Geointelligence against Illegal Deforestation and Timber Laundering in the Brazilian Amazon
Due to the characteristics of the Southern Amazonas Mesoregion (Mesorregião Sul do Amazonas, MSA), conducting on-site surveys in all licensed forestry areas (Plano de Manejo Florestal, PMFS) is an impossible task. Therefore, the present investigation aimed to: (i) analyze the use of geointelligence...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/9/6/398 |
| _version_ | 1797565050175619072 |
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| author | Franco Perazzoni Paula Bacelar-Nicolau Marco Painho |
| author_facet | Franco Perazzoni Paula Bacelar-Nicolau Marco Painho |
| author_sort | Franco Perazzoni |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Due to the characteristics of the Southern Amazonas Mesoregion (Mesorregião Sul do Amazonas, MSA), conducting on-site surveys in all licensed forestry areas (Plano de Manejo Florestal, PMFS) is an impossible task. Therefore, the present investigation aimed to: (i) analyze the use of geointelligence (GEOINT) techniques to support the evaluation of PMFS; and (ii) verify if the PMFS located in the MSA are being executed in accordance with Brazilian legislation. A set of twenty-two evaluation criteria were established. These were initially applied to a “standard” PMFS and subsequently replicated to a larger area of 83 PMFS, located in the MSA. GEOINT allowed for a better understanding of each PMFS, identifying illegal forestry activities and evidence of timber laundering. Among these results, we highlight the following evidences: (i) inconsistencies related to total transport time and prices declared to the authorities (70% of PMFS); (ii) volumetric information incompatible with official forest inventories and/or not conforming with Benford’s law (54% of PMFS); (iii) signs of exploitation outside the authorized polygon limits (51% of PMFS) and signs of clear-cutting (43% of PMFS); (iv) no signs of infrastructure compatible with licensed forestry (24% of PMFS); and (v) signs of exploitation prior to the licensing (19% of PMFS) and after the expiration of licensing (5%). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:06:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d02c37d3e7c44a509e7ca70f533b0596 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2220-9964 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:06:31Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information |
| spelling | doaj.art-d02c37d3e7c44a509e7ca70f533b05962023-11-20T04:07:24ZengMDPI AGISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information2220-99642020-06-019639810.3390/ijgi9060398Geointelligence against Illegal Deforestation and Timber Laundering in the Brazilian AmazonFranco Perazzoni0Paula Bacelar-Nicolau1Marco Painho2Social Sustainability and Development (SSD), Universidade Aberta, 1269-001 Lisboa, PortugalDepartment of Sciences and Technology, Universidade Aberta, 1269-001 Lisboa, PortugalNOVA Information Management School, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 1070-312 Lisboa, PortugalDue to the characteristics of the Southern Amazonas Mesoregion (Mesorregião Sul do Amazonas, MSA), conducting on-site surveys in all licensed forestry areas (Plano de Manejo Florestal, PMFS) is an impossible task. Therefore, the present investigation aimed to: (i) analyze the use of geointelligence (GEOINT) techniques to support the evaluation of PMFS; and (ii) verify if the PMFS located in the MSA are being executed in accordance with Brazilian legislation. A set of twenty-two evaluation criteria were established. These were initially applied to a “standard” PMFS and subsequently replicated to a larger area of 83 PMFS, located in the MSA. GEOINT allowed for a better understanding of each PMFS, identifying illegal forestry activities and evidence of timber laundering. Among these results, we highlight the following evidences: (i) inconsistencies related to total transport time and prices declared to the authorities (70% of PMFS); (ii) volumetric information incompatible with official forest inventories and/or not conforming with Benford’s law (54% of PMFS); (iii) signs of exploitation outside the authorized polygon limits (51% of PMFS) and signs of clear-cutting (43% of PMFS); (iv) no signs of infrastructure compatible with licensed forestry (24% of PMFS); and (v) signs of exploitation prior to the licensing (19% of PMFS) and after the expiration of licensing (5%).https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/9/6/398amazonBenford’s lawdeforestationforestry managementgeointelligenceorganized crime |
| spellingShingle | Franco Perazzoni Paula Bacelar-Nicolau Marco Painho Geointelligence against Illegal Deforestation and Timber Laundering in the Brazilian Amazon ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information amazon Benford’s law deforestation forestry management geointelligence organized crime |
| title | Geointelligence against Illegal Deforestation and Timber Laundering in the Brazilian Amazon |
| title_full | Geointelligence against Illegal Deforestation and Timber Laundering in the Brazilian Amazon |
| title_fullStr | Geointelligence against Illegal Deforestation and Timber Laundering in the Brazilian Amazon |
| title_full_unstemmed | Geointelligence against Illegal Deforestation and Timber Laundering in the Brazilian Amazon |
| title_short | Geointelligence against Illegal Deforestation and Timber Laundering in the Brazilian Amazon |
| title_sort | geointelligence against illegal deforestation and timber laundering in the brazilian amazon |
| topic | amazon Benford’s law deforestation forestry management geointelligence organized crime |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/9/6/398 |
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