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Zero Deforestation Agreement Assessment at Farm Level in Colombia Using Alos Palsar: Challenges of Monitoring Systems Aimed to Reduce Deforestation

Published Article

Colombia

Publication date: October 12, 2021

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This study evaluates zero deforestation agreements at farm level in Colombia using ALOS-1 and ALOS-2 PALSAR imagery from 2010–2016. Findings highlight regional deforestation patterns, radar mapping accuracy, and the role of monitoring systems in reducing forest loss under challenging conditions.

Subject Tags

  • Land management
  • Conservation Technology
  • Forest

Abstract

We assess the fulfillment of zero deforestation agreements at farm level, ALOS-1 and ALOS-2 PALSAR fine beam dual imagery for years 2010 and 2016 was processed with ad-hoc routines to estimate stable forest, deforestation, and stable non-forest extension for 2615 participant farms in five regions of Colombia. Farms associated with Meta Foothills regions showed zero deforestation during the period analyzed (2010–2016), while other regions showed low deforestation rates with the exception of the Cesar River Valley (75 ha). Results, suggests that topography and dry weather conditions have an effect on radar-based mapping accuracy. Nevertheless, overall ALOS Phased Array L-band SAR (PALSAR) data provided overall accurate, relevant, and consistent information for forest change analysis for local zero deforestation agreements assessment.

Citation

Pedraza, C., Clerici, N., Forero, C.F., Melo, A., Navarrete, D., Lizcano, D., Zuluaga, A.F., Delgado, J. and Galindo, G., 2021, July. Zero Deforestation Agreement Assessment at Farm Level in Colombia Using Alos Palsar: Challenges of Monitoring Systems Aimed to Reduce Deforestation. In 2021 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium IGARSS (pp. 6913-6916). IEEE.

https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/9554336

Media Contacts

  • The Nature Conservancy