Drivers of deforestation in the Guiana Shield
French Guiana
Gaëlle VERGER – ONF, French National Forest Office – [email protected]
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Introduction
French Guiana : 8 046 427 ha 8 001 378 ha of tropical rain forest + 95 % of territory
Drivers of deforestation : Infrastructure Agriculture Gold mining
Mapping initiatives Kyoto Protocol Coastal expertise Observatory of gold mining activities
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Summary
Main drivers of deforestation / forest degradation : explanation and context
Infrastructure
Agriculture
Gold mining
Mapping initiatives and current situation
Kyoto protocol inventory
Coastal expertise
Observatory of gold mining activities
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Infrastructure
~ 250 000 inhabitants / density < 1 /km²
Towns, villages and isolated sites along the road and the rivers
Infrastructure located especially on the north coast and along the border rivers
A lot of informal settlements Infrastructures locations – border of Surinam
2005 2008 2011
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Agriculture
Three types of cultivation :
Shifting cultivation
Permanent crops
Grassland
2005 2008 2011
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Gold mining Legal alluvial gold mining site
Legal / illegal gold mining activities
Alluvial / primary (in the soil) gold mining activities
Inactive area Decanted water
Life zone Illegal mining gold site
Active area Non-decanted water (turbidity)
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Summary
Main drivers of deforestation / forest degradation : explanation and context
Infrastructure
Agriculture
Gold mining
Mapping initiatives and current situation
Kyoto protocol inventory
Coastal expertise
Observatory of gold mining activities
7 REDD+ Workshop – 20 Août 2014 - Macapa
Kyoto protocol inventory
Objectives of the project In the Kyoto Protocol framework : reduction of GHG emissions To produce inventories for commitment periods : 1990, 2008 and 2012
Methods Based on the existing method (developed and approved by IPCC in 2006) Statistical inventory ≠ wall to wall mapping On the basis of stratified sample points By visual photo-interpretation of satellite imagery Landsat Images for year 1990 SPOT images for years 2008 & 2012
To be combined with emission factors
Dendrometric expertise carried out in 2005 by ONF, CNRS and CIRAD (One global tree biomass per hectare for French Guiana forest 350 t/ha)
From existing inventory data and experimental protocols
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Kyoto protocol inventory
(IPCC nomenclature)
9 REDD+ Workshop – 20 Août 2014 - Macapa
Kyoto protocol inventory
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Kyoto protocol inventory
Surfaces in 2012 : - 95 % forest - 3.2 % wetland - 0.6 % agriculture - 0.5 % infrastructure
Annual flows between 1990-2012 Surfaces between 1990-2012 :
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Coastal expertise
Coastal band = 8% of the territory
90% population
Special ecological environments.
Conflict of Interest -> Need a reference study.
Existing studies in 2001, 2005, 2008 and 2011.
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Coastal expertise
Photo-interpretation et numerisation « Wall to Wall mapping » with : 2001 and 2005: Aerials images (BD Ortho © IGN 50cm) 2008 and 2011: Satellite Images (SPOT 4 SPOT-5 © 20m and 10 m) with SEAS. European nomenclature : 41 classes split in 5 mains classes of land use
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2011 land cover map
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Coastal expertise Surfaces
Flows 2005-2011
Forest flows
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Observatory of gold mining activities
The National Forestry Office is responsible for managing Guiana’s vast tracks of forest, covering some 5.3 Mha.
GPS points : Helicopter operations : 44 in 2013 3 216 in 2013
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Observatory of gold mining activities Because deforestation from gold mining is clearly visible on remote sensing data such as SPOT-5 satellite (10m resolution), it makes it possible to pinpoint the area being worked.
The type of gold mining practised in French Guiana releases large quantities of substances in suspension into water courses. Turbid waters have a distinctive spectral signature that is very discriminatory, which makes automatic processing possible.
In this study we propose this remotely sensed approach to detect active illegal artisanal gold mining using daily repetitiveness of high resolution satellite data.
This repetitiveness is allowed by the proximity of the SPOT receiving station SEAS located in Cayenne since 2007 and the priority action decided by the French government.
+ 1 500 satellite images between 2008-2013
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Observatory of gold mining activities
Increasing of number of sites Decrasing of deforested areas : 24 083 ha (+ 833 ha in 2013) / 0,25 % of Guiana forest but specific forest (rivers forest) 50% legal activities / 50 % illegal activities 2 793 km of rivers directly impacted (+ 98 in 2013)
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Conclusion
Three types of deforestation drivers
All are increasing
Several studies with differents methods and nomenclatures following the issue
THANKS FOR ATTENTION
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