Posted on May, 19 2016

By Emelin Gasparrini, WWF Forest and Climate

Serving as yet another example, recent news out of Paraguay illustrates how regular forest monitoring not only detects, but can also potentially be a strong preventative measure against illegal deforestation.  

In March, WWF-Paraguay reported the deforestation of 240 hectares of Atlantic Forest in lands that belong to the indigenous Aché people. These rapid changes were detected by two technical experts who conduct regular visual analysis of satellite images, supported by tools from Global Forest Watch. Over a period of four months, approximately 120,000 trees in small, two hectare plots within the 4,700 ha Kue Tuwy community were illegally felled, opening the land for charcoal production and marijuana crops for export to neighbouring countries. These groups are highly organized, and actively protect their crops with armed guards.

According to Oscar Rodas, WWF-Paraguay’s Climate Change Manager, a team of forest field monitors had been unable to physically visit the community due to security concerns for six months prior to the discovery. The Aché are part of a pilot project for participatory forest management, so losing access to a group of external forest field monitors removes a crucial level of support they need to protect their forests from illegal deforestation; presenting a clear example of the inherent connections between human security and environmental protection.

The Aché maintained their traditional nomadic hunting and gathering lifestyle well into the twentieth century, but were resettled onto reservations in the 1970s, only awarded official recognition of and renewed access to their territory in 2000.  As such, communities like Kue Tuwy have few resources to protect themselves from armed plot keepers.  Active, on-the-ground forest monitoring therefore safeguards their right to maintain the aspects of their traditional lifestyle that survived resettlement, as well as protecting their forests from destruction and degradation. 

“Levels of deforestation are very sensitive to the actions and reactions of the government, here,” says Rodas.  “For example, during a four month government transition in 2008, deforestation hit a record high.”  That high receded after the transition, once the new government took office and enforcement of environmental law returned to normal levels.

Worryingly, small-plot deforestation is a growing trend in Paraguay, where fertile soils support many crops and surrounding forests act as cover to prevent detection. The Atlantic Forest is second only to the Amazon in terms of biodiversity concentration levels, and the Kue Tuwy community is located along an important bio-corridor. The ecosystem is so important that Itaipú Binacional, the hydropower giant, has been working with WWF-Paraguay to conserve 74,000 ha of Atlantic Forest in the areas where they operate.

The benefits of forest monitoring systems are diverse, and are felt on the ground as well as in the policy arena.  They help us understand deforestation trends – like those in Paraguay – and to identify and characterize the drivers of forest loss to inform policy making and enforcement strategies. They produce information that can be analysed and used to raise awareness about the size of the problem. And, crucially, they help communities and governments understand the extent and status of their forests, and inform better decision making, forest management, and planning processes.

Satellite monitoring tracks destruction, and can prompt a response to destroy illegal crops, but is most effective at preventing illegal deforestation when complemented with on-the-ground programs and government action.  And it can be strengthened further by empowering communities to get involved in the monitoring process.  Forests are vital to a healthy climate, and are also hosts to numerous indigenous cultures and about 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity.  Forest monitoring is a clear way for governments to take action to protect the natural places that are so important to global climate health.