Regional Deforestation Trends within Local Realities: Land-Cover Change in Southeastern Peru 1996–2011

Andrea Chávez Michaelsen, Leticia Huamani Briceño, Ronny Fernandez Menis, Nemin Bejar Chura, Frank Valera Tito, Stephen Perz, I. Foster Brown, Sandro Domínguez Del Aguila, Raúl Pinedo Mora and Gabriel Alarcón Aguirre
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Andrea Chávez Michaelsen: Geospatial Center for Natural Resource Management Research, Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios, Av. Jorge Chávez s/n, Puerto Maldonado, Peru
Leticia Huamani Briceño: Geospatial Center for Natural Resource Management Research, Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios, Av. Jorge Chávez s/n, Puerto Maldonado, Peru
Ronny Fernandez Menis: Geospatial Center for Natural Resource Management Research, Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios, Av. Jorge Chávez s/n, Puerto Maldonado, Peru
Nemin Bejar Chura: Geospatial Center for Natural Resource Management Research, Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios, Av. Jorge Chávez s/n, Puerto Maldonado, Peru
Frank Valera Tito: Geospatial Center for Natural Resource Management Research, Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios, Av. Jorge Chávez s/n, Puerto Maldonado, Peru
Stephen Perz: Department of Sociology, Criminology & Law, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
I. Foster Brown: Zoobotanical Park and Setor of Land Use and Global Change Studies, Federal University of Acre and Woods Hole Research Center, Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil
Sandro Domínguez Del Aguila: Autoridad Nacional del Agua, Lima 27, Peru
Raúl Pinedo Mora: Proyecto Especial Madre de Dios, Gobierno Regional Madre de Dios, Iberia, Peru
Gabriel Alarcón Aguirre: Geospatial Center for Natural Resource Management Research, Universidad Nacional Amazónica de Madre de Dios, Av. Jorge Chávez s/n, Puerto Maldonado, Peru

Land, 2013, vol. 2, issue 2, 1-27

Abstract: Estimating deforested areas and deforestation rates have become key steps for quantifying environmental services of tropical rain forests, particularly as linked to programs such as Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD). In Southeastern Peru, reliable estimates of land-cover change (LCC) are important for monitoring changes in the landscape due to agricultural expansion, pasture creation and other socio-economic influences triggered by the Inter-Oceanic Highway (IOH). Our study reports a land-use/land-cover change (LULCC) analysis during a 15-year period from 1996 to 2011 in the Province of Tahuamanu, Madre de Dios. We draw on multiple years of observations of LULCC to relate changes in land cover to the use of natural resources (pasture, timber, crops and forest products) and tenure types based on their distances from the highway and the Tahuamanu River. We are able to distinguish titled areas for agriculture close to the IOH from other land tenure types such as timber concessions. The findings show that LULCC varies among different types of land tenure and by distance from the highway. Agricultural areas close to transportation infrastructure within 1 km to 5 km buffers have gradually increased in non-forest areas, whereas timber concession areas away from 1 km buffer of secondary roads have maintained forest cover. Riverine settlements show a similar distance effect in forest clearance along rivers as along roads.

Keywords: land use; land cover change; change detection; Madre de Dios; Amazon; Peru (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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