The Atlantic Forest, the first widely occupied and destroyed Brazilian biome, will be monitored more closely starting this Tuesday (1st). This is when the Deforestation Alert System (SAD) specific to this vegetation starts to function, capable of detecting affected areas from 0.3 hectare.
“At this moment in which the country is experiencing a surge in deforestation, it is necessary to put a magnifying glass on this biome, which is still the most threatened, the least left and where most of the population is concentrated”, says Luis Fernando Guedes Pinto, director of knowledge at Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica.
With an original area that reached 1.3 million square kilometers and extending over much of the Brazilian coast, the Atlantic Forest has been drastically reduced – currently, 12.4% of primary forests remain. When considering those that have regenerated, the rate reaches 28% coverage.
SOS Mata Atlântica, together with the society of geographers Arcplan and the MapBiomas project, are responsible for the new alert service, which will generate monthly reports and make the information available free of charge on an online platform.
The data, however, are not considered official, such as those generated by the Deter alert system of the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe), which was inaugurated in 2004 for the Amazon rainforest. In the cerrado, the second largest biome in the country by extension, Deter began operating in 2017 and is threatened with interruption due to lack of support from the federal government.
What the tests showed
During the SAD testing phase, which took place in 2021, the watersheds of the Tietê River (São Paulo), Iguaçu (Paraná), Jequitinhonha (Bahia and Minas Gerais) and Miranda and Aquidauana (Mato Grosso do Sul) rivers were monitored. These points were chosen for being among the deforestation champions in past years.
During the period, 1,103 alerts were detected, which together represent an area of ​​6,739 hectares of deforestation, equivalent to almost 7,000 football fields. The Miranda and Aquidauana river basins, in Mato Grosso do Sul, were the champions in deforested area, with almost half of the total (3,223 ha).
According to the survey, the absolute majority of alerts came from rural regions with a predominance of agricultural use (94%). The state of São Paulo was the only one that showed a different pattern: 35% of the alerts identified were in urban areas, driven by the expansion of cities and real estate speculation.
“This is a particular reality in the Tietê basin, which is like a quilt of small deforestation in the expansion zone of cities. Almost a third of this deforestation is in urban areas and in watershed areas”, highlights Pinto, referring to the sources of water, such as rivers, lakes, dams and groundwater.
“These are forests protected by the Atlantic Forest Law and by the law on water sources that are being cut down. They are very fragile areas and they have everything to do with these images of the destruction caused by the rains that we are seeing now, with flooding, hills falling, deaths”, he laments.
In the state of São Paulo, the intense rains of recent days have caused landslides, flooding, overflowing rivers and left at least 24 dead. Some cases occurred in irregularly occupied areas, on slopes that were cleared to house housing.
The invisible shows itself
The advancement of technology and the availability of high definition images and computational intelligence have led to a large-scale monitoring system advancement. “The novelty is that we use images with a more detailed resolution, which makes it possible to see the deforestation that was previously invisible”, says Pinto, from SOS Mata Atlântica.
Until then, data on the progress of cutting of primary vegetation were published annually in the Atlas of Forest Remnants of the Atlantic Forest, a partnership between SOS Mata Atlântica and Inpe. This monitoring, in effect since 1989, observes more preserved forest fragments and identifies deforestation larger than 1 hectare.
According to the experience of technicians, the deforesters would have “learned” to outwit this system and cut down trees in smaller areas, a piece each year, so as not to be detected by the satellite.
With the possibility for the SAD to “see” what is happening on the ground in more detail, the expectation is that the service will provoke reactions. “We hope that the alert bulletins will lead supervisory bodies, companies, states and banks to take measures against deforesters”, says Pinto.
In 2021, an action by Public Prosecutors in 17 states applied more than 32 million reais in fines to environmental violators. Named Operation Mata Atlântica em Pé, the inspection tries to curb deforestation and protect the forest regions that are part of the biome.
According to the promoters, the inspected locations were chosen based on data generated by the Inpe and MapBiomas monitoring system. This information was cross-referenced with the National Rural Environmental Registry System, which allows the identification of land owners.
The fine can be applied without the need for a site visit. “The technology, added to the historical analysis of satellite images, makes it possible in many cases to draw up notices of infraction and embargo terms remotely”, emphasizes the Public Ministry of Paraná, which heads the operation.
Source: Folha
