With an innovative approach applying satellite & aerial imagery, Guyana Forestry Commission, supported by Indufor and Durham University completes 10 years of monitoring and reporting continuous nationwide forest loss.
The national mapping initiative funded by Norway commenced in 2009. The first forest change baseline was created using historical 1990 satellite imagery further processed to calculate the rate of forest change at five-year intervals between 1990 to 2009.
Annual forest monitoring commenced in 2009. Today, the monitoring solution, which incorporates near-real-time satellite imagery enables Guyana to report nationwide annual forest losses due to deforestation and degradation.
Areas of loss are located, mapped and classified by a driver of change and the resulting land-use class. The most common driver of change is small-scale mining activities which generally occur close to streams and rivers.
Pradeepa Bholanath, GFC’s Head of Planning comments that the value of the historical record and trends has allowed the GFC and other agencies to better understand where changes are occurring, providing valuable information needed to manage our natural resources…
Throughout the 10 years, the programme has seen many innovations and improvements. Here are just some ways we have integrated other technologies into the programme:
- UAVs to track mining operations
- Sample-based aerial surveys to verify forest degradation
- Utilising RADAR data in Guyana’s forest monitoring system
Please visit this section for all blog posts related to Guyana’s national monitoring system.
