CONTEXTUALIZATION 

Environmental monitoring by satellites is a key tool in the fight against deforestation and environmental degradation. It provides essential data that supports the creation and implementation of public policies aimed at environmental preservation, while also promoting greater transparency, social participation, and oversight of actions taken.

The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) is an intergovernmental organization composed of eight countries that together encompass 99% of the Amazon Biome: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. It is the institution responsible for implementing the Amazon Cooperation Treaty (ACT), signed in 1978, and serves as a permanent forum for cooperation, exchange, and knowledge sharing. Guided by the principle of reducing regional asymmetries, ACTO supports the execution of programs and projects that promote sustainable development and regional cooperation to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants of the Amazon.

THE PROJECT

The Permanent Secretariat of ACTO (PS/ACTO) was the body within the beneficiary’s structure responsible for the administrative and financial management and for the implementation of the project.

The project aimed to contribute to the development of the capacity to monitor deforestation, land-use changes, and forest utilization in the Member Countries of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO), providing information on the extent and quality of forest cover—key prerequisites for monitoring and controlling deforestation.

The project supported all ACTO Member Countries (except Brazil) in the following activities: the structuring and implementation of Observation and Research Rooms; training in forest cover monitoring technologies developed by the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE); drafting proposals for national monitoring plans; improving, harmonizing, and standardizing institutional capacities for assessing land-use changes; and fostering regional cooperation to combat illegal deforestation.

Initiated in 2011, with funding from GIZ (German Agency for International Technical Cooperation) and ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organization), the project received support from the Amazon Fund for the following initiatives:

• Structuring and strengthening the Observation and Research Rooms responsible for monitoring forest cover in each country, through support for acquiring physical infrastructure and hiring human resources;
• Structuring research rooms;
• Training in forest cover monitoring technologies; and
• Drafting national monitoring plans.

Actions were also planned to promote regional cooperation to combat illegal deforestation and to exchange experiences related to public policy instruments for reducing deforestation rates.

The project was supported by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), with the Ministry of the Environment (MMA) participating in the implementation structure as the National Coordinating Institution, through the Department of Policies for Deforestation Control (DPCD). The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) also participated in the project, providing training to teams from other ACTO Member Countries in its forest cover monitoring technology.

INTERVENTION LOGIC

The project was aligned with components "Monitoring and Control" (2) and "Science, Innovation, and Economic Instruments" (4) of the Amazon Fund’s Logical Framework.

The direct expected outcomes of the project were: (i) Infrastructure, institutional arrangements, and tools for monitoring deforestation and forest degradation strengthened and improved in the Member Countries; and (ii) Knowledge and technologies aimed at monitoring the Regional Amazon produced and disseminated.

Click on the following image to view its objectives tree, that is, how the project's outputs and linked to the expected outcomes and impact.

ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED

Five regional deforestation maps covering the years 2000–2016 and three regional land cover and land use maps for the period 2000-2014 were produced. An evaluation of the national monitoring plans was also carried out.

The Observation and Research Rooms of ACTO Member Countries were consolidated through the hiring of specialized consultants and the acquisition of equipment financed by the project until March 2018. After this period, the governments of the respective countries assumed responsibility for these functions to ensure continuity of the activities initiated by the project.

The project also invested in geoprocessing courses delivered by INPE, in which 255 technicians were trained through 20 training courses on monitoring systems and radar imaging techniques, conducted in English and Spanish, both in-person and online.

Additionally, six regional seminars were held, where technical representatives from governments and Observation Rooms were able to strengthen agreements, exchange information, and expand the scope of the Rooms’ activities on topics such as forest degradation, wildfires, mining, and illegal deforestation, among other actions that contributed to the success of the project.

RESULTS AND IMPACTS INDICATORS

The project activities contributed to the results related to components (2) Monitoring and Control and (4) Science, Innovation, and Economic Instruments of the Amazon Fund Logical Framework.

The main indicators agreed upon for monitoring this objective were:

Direct Effect 2.1 – Infrastructure, institutional arrangements, and tools for monitoring deforestation and forest degradation strengthened and improved in the Member Countries (Component 1 of the project).

Output Indicators

• Number of staff hired for monitoring rooms
  Target: 7 per room | Achieved: 40 (total)
• List of equipment purchased
  Target: Not defined | Achieved: BRL 2,503,682.42
• Number of monitoring rooms (Observation Rooms) in operation
  Target: 7 | Achieved: 7 (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela)
• Number of seminars held
  Target: 6 | Achieved: 6
• Number of national monitoring plans developed
  Target: 7 | Achieved: 7

Outcome Indicators

• Area monitored in the Regional Amazon
  Target: Not defined | Achieved: approximately 7.5 million km²

• Amount invested in infrastructure at regional and national levels
  Target: Not defined | Achieved: BRL 2,497,845.78

• Number of regional and national Amazon monitoring products produced
  Target: Not defined | Achieved: 5 regional deforestation maps and 3 regional land cover maps produced

Direct Effect 4.1 – Knowledge and technologies for monitoring the Regional Amazon produced and disseminated (Project Component 2)

Output Indicators

• Number of researchers hired for research rooms
  Target: 3 per room | Achieved: 5
• Number of research rooms in operation
  Target: 7 | Achieved: 7
• Number of people trained in monitoring technologies developed by INPE
  Target: Not defined | Achieved: 255
• Number of courses delivered
  Target: 17 | Achieved: 20
• Production of baseline map for deforestation in the Regional Amazon (Year 0 – 2000) and (Year 1 – 2010)
  Target: Not defined | Achieved: Completed
• Production of other regional monitoring products by observation rooms
  Target: Not defined | Achieved: 8

Outcome Indicators

• Number of scientific, educational, or informational publications produced
  Target: Not defined | Achieved: 52

Institutional and administrative aspects

The central execution structure of the project (Internal Coordination Group and Regional Coordination) was located at the ACTO Permanent Secretariat in Brasília. In addition, collegiate structures such as the Project Steering Committee were established.

Each Member Country had a National Coordination Unit, which facilitated agreements related to the development of monitoring systems in the Amazon Region.

Risks and lessons learned

The discontinuity of political support for the project in the countries involved could have impacted its implementation. It is important that mitigating measures be designed for similar projects in the future.

Potential exchange rate impacts should be considered, since contracts are signed in Brazilian Reais. Sharing currency risk among the various countries involved may be appropriate for similar situations in the future.

Sustainability of results

ACTO operates with contributions from its Member Countries, totaling approximately US$1.7 million annually. In addition, it raises funds from various sources to implement activities and projects. The project’s management structure and the institutionalization of monitoring systems in the countries aimed to ensure the sustainability of the monitoring rooms after the project’s completion.

The continuation of the project after 2018, the scheduled end date, was the responsibility of ACTO Member Countries, individually and integrated into their respective national strategies.