MapBiomas Alert is a system for validation and refinement of alerts on deforestation/conversion of native vegetation in all Brazilian biomes using high-resolution imagery.

This system is being developed and continuously improved by the collaborative network of MapBiomas co-creators, with input from government agencies (e.g., MMA, IBAMA, SFB, ICMBio, MPF, and TCU) and alert providers (e.g., INPE, IMAZON, University of Maryland, ISA, and others).

WARNING!

MapBiomas Alert publishes any and all loss of native vegetation detected by alert provider systems and validated through high-resolution satellite images. MapBiomas does not define the legality, responsibility, and/or restrictions related to the validated deforestation alerts published on this platform. The assessment of such matters lies exclusively within the competence of public agencies and/or private and financial institutions that have free access to the data provided by MapBiomas Alert. MapBiomas is not responsible for the decisions made by these agencies and institutions based on the published alerts, as they represent objective and concrete data about the existence of deforestation or conversion (loss of native vegetation).

Here are some clarifications about the scope and limitations of the alert data:

1. Período dos alertas: a fase operacional busca avaliar todos os alertas de desmatamento detectados no país a partir de janeiro de 2019. Os alertas anteriores a esse período (outubro a dezembro de 2018) representam a fase pré-operacional com uma amostra dos alertas do período, e não aparecem nas estatísticas e no mapa (apenas continuam no banco de dados da plataforma para consulta por meio dos seus respectivos códigos do alerta). A data de detecção é aquela em que o alerta foi gerado pelos provedores (ex. DETER, SAD, GLAD, entre outros) e não necessariamente representa o momento em que o desmatamento ocorreu. Desmatamentos detectados em 2019, por exemplo, podem ter se iniciado ou ter acontecido em 2018. Os dados do ano corrente são sempre parciais, sujeitos a alteração, devido ao tempo de processamento e publicação dos alertas. Quando os dados para um ano são consolidados, sistematizamos e publicamos o Relatório Anual do Desmatamento (RAD), o qual fica disponível no site do MapBiomas Alerta (http://alerta.mapbiomas.org/relatorio).
2. Área do alerta: Durante a etapa de refinamento do polígono é aplicado um processo de generalização que pode ocasionar uma variação de até 5% (para mais ou para menos) na área final. A área mínima do desmatamento para ser publicado na Plataforma do MapBiomas Alerta é 0,3 hectares. Para ser considerado sobreposição com CAR a área mínima também é de 0,3 ha.
3. Vegetação não lenhosa: o MapBiomas Alerta utiliza os indícios de desmatamento dos sistemas DETER/INPE, SAD/IMAZON, GLAD/Univ. Maryland, SIRAD-X/ISA, SAD Caatinga/UEFS-Geodatin, SAD Mata Atlântica/SOS Mata Atlântica-Arcplan, SAD Pantanal/SOS Pantanal-ArcPlan, SAD Pampa/Geokarten-UFRGS e SAD Cerrado/IPAM. Destes sistemas apenas o DETER-Cerrado gera alertas em vegetação não lenhosa. Portanto, apenas no bioma Cerrado é monitorado o desmatamento em vegetação campestre. Nos demais biomas o desmatamento em vegetação não lenhosa só é identificado no MapBiomas Alerta quando associado a indícios de desmatamento em formações florestais e savânicas (veja mais sobre as fontes de dados e o método no site http://alerta.mapbiomas.org/).
   Explanatory Note on Deforestation in the Pampa biome (only in Portuguese).
4. Embargoes: MapBiomas uses and consumes the embargo database of environmental agencies (IBAMA, ICMBio, and some state environmental agencies). These databases may be outdated or incomplete.
5. Cadastro Ambiental Rural: rural properties data is consulted in the SICAR geo-service. Properties registered in the states that have not been syncronized with SICAR are not included.
6. Authorizations for the Suppression of Native Vegetation: The authorizations for alternative use and suppression of vegetation, as well as forest management plans, are sourced from SINAFLOR/IBAMA, which integrates data from all Brazilian states with limitations on updates. For the states of Pará and Mato Grosso, the information was obtained from the geo-services of the respective SEMAs (https://monitoramento.semas.pa.gov.br/monitoramento/#/sig and http://monitoramento.sema.mt.gov.br/simlam/). Authorizations made at the municipal level may be incomplete, as well as authorizations issued by states before the implementation of SINAFLOR in 2018.
7. Legality, Responsibility, and/or Restrictions Regarding Validated Deforestation Alerts Published on the Platform: MapBiomas does not conduct this type of evaluation. It is the responsibility of users (environmental agencies, financial institutions, etc.) to seek this information from the relevant authorities or their clients.
8. Pending Alerts: The purpose is to review all alerts generated by the main systems; however, some alerts may have pending validation for various reasons (e.g., lack of image due to cloud cover, excessive alerts in months with a higher quantity of deforestation, etc.). The number of pending alerts may vary over time, as they are continuously produced and published.
9. Omissions: MapBiomas does not generate its own alerts and relies on the quality of the systems operating in Brazilian territory to avoid omissions. The development of new alert detection systems and their inclusion as sources in MapBiomas Alert has reduced omissions and allowed for the accurate identification of deforestation in all biomes.
10. Some alerts have been reviewed after publication on the platform and CANCELED due to reasons such as pasture or boundary cleaning, silviculture, or others. These alerts do not appear in the statistics or on the map. However, they remain in the platform's database for consultation using their respective alert codes.
11. The MapBiomas Alerta initiative is constantly being improved and updated so that information that qualifies the alerts (SIGEF properties, CAR properties, limits of Conservation Units, authorization for vegetation suppression or alternative use of the land, embargoes and releases, inspection actions, etc.) is as up-to-date and complete as possible. We always make available the source, month and year that these databases were consulted so that users, when necessary, can use the most up-to-date official information in their analyses and decisions.

If you have suggestions, criticisms, or ideas to improve the work, please contact us via email: suporte.alerta@mapbiomas.org.