BRAZIL ANNOUNCES PLAN TO MONITOR SELECTIVE LOGGING

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001707 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV TBIO KSCA BR SUBJECT: BRAZIL ANNOUNCES PLAN TO MONITOR SELECTIVE LOGGING REF: A) BRASILIA 265 B) BRASILIA 1657 ¶1. Summary: Brazil intends to invest US$ 640,000 to develop a system that will monitor selective logging in the Amazon. The GoB hopes that the program will provide another weapon to combat deforestation and shore up enforcement mechanisms for the recently passed Forest Concessions Law.(ref A) INPE (The National Institute of Space Studies) an arm of the Ministry of Science and Technology (MCT) will coordinate the program while the NGO, IMAZON, is responsible for executing the project. Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Environment (MMA) should finance US$ 450,000 of the project. An additional US$ 190,000 will come from a multi-use fund that supports a variety of integrated Amazon research activities from the LBA (Large Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Project in the Amazon) to the Ministry of Agriculture. End Summary ¶2. The project will begin with a planning workshop (to develop a data collection model and a timeline) whenever the contract between INPE, IMAZON and the MMA closes. IMAZON's Carlos Souza speculates this should occur around the end of 2006. Once a model is established, IMAZON will spend 3 months testing and calibrating the process along the new BR-163 sustainable forest district.(ref B) The project will then expand to chart selective logging in other regions of the Amazon. The ultimate goals are to create a map of locales where selective logging is occurring and, more importantly, to demonstrate the viability of the system for future use. ¶3. The project will test a methodology for monitoring selective logging developed by IMAZON's Carlos Souza Jr. Current monitoring systems are not attuned to map areas with intact vegetation and can only reveal logging in wide open areas. Souza's method can pinpoint logged areas where a significant amount of forest cover remains. One challenge the project faces is to decide from where to obtain the necessary satellite imagery for the project. While CBERS (China),Landsat (NASA) and Spot (France) are all viable options, Spot records the most accurate images. It is also the most costly. A Spot image with a resolution of up to 10 meters costs US$1,600 while a resolution of 30 meters costs US$1200. INPE's Dalton Valeriano surmises that using Spot to monitor just the Arc of Deforestation (approximately one-third of the Amazon) would require an outlay of US$ 2.3 million. Valeriano added, however, that he hoped Landsat 8 would increase access to quality images, although it is not scheduled to be in orbit until 2009. ¶4. Valeriano hopes the undertaking will create a new tool with which to aid deforestation enforcement activities similar to the DETER satellite satellite monitoring system which provides deforestation statistics every two weeks, or the Prodes satellite monitoring system that supplies information on forest fire activities. He recently stated that the system will help to control logging activities and enforce a more rational exploitation and management of National Forests. Satellite monitoring reveals logged areas which can then be cross-referenced with areas where timber-licenses are issued, to reveal illegal deforestation. Moreover this program should also provide a measure of the intensity of exploitation in the Amazon. ¶5. Comment: While the first US$ 450000 from the MMA is all but guaranteed, the additional funding is still in question. Moreover, this is a pilot program designed to demonstrate viability. Whether or not it is successful, the GoB will need to find funding sources in coming years to make the system a reality. That said, the GoB and the MMA have a long history of utilizing satellite technology to monitor various attributes and aspects of the Amazon. If Souza's method proves a success, the MMA is likely to make the system permanent. End Comment SOBEL