INPE data blackout threat and the new Cerrado Deforestation Alert System, announced by MapBiomas

MapBiomas announced this month the development of its own Deforestation Alert System (SAD) aimed specifically at monitoring deforestation in the Cerrado .

The statement was made at an important time, when there are doubts about the continuity of monitoring carried out by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) . At the beginning of the month, INPE announced that, due to lack of funds , it could be forced to interrupt the Cerrado deforestation monitoring service as of April 2022.

Monitoring, via satellites, has been carried out by the Institute since the year 2000 . In 2016, an agreement was signed with the World Bank , which became responsible for financing the project. However, this agreement ended in December 2021 and was not renewed . As a result, the team of researchers responsible for monitoring the biome was demobilized .

The alert system announced by the MapBiomas consortium – made up of NGOs, universities and technology companies – appears as an option to reduce the impact of INPE’s data blackout , should it actually occur. Thus, society would not fail to monitor the situation in the Cerrado.

The second largest biome in the country , the Cerrado was the one with the highest level of deforestation from fires in the period from 2000 to 2019, according to data from MapBiomas itself, released last year.

The intensive exploitation and deforestation of the biome also put other ecosystems at risk – as is the case of the Pantanal , which has the Cerrado as its main source of springs .

Having access to data on the Cerrado is essential for its defense and for the creation of measures for its conservation .

In an interview given after the great repercussion of the news, Clezio Nardin, director of INPE, denied the dismantling of monitoring of the Cerrado and stated that the Institute is looking for new resources to continue the program.

Check out the main news on the topic:

MapBiomas system can monitor deforestation in the Cerrado

MapBiomas announces Cerrado Deforestation Alert System

Civil society is ready to monitor devastation in the Cerrado

Without funds, Cerrado will be left without data on deforestation

Blackout of Cerrado data affects Brazil’s credibility, say environmental organizations