About  |   Contact  |  Mongabay on Facebook  |  Mongabay on Twitter  |  Subscribe
Rainforests | Tropical fish | Environmental news | Blog | For kids | Madagascar | Photos | Non-English languages | Tropical Conservation Science | Jobs
SHARE:




Peru's deforestation rate surged in 2005
Rhett Butler
August 30, 2007





Peru's deforestation rates surged in 2005, according to new analysis published in the journal Science.


Deforestation rates in Peru, 1999-2005


Comparison of deforestation rates in Brazil and Peru between 1999 and 2005. Images by Rhett A. Butler
Using high resolution satellite data from the Peruvian Amazon, a team led by Stanford University scientists found a marked increase in forest disturbance and clearance for the 2004-2005 year. Forest degradation for the year -- including 1,174 square kilometers of forest cleared and 1,070 disturbed -- was about 175 percent of the mean for the six-year period examined.

The researchers say that new logging concessions appear to have been a factor in the increase in forest disturbance between 2003 and 2005. Higher commodity prices for agricultural products may have also played a part.

The research nonetheless revealed some positive results.

"Overall, only 2% of the forest disturbances and 1% the deforestation detected in the entire study area occurred within the boundaries of natural protected areas. Furthermore, territories occupied by indigenous communities contained 11% and 9% of the total forest disturbance and deforestation, respectively," wrote the authors. "These results clearly show that these two forms of land-use allocation can provide effective protection against forest damage."

Peru has some 661,000 square kilometers of tropical forests—an area a little larger than France—and one of the lowest annual deforestation rates in the Amazon basin.

More details on the research can be found at Experts: parks effectively protect rainforest in Peru.

CITATION: P.J.C. Oliveira, G.P. Asner, D.E. Knapp, A. Almeyda, R. F. Raybin, A. Almeyda, R. Galván-Gildemeister, R.C. Smith, and S. Keene. (2007). Land-Use Allocation Protects the Peruvian Amazon. SCIENCE VOL 317 31 AUGUST 2007



CITATION:
Rhett Butler (August 30, 2007). Peru's deforestation rate surged in 2005. http://news.mongabay.com/2007/0830-peru.html


Tags:
amazon destruction remote sensing Satellite Imagery amazon south america latin america protected areas timber logging Rainforest deforestation Amazon Deforestation peru deforestation environment green

print


News index | RSS | News Feed | Twitter | Home


Advertisements:


Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing




Mongabay Store
Wildlife of Madagascar T-shirt
Wildlife of Madagascar T-shirt
Bold and Dangerous - Pygmy tyrant t-shirts
Bold and Dangerous - Pygmy tyrant
Love me before I'm gone - Gladiator frog t-shirts
Love me before I'm gone - Gladiator frog
Licking this frog may make you crazy t-shirts
Licking this frog may make you crazy





WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Email:





SUPPORT
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)

Help support mongabay.com when you buy from Amazon.com



POPULAR PAGES
Rainforests
Rain forests
Amazon deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation stats
Why rainforests matter
Saving rainforests
Deforestation stats
Rainforest canopy

News
Most popular articles
Worth saving?
Forest conservation
Earth Day
Poverty alleviation
Cell phones in Africa
Seniors helping Africa
Saving orangutans in Borneo
Palm oil
Amazon palm oil
Future of the Amazon
Cane toads
Dubai environment
Investing to save rainforests
Visiting the rainforest
Biomimicry
Defaunation
Blue lizard
Amazon fires
Extinction debate
Extinction crisis
Blackwashing
Industrial deforestation
Save the Amazon
Rainforests & REDD
Brazil's Amazon plan
Malaysian palm oil
Avatar story
New Guinea
Sulawesi
Amazon ranching
Madagascar
Borneo

News topics
Amazon
Biofuels
Brazil
Carbon Finance
Conservation
Climate Change
Deforestation
Energy
Happy-upbeat
Indonesia
Interviews
Oceans
Palm oil
Rainforests
REDD
Solutions
Wildlife
MORE TOPICS



Non-English Sites
Chinese
French
German
Greek
Indonesian
Italian
Portuguese
Spanish
Other languages

Nature Blog Network









Photos
Alaska photos
Alaska

Argentina photos
Argentina

Australia photos
Australia

Belize photos
Belize

Brazil photos
Brazil

Cambodia photos
Cambodia

China photos
China

Colombia photos
Colombia

Costa Rica photos
Costa Rica

Deforestation photos
Deforestation

Frog photos
Frog

Gabon photos
Gabon

Grand Canyon photos
Grand Canyon

Honduras photos
Honduras

India photos
India

Indonesia photos
Indonesia

Kenya photos
Kenya

Laos photos
Laos

Lemur photos
Lemur

Madagascar photos
Madagascar

Malaysia photos
Malaysia

Monkey photos
Monkey

New Zealand photos
New Zealand

Panama photos
Panama

Peru photos
Peru

Peru photos
Rainforest


Sunset

Suriname photos
Suriname

Tanzania photos
Tanzania

Thailand photos
Thailand

Uganda photos
Uganda

United States photos
United States

Venezuela photos
Venezuela



HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS / PRINTS


CALENDARS
  • Mount Kenya
  • East Africa Safari Wildlife
  • Kenya's Turkana People
  • Peru
  • African Wildlife
  • Alaska
  • China
  • Madagascar Chameleons


    CANVAS BAGS

  • Hallucinogenic frog bag
  • Madagascar wildlife bag








  • Copyright mongabay 2010

    Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from mongabay.com operations (server, data transfer, travel) are mitigated through an association with Anthrotect,
    an organization working with Afro-indigenous and Embera communities to protect forests in Colombia's Darien region.
    Anthrotect is protecting the habitat of mongabay's mascot: the scale-crested pygmy tyrant.