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Allocated Deforestation Risk Maps - Data Technical Notes: Brazil

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Differences between PRODES and VMD0055 Data Requirements

While the Program for the Calculation of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PRODES) uses an established method for deforestation monitoring in Brazil, its scope and definitions do not align with the data requirements for the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Module VMD0055 Estimation of Emission Reductions from Avoiding Unplanned Deforestation, v1.1. Notably, PRODES does not account for deforestation in secondary forests or deforestation resulting from the progressive clearing of forest vegetation. As a result, PRODES data may underestimate total deforestation.​1–3​

To fulfill the specific requirements for its projects and ensure accurate accounting of deforestation at the site level, Verra has developed its own deforestation data to ensure proper alignment with VMD0055. Additional information on PRODES data and its divergences from VMD0055 requirements is included below.

PRODES Data

  1. PRODES has been using a consistent methodology since 1988 to map clear-cutting in primary forests annually. This allows for reliable year-over-year comparisons.
  2. Well-trained experts manually delineate deforestation in areas 6.25 hectares and larger via photointerpretation, primarily using Landsat imagery. Deforestation of smaller areas is excluded from annual maps and deforestation figures.
  3. PRODES only monitors deforestation in primary forests; deforestation in secondary forests is not monitored.
  4. PRODES monitors only complete forest removal and does not monitor deforestation resulting from progressive vegetation clearing.
  5. Complementary monitoring systems are necessary to capture deforestation in secondary forests and progressive vegetation clearing, which are beyond the scope of PRODES.

Verra’s Requirements for Deforestation Data

  • Deforestation data must be collected based on the national forest definition. Brazil’s national definition of forest is a minimum area of 0.5 ha, a canopy height of 5 m or more, and at least 10 percent canopy cover.
  • The minimum mapping unit of the forest cover benchmark maps (FCBMs) must match the minimum area threshold of the forest definition. For the primary imagery dataset of the FCBMs, a spatial resolution of 30 m or finer must be used for all time periods. The spatial resolution of the FCBM raster file must match the spatial resolution of the primary imagery dataset and must not exceed 30 m.
  • Historical activity data (AD) must be estimated using a sample-based approach that uses human interpretation of high-resolution imagery within sample plots.
  • The historical AD must be conservatively discounted based on the estimated statistical uncertainty and must then be annualized.
  • Emissions from deforestation must encompass deforestation happening on any land that meets the national definition of forest, not only primary forest
  • Thorough accounting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and removals is crucial for projects aiming to participate in the voluntary carbon market; emissions from the deforestation of secondary forests (or small forest parcels) would be missed, if PRODES data were used as the basis for accounting (see figure 1).
Figure 1: The red shaded areas show deforestation in secondary forests not captured in PRODES but captured in Verra’s FCBMs. Please note that cleared areas outside of the red shading were cleared either before or after the historical reference period.
Figure 1: The red shaded areas show deforestation in secondary forests not captured in PRODES but captured in Verra’s FCBMs. Please note that cleared areas outside of the red shading were cleared either before or after the historical reference period.

Citations:

​​1 Kalamandeen, Michelle, et al. “Pervasive Rise of Small-scale Deforestation in Amazonia.” Scientific Reports 8 (2018).

2 Milodowski, D. T., E.T.A. Mitchard, and M. Williams. “Forest loss maps from regional satellite monitoring systematically underestimate deforestation in two rapidly changing parts of the Amazon.” Environmental Research Letters 12 (2017).

3 Qin, Yuanwei, et al. “Improved estimates of forest cover and loss in the Brazilian Amazon in 2000–2017.” Nature Sustainability 2 (2019).