Analysis of land use change in Mangrove of the Barra San José, Chiapas, Mexico

Mangroves are the most productive ecosystems in the world, since they provide ecosystem services, are biological filters, stabilize the coastline and are the habitat of important fishing species and migratory birds nest. However, the inadequate implementation of agricultural, livestock and tourism development policies has implied the loss of biodiversity, habitat fragmentation and deforestation. The objective of this work is to evaluate the dynamics of changes in mangrove cover and land use in Barra San José, Chiapas, Mexico, in the period 1978-2017. The detection of the changes was carried out by means of a post-classificatory multitemporal study, through the superposition of digital cartographic bases of land use of the series III and VI of the INEGI. Maps of change processes, deforestation rates, and change matrices were obtained. The results indicate a loss of 574 ha of Mangroves in 39 years, with a deforestation rate of -0.41%, where human settlements and agriculture accounted for 90% of the changes. The conversion of Mangroves to grasslands was very marked, showing the fragmentation and loss of habitat to which the forests are exposed in the study area. The results of this analysis should be considered in the establishment of management and conservation policies for this ecological region.

Patterns of forest cover loss in the terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas in the Philippines: critical habitat conservation priorities

The Philippines, home to over 20,000 endemic species of plants and animals, is facing a biodiversity crisis due to the constant decrease of forest cover. The Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) approach was developed to conserve species threatened with extinction using a site-based conservation strategy to select globally important sites using threshold-based criteria for species irreplaceability and vulnerability. This study investigates the applicability of remotely sensed data through geospatial analysis to quantify forest cover loss of the 101 terrestrial KBAs in the country between 2001 and 2019. Results showed that the study sites had 4.5 million hectares (ha) of forest in the year 2000. However, these sites have lost about 270,000 ha of forest in nearly two decades, marking a steady decline with an annual deforestation rate of 14,213 ha per year in these terrestrial KBAs. The majority of the study sites (58) had a high percentage of forest loss (>3.13%), and these should be prioritized for conservation. By the year 2030, it is forecast that a total of 331 thousand ha of forest will be lost unless there is a transformational change in the country’s approach to dealing with deforestation. The results of this study provide relevant data and information in forest habitat in near real-time monitoring to assess the impact and effectiveness of forest governance and approaches within these critical habitats.

Climate-Smart Forestry in Brazil

Brazil is the second largest forested country in the world with a high level of naturalness and biodiversity richness, playing a significant role in the adoption of mitigation and adaptation strategies to climate change. Although the Brazilian federal government is mainly responsible for the protection of natural ecosystems, the decentralization process, which demands competences of the states and municipalities, allowed the establishment of several agencies and institutions dealing with monitoring, assessment, and management of forest ecosystems through a complex and interrelated number of forest policies. Nevertheless, the deforestation rate, with a consequent loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services, represents critical challenges, attracting worldwide attention. The variety of mitigation and adaptation measures adopted over the years represents viable tools to face climate change and to promote climate-smart forestry in Brazil. Notwithstanding the positive effects achieved in the last decade, a better coordination and practical implementation of climate-smart forestry strategies is required to reach nationally and internationally agreed objectives.This chapter aims to depict the Brazilian forestry sector, highlighting the management strategies adopted overtime to counteract climate change.

Models and spatial patterns of deforestation in the Jeneberang watershed

Deforestation is an event of permanent land cover change from forest cover to non-forest cover. Deforestation events are very influential on the condition of a watershed area. One of the watersheds on the island of Sulawesi that has become a concern is the Jeneberang watershed because of its influence on the city of Makassar and is a priority watershed in Indonesia. This study aims to analyze the model and spatial pattern of deforestation in the Jeneberang watershed. The deforestation analysis model uses the binary logistic regression method by including factors such as a river, population density, road, count, and slope. Analysis of the spatial pattern of deforestation using Fragstat software based on three indices to describe the spatial pattern, namely the Clumpiness Index, Contiguity Mean Index, and Patch Density. The model of deforestation in the Jeneberang watershed shows the road network factor that has the most influence on the occurrence of deforestation. The road network is quite high in all areas in the Jeneberang watershed including the upstream part as a protection zone. The road network serves as community access between villages and sub-districts in Gowa Regency and connects other regencies such as Sinjai, Takalar, and Jeneponto. The spatial pattern of deforestation in the Jeneberang watershed is grouping, the level of connectivity is high, and it is not fragmented. This pattern shows that deforestation occurs in groups, is interconnected with previously deforested areas, and has a fairly large area. This pattern occurs at a relatively low rate and remains the same when the deforestation rate increases or decreases.

Assessing and preventing deforestation in Kayan Mentarang National Park, North Kalimantan Province, Indonesia

National parks in Indonesia are valuable assets for the next generations. The urgency to maintain and protect their existence from land degradation and deforestation is an obligation. Moreover, deforestation is the most severe threat to biodiversity. In Kalimantan, deforestation is happening and usually leads to economic loss and poverty. Despite this habitat loss, our ability to quantify deforestation in certain areas to improve mitigation measures, meet the needs of agricultural land, and increases local communities’ resilience and ensure that their customary rights. This study aims to provide models to assess the deforestation rate in Kayan Mentarang National Park and give recommendation action based on existing Land Use Zonation. To achieve this aim, firstly Landsat images was obtained and analysed to produce land use and land cover classification. However, cloud coverage in this area is more than 30% which is too difficult to classify the land cover area. This research use alternative resources from JAXA to generate deforestation map at study area. Then compile this map into map of Land Use Zonation of KMNP to provide specific location of deforestation occurrence. The result showed that deforestation rate at KMNP is low, around 3% and the Traditional Zone has the biggest amount of deforestation occurrence; 18.727 hectare. This finding would give information to the government of KMNP to accelerate empowerment program among indigenous people in term of utilizing their customary land in this zone. Moreover, this research suggest the best practical way to evaluate deforestation occurrence in KMNP area followed by specific recommendation of each land use zonation of KMNP.

Exemplifying Stratified Deforestation in Four Protected Areas in Madagascar

Protected areas (PAs) are a cornerstone for conservation biodiversity. Madagascar, as a hotspot for biodiversity, has a network of 114 terrestrial protected areas covering the main forest types occurring on the island. Deforestation continues unabated despite the network covering 11% of the island. Here we present a case study approach reporting on four PAs from the humid forests, dry western forests, and southwestern dry and spiny forests and thickets. To describe deforestation in and around the case sites, we have considered a time window of 30 years for analysis, focusing on six years with reliable data: 1990, 2000, 2010, 2015 (the year of latest PA network update), and 2017. We have considered forest versus other land covers within the PAs in “buffers” at a distance of 500 m, 2.5 km, 5 km, and 10 km from the border of the PA. These buffers were set from the border towards the center of the PA (inside the PAs) and from the border outside the PAs. The smallest PAs, Kasijy (IUCN IV), and Behara Tranomaro (no IUCN category), showed the least forest loss. Tsaratanana (IUCN I) had the highest deforestation rates within the last two years of analysis, with deforestation concentrated in the core area. Ranobe PK-32 (no IUCN category), originally with the largest forest extent, has lost most of its forest cover and showed the highest annual deforestation rate (3.5%) between 2015 and 2017. All four cases prove to be very challenging to manage. Future conservation activities require tailored interventions to account for site-specific current and potential future threats, as detailed in this contribution.

Deforestation and fragmentation trends of seasonal dry tropical forest in Ecuador: impact on conservation

Background Fragmentation and deforestation are one of the greatest threats to forests, and these processes are of even more concern in the tropics, where the seasonal dry forest is possibly one of the most threatened ecosystems with the least remaining surface area. Methods The deforestation and fragmentation patterns that had occurred in Ecuadorian seasonal dry forests between 1990 and 2018 were verified, while geographic information systems and land cover shapes provided by the Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment were employed to classify and evaluate three types of seasonal dry forests: deciduous, semi-deciduous, and transition. The study area was tessellated into 10 km2 hexagons, in which six fragmentation parameters were measured: number of patches, mean patch size, median patch size, total edge, edge density and reticular fragmentation index (RFI). The RFI was also measured both outside and inside protected natural areas (unprotected, national protected areas and protected forest). Moreover, the areas with the best and worst conservation status, connectivity and risk of disappearance values were identified by means of a Getis-Ord Gi* statistical analysis. Results The deforestation of seasonal dry forests affected 27.04% of the original surface area still remaining in 1990, with an annual deforestation rate of − 1.12% between 1990 and 2018. The RFI has increased by 11.61% as a result of the fact that small fragments of forest have tended to disappear, while the large fragments have been fragmented into smaller ones. The semi-deciduous forest had the highest levels of fragmentation in 2018. The three categories of protection had significantly different levels of fragmentation, with lower RFI values in national protected areas and greater values in protected forests. Conclusions The seasonal dry forest is fragmenting, deforesting and disappearing in some areas. An increased protection and conservation of the Ecuadorian seasonal dry forest is, therefore, necessary owing to the fact that not all protection measures have been effective.

Framing Illegal Logging and Its Governance Responses in Brazil – A Structured Review of Diagnosis and Prognosis

In 2012, the new, revised Forest Code was established as the legal and regulatory framework for Brazilian forests. Though illegal logging has continued, frames about Brazil's forest policy and management have changed since that time. While until 2010 the successful implementation of forest policies and the resulting decline in deforestation rates were there for all to see and appreciate, the increase in the deforestation rate since then has become the focus of international criticism. With the help of a structured review of international scientific literature, newspaper articles, and programmes initiated by non-governmental organizations' (NGO) and international organizations' (IO), this paper aims to analyse the frames of illegal logging and its governance responses in Brazil since 2012. The review is guided by the framework of diagnostic (What is the problem? Who is to blame?) and prognostic framing (proposed policy and governance solutions). The main findings revealed a master frame of environmental justice that combines injustice toward indigenous people with the victimization of forest and environment at large. Embedded in this master frame, specific frames that follow the institutional logic of the single policy discourses have been identified. Finally, the results show a strong national focus of governance with continued emphasis on command and control instruments.

Modeling The Effect of Forest Fire and Deforestation on Mid-Sized Wild Cat (Felids) Occupancy in SE Asian Tropical Rainforest

Felids are mammal groups that also experiencing the effects of forest fire and deforestation rate. By using camera detection method, two felid species, Prionailurus bengalensis and Pardofelis marmorata, of tropical rainforests in SE Asia have been studied. The studied area was a rainforest in Sumatra that has experienced several forest fires with annual deforestation rates of 1.69%-2.89%. Occupancy model using Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) is in agreement that deforestation rate is the best explanatory covariate explaining the declining occupancy of those felid species. P. marmorata was known more sensitive to the both deforestation rate and forest fire frequency covariate effects since it has similar AIC values. While P. bengalensis was slightly affected by forest fires. Values of Area Under The Curve (AUC) of Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) were >0.5 and these indicate adequate probability of forest fire effects on felid occupancy. Cut off value of occupancy of P. bengalensis was higher than P. marmorata. For P. bengalensis, the cut off value was 1.75 leading to a sensitivity and specificity of 62%. This is the threshold value for the prediction of numbers of P. bengalensis individual occurred where both sensitivity and specificity are maximized and as an effect of forest fire, and this can be used to classify areas as occupied by P. bengalensis.