Put Science and Technology to Work MAAP Reports

  During 2016, Peru experienced an intense wildfire season, exacerbated by widespread drought conditions across the country. The base map (Image 53, to the left) shows the 2016 fire alert hotspots. These alerts are generated from a moderate-resolution (375 meters) satellite sensor (VIIRS) that detects significant new heat sources. Although there has not yet been a […]

Put Science and Technology to Work MAAP Reports

In the previous MAAP #51, we gave an initial impact assessment regarding the recent wave of fires in protected areas in northern Peru. Here, we provide a more comprehensive update. Our revised estimate is 6,594 acres (2,668 hectares) burned in 11 Protected Areas (see Image 52a) in late 2016. Note that the image is from November and smoke […]

Put Science and Technology to Work MAAP Reports

  Peru’s intense 2016 fire season continues, most recently hitting the northern part of the country. As seen in this map on the left, during November 2016 the highest concentration of fire alerts (as detected by the VIIRS satellite sensor) were concentrated in the headwaters of the northern Amazon basin (departments of Cajamarca, Piura, and […]

Amazon Birder’s Bulletin

Amazon Conservation held its second course on ecology, taxonomy and conservation of neotropical birds at our Los Amigos Biological Station in Peru earlier in September. The course was held for Peruvians in conjunction with, the Arequipa Museum of Natural History (MUSA) and the Center for Ornithology and Biodiversity (CORBIDI). The purpose of bringing together these organizations was to […]

Amazon Birder’s Bulletin

Birds and wildlife, that’s what I was hoping to see on my journey to the tropical rainforest in southeastern Peru with conservationists from Amazon Conservation. Our destination was Amazon Conservation’s Los Amigos lodge and research station, part of a pristine 350,000 acre conservation concession area bordering the iconic Manu National Park. Traveling to the lodge on a […]

Amazon Birder’s Bulletin

When you’re in the middle of the Amazon rainforest it’s essential to count on a trusted guide to help you see all the hidden treasures that you might be missing. Meet Percy Avendaño, our staff naturalist and birding guide. He has experience guiding expert-level birders and casual naturalists alike, and our visitors rave about his knowledge of birds […]

Put Science and Technology to Work MAAP Reports

We analyzed hundreds of high-resolution satellite images to calculate the amount of recent (October 2012 – October 2016) gold mining deforestation in the southern Peruvian Amazon: 30,895 acres. Combining this finding with previous studies, we estimate the total gold mining deforestation of around 154,440 acres in the region. Image 50a shows the recent gold mining deforestation in red, […]

Amazon Birder’s Bulletin

The Amazon Birder’s Bulletin is a bi-monthly newsletter about nature and birding at Amazon Conservation’s three birding lodges in Peru. Each of our birding lodges are open to the public, and they host thousands of birders, researchers, and students alike every year. Staying in our lodges is an opportunity to spot hundreds of species of amazing birds, […]

Put Science and Technology to Work MAAP Reports

In a series of articles, we have previously detailed the progress of gold mining deforestation in the southern Peruvian Amazon (mainly in the Madre de Dios region). In the current report, we show the new gold mining frontiers in northern and central Peru (Image 49a): two cases in the region of Amazonas and a case […]

MAAP Reports

New sugarcane plantations have caused the deforestation of more than 6,175 acres (2,500 hectares) in the department of La Paz. https://news.mongabay.com/2016/10/exclusive-rainforest-rapidly-cleared-for-sugarcane-in-bolivia/ https://news.mongabay.com/2016/11/another-700-hectares-of-bolivian-rainforest-lost-to-sugarcane-surge/