MONITORING DEFORESTATION IN THE AMAZON RAINFOREST; DMC IMAGING CAMPAIGNS SINCE 2005 IN SUPPORT OF BRAZIL

摘要

Large areas of the Amazon rainforest are under constant change as the demand for new agricultural land encourages people to cut down new areas of forest.Since 2005 the Disaster Monitoring Constellation (DMC) has worked with INPE, Brazil to provide annual imaging of the whole Amazon Basin. With multiple satellites working together in the DMC, and multispectral sensors with a 32metre ground sample distance and a 650 km swath, DMC International Imaging Ltd (DMCii) is able to image the entire area in 4-6 weeks. This provides INPE with valuable and timely information to help identify the extent of deforestation. In 2007, the DMC provided three sequential coverages of the area to enhance INPE's active monitoring campaign.This paper looks at INPE's requirements for monitoring active deforestation, and the benefits of multiple satellites working in constellation to provide optical surveillance of large forest areas in cloudy regions.Regular monitoring of the world's forests is essential to enable good governance of these vital natural resources both for the local environment and to restrict the rise in carbon emissions.