Effectiveness of a forest management initiative to contain illegal logging in a Sustainable Development Project in Anapu, Pará

Abstract

The pressure for forest areas to be explored is constant in the Amazon. Sustainable Development Projects (PDS) constitute a rural settlement modality with social and environmental objectives, with sustainable forest management as an alternative for income generation. Using the DETEX methodology (Near Real-Time Logging Detection), developed by Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research, this study analyzed the occurrence of licensed and unauthorized logging at PDS Virola-Jatobá, in the Anapu municipality, state of Pará. Unauthorized logging in the 1999-2016 period was identified in 18.519 ha, 92% of which occurred prior to 2004, when families were settled, and other 4.9% when the forest management plan conducted by the local association had not started or was interrupted. Results confirm the accuracy of the techniques used, although limited by Landsat images’ spatial resolution. Although the Virola-Jatobá PDS has not yet been effective in consolidating sustainable livelihoods, forest management proved to be a promising alternative in curbing unauthorized timber extraction, as only 3.1% of the illegal logging observed over 18 years occurred during its existence.