Climate benefits of Amazon secondary forests—recent advances and research needs
A quarter of the deforested Amazon has regrown as secondary tropical forest and yet the climatic importance of these complex regenerating landscapes is only beginning to be recognised. Advances in satellite remote-sensing have transformed our ability to detect and...
Hydropower Construction and Deforestation: Linking Forest Cover to Changes in Water Balance
In early August 2016 the environmental license to build the largest of these dams, the São Luiz do Tapajos, was denied. In addition to future expansion of hydropower throughout the Amazon, 43 dams are still planned for the Tapajos River Basin.
GHG Emissions of Pasture Intensification to Meet Mato Grosso’s COP21 PCI 2030 Targets
Pasture intensification is necessary to meet Mato Grosso’s COP21 PCI 2030 production targets, and minimize its GHG emissions. Authors: Nini Gu, Jonas Inkotte
Paving BR-319: effects on deforestation and climate
Understanding the effects of roads on land use change in the Brazilian Amazon is crucial in developing policies to combat forest destruction. Here we examine one relevant case study: the proposal to pave BR-319. Specifically, we analyze land within 50 km on either...
Legal Recognition of Indigenous Territories supports climate balance in the Brazilian Amazon
Indigenous Lands (ILs) in the Brazilian Amazon effectively inhibit deforestation (1, 2, 3), preserving cultural and natural resources, as well as ecosystem services. Combined with protected areas (PAs), IL creation is largely responsible for Brazil’s successful...
Land Tenure and the Effect of the Terra Legal Program on Deforestation
The Amazon region has historically had a chaotic land tenure situation. Illegal occupations and land conflicts have been common in many areas where the delineation of lands and legitimization of property rights are difficult.