- Carbon payment mechanisms to incentive sustainable forest management have an impact on forest loss
- Analyses integrating remote sensing and socioeconomic data can quantify the effectiveness of Village Sustainability Planning program on forest and land use
- With the rise carbon payment mechanisms for forest conservation, urgent need for such analyses is needed to inform current and future sustainable planning
- NASA’s role in Earth observation is essential for measuring and monitoring global investments in carbon markets
How is land cover/use classified?
Guyana is one of a few countries with high forest cover (88%, 18.6 Mha) and a low deforestation (approximately 0.04%).
Most forest loss is from forest degradation where a small and short-term canopy disturbance occurs [1], largely from gold mining and timber extraction. A national payment program to maintain forest cover was effective at maintaining a low rate of forest loss but doubled in the years after the program ended [2]. Communities who adopt sustainable plans have historically higher levels of forest change (deforestation, degradation, and regrowth) than communities without a plan. Forest loss is predicted to continue due to mining development and a lack of protected areas [3].
Why is this Important?
In Guyana, sustainable planning programs will continue because it is a necessary part of distribution of development funds in the carbon market. Sustainable planning must minimize risks forest loss, which is often at odds with opportunities for socioeconomic development and inctoreased accessibility.
Understanding who adopts sustainable plans, their attitudes, and the forest outcomes is critical to design future plans that are effective at limiting forest loss.
How satellite data are being used to inform decision making and Earth Action?
Combining remote sensing data of forest change, measures of community forest access, and socioeconomic changes from community improvement programs is necessary to evaluate the risks and opportunities from development plans on forest outcomes. Assessing the direction of this association and magnitude will help inform decisions on program design, scaling, and impact.
[1] Vancutsem et al. (2021). Sci. Adv.7(10), eabe1603,
[2] Roopsind et al., (2019). PNAS., 116(49), 24492-24499
Project Investigator: Carlos L. Muñoz Brenes, Conservation International, VA, USA; cmunoz@conservation.org
The opinions expressed are solely the PI's and do not reflect NASA's or the US Government's views.