculture in the Amazon: New data reveals key patterns of crops & cattle pasture

A burst of new data and online visualization tools are revealing key land use patterns across the Amazon, particularly regarding the critical topic of agriculture. This type of data is particularly important because agriculture is the leading cause of overall Amazonian deforestation. These new datasets include: Crops. The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a […]

Brazil Cattle pasture Ecuador French Guiana Guayana Oil Palm Other crops Peru Soy Venezuela
MAAP #213
June 25, 2024

MAAP #213: Estimating Carbon in Amazon Protected Areas & Indigenous Territories

In a recent report (MAAP #199), we presented the updated version of NASA’s GEDI data,1 which uses lasers aboard the International Space Station to provide cutting-edge estimates of aboveground carbon globally, including our focal area, the Amazon. These lasers, however, have not yet achieved full coverage, leaving considerable gaps in the data and resulting maps. Here, we […]

Bolivia Brazil Carbon Colombia Indigenous Territories Peru Protected Areas
MAAP #212
June 9, 2024

MAAP #212: Machine learning to detect mining deforestation across the Amazon

Gold Mining is one of the major deforestation drivers across the Amazon.* It often targets remote areas, thus impacting carbon-rich primary forests. Moreover, in most cases, this mining is illegal, given that it is occurring in protected areas and indigenous territories. Given the vastness of the Amazon, however, it has been a challenge to accurately monitor mining deforestation across the […]

Bolivia Brazil Colombia Ecuador Gold Mining Peru
MAAP#196
May 22, 2024

MAAP #196: Mining Impacts Calculator: Analysis in 3 Indigenous Communities of the Southern Peruvian Amazon

Illegal gold mining has generated massive deforestation in the southern Peruvian Amazon (MAAP #208). This activity also affects several of the main rivers (such as the Madre de Dios, Inambari, Tambopata, Malinowski and Colorado), and also their tributaries and secondary bodies of water. All of them are contaminated by excess sediment and the presence of […]

Gold Mining Indigenous Territories Peru
MAAP #208
May 8, 2024

MAAP #208: Gold mining in the southern Peruvian Amazon, summary 2021-2024

With the technical support of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and Norad (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation),1 we have published a series of reports on the dynamic situation regarding gold mining in the southern Peruvian Amazon during recent years 2. Illegal gold mining reached crisis levels between 2017 and 2018 in the area known […]

Gold Mining Peru