UDSMA USDE IABIN Thematic Networks n Specimens n Species n Ecosystems n Invasive Species n Pollinators n Protected Areas

UDSMA USDE

UDSMA USDE

UDSMA USDE Creating IABIN: Challenges 5 official languages Identifying and narrowing objectives Differing user requirements Special issues of small countries Technology infrastructure Access to technology Training Intellectual property rights Data restrictions and sensitivities Economic value of biodiversity information Data supplier commitment and incentives Data quality Differing standards: taxonomy, geo-referencing, … Catalog Vocabularies Financial viability: short- and long-term

UDSMA USDE Addressing the Challenges SustainableLandManagement Integrated Land Management Informational Exchange, Data, Information Management, and Research Mechanisms for Dispute Resolution Legal Frameworks Institutional Reform and Capacity Building

UDSMA USDE Subtropical Deforestation: Paraguay in the 1990s Alice Altstatt 1, Sunghee Kim 1, Alberto Yanosky 4, John Townshend 1, Compton Tucker 1,2, John Musinsky 3, Rob Clay 4 and Oscar Rodas 4 1 University of Maryland, 2 National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 3 Conservation International, 4 Guyra Paraguay Paraguay Oriental Forest Nonforest Deforestation Water Cloud Acknowledgements: NASA Grant NAG Improvements in Landsat Pathfinder Methods for Monitoring Tropical Deforestation and their Extension to Extra-Tropical Areas Introduction Investigations of changes in forest cover in South America have typically focused on the tropics, but much of the rapid deforestation in the 1990s was in subtropical South America. This investigation has generated rates of change and identified the principal causes of deforestation in the two main ecological zones of Paraguay. The Rio Paraguay bisects the country into two distinct ecological regions. West of the river are dry woodlands on the alluvial plains of the Gran Chaco. To the east is the geologically more varied terrain of the Paraguay Oriental containing remnants of the humid Interior Atlantic Forest. Introduction Investigations of changes in forest cover in South America have typically focused on the tropics, but much of the rapid deforestation in the 1990s was in subtropical South America. This investigation has generated rates of change and identified the principal causes of deforestation in the two main ecological zones of Paraguay. The Rio Paraguay bisects the country into two distinct ecological regions. West of the river are dry woodlands on the alluvial plains of the Gran Chaco. To the east is the geologically more varied terrain of the Paraguay Oriental containing remnants of the humid Interior Atlantic Forest. San Rafael Mbaracayu Caaguazu Paraguay Oriental The Interior Atlantic Forest once covered 85% of eastern Paraguay. This semi-deciduous moist forest contains many endemic subtropical tree species as well as some tropical and cerrado species. It is one of the most biologically diverse, yet threatened ecosystems in the world. This forest continues to disappear at an alarming rate. In the first time period ( ), 32% of the study area was covered by forest (31,077 km 2 of a total study area of 98,622 km 2 ). By the second time period ( ), forest cover had been reduced by 29% to 22,109 km 2 - a loss of 8,969 km 2 of forest. The rate of deforestation between the two time periods was 700 – 900 km 2 per year. The pattern of deforestation includes large scale conversion of forest to agricultural use, small scale encroachment into forest by rural settlers, and forest clearing and degradation through timber harvesting. Paraguay Oriental The Interior Atlantic Forest once covered 85% of eastern Paraguay. This semi-deciduous moist forest contains many endemic subtropical tree species as well as some tropical and cerrado species. It is one of the most biologically diverse, yet threatened ecosystems in the world. This forest continues to disappear at an alarming rate. In the first time period ( ), 32% of the study area was covered by forest (31,077 km 2 of a total study area of 98,622 km 2 ). By the second time period ( ), forest cover had been reduced by 29% to 22,109 km 2 - a loss of 8,969 km 2 of forest. The rate of deforestation between the two time periods was 700 – 900 km 2 per year. The pattern of deforestation includes large scale conversion of forest to agricultural use, small scale encroachment into forest by rural settlers, and forest clearing and degradation through timber harvesting. Conclusions Land cover classification procedures developed for the humid tropics can be successfully applied to subtropical areas. Except for a small reserves, most of the Interior Atlantic Forest will disappear in the Paraguay Oriental. Large scale conversion of woodlands to agriculture continues in the Paraguay Chaco amid uncertainty about sustainability in the region. Conclusions Land cover classification procedures developed for the humid tropics can be successfully applied to subtropical areas. Except for a small reserves, most of the Interior Atlantic Forest will disappear in the Paraguay Oriental. Large scale conversion of woodlands to agriculture continues in the Paraguay Chaco amid uncertainty about sustainability in the region. Methodology Nine pairs of Landsat scenes were used to produce this land cover change map using our established processing methods. A recent Landsat ETM+ scene is co-registered to an ealier orthorectified TM EarthSat Geocover scene. Spectral data from both dates is input into an unsupervised isoclustering algorithm. The output clusters are assigned to land cover classes using an in-house module, PClassV. Pixels of output cluster values that fall into more than one land cover or land cover change class are iteratively reprocessed under the isoclustering algorithm and reclassified under PClassV until all pixels fall into a single category. For each scene, the final land cover change thematic map is filtered to remove polygons of less than 4 contiguous pixels. The overlapping scene maps are checked for consistency, and then mosaiced into a single map. Image interpretation and classification is performed by experienced data analysts using supplemental data provided by collaborators in Paraguay. Methodology Nine pairs of Landsat scenes were used to produce this land cover change map using our established processing methods. A recent Landsat ETM+ scene is co-registered to an ealier orthorectified TM EarthSat Geocover scene. Spectral data from both dates is input into an unsupervised isoclustering algorithm. The output clusters are assigned to land cover classes using an in-house module, PClassV. Pixels of output cluster values that fall into more than one land cover or land cover change class are iteratively reprocessed under the isoclustering algorithm and reclassified under PClassV until all pixels fall into a single category. For each scene, the final land cover change thematic map is filtered to remove polygons of less than 4 contiguous pixels. The overlapping scene maps are checked for consistency, and then mosaiced into a single map. Image interpretation and classification is performed by experienced data analysts using supplemental data provided by collaborators in Paraguay ForestDeforestation Within Park 10 km buffer surrounding Park ForestDeforestation Within Park 10 km buffer surrounding Park ForestDeforestation Within Park 10 km buffer surrounding Park

UDSMA USDE

UDSMA USDE

UDSMA USDE

UDSMA USDE The Economics Creating the Benefits Function Valuation methods and site-specific economic survey data to create the benefits function - to be used as educational and planning tool to assist policymakers n Fishery NPV -- $1.31 million n Tourism and Recreation NPV -- $315 m n Coastal Protection Function -- $65 million