MapBiomas Alerta is not a new alert detection system. It is an initiative designed to enhance the usability and effectiveness of alerts generated by existing systems. The MapBiomas Alerta initiative makes available, through a free and public platform, alerts of native vegetation loss detected by different sources, such as DETER/INPE, SAD systems, GLAD/GFW, and others. These alerts are verified, validated, and spatially cross-referenced with territorial and government databases, such as SICAR/SFB, SIGEF/INCRA, IBAMA embargoes, and protected areas managed by ICMBio. Details about the alert validation and publication methodology are available here:  https://alerta.mapbiomas.org/en/metodo-mapbiomas-alerta

Existing detection systems, such as DETER/INPE, identify possible deforestation events through automated, large-scale analysis of satellite imagery. In general, they use medium-spatial-resolution imagery with high acquisition frequency, allowing possible changes in vegetation cover to be detected quickly. These systems are essential for continuous monitoring of the territory, but automatically generated alerts may have limitations regarding the accuracy of their boundaries and the detailed characterization of the event.

MapBiomas Alerta brings together alerts from different detection systems and performs an additional validation and refinement step using high-spatial-resolution satellite imagery. Each alert is individually analyzed by trained analysts, who verify the occurrence of native vegetation loss, refine its boundaries, and determine the most likely time window of the event by comparing before-and-after images.

This analysis also allows the alert to be further characterized through cross-referencing with different territorial databases, such as rural properties, CAR, protected areas, vegetation suppression authorizations, and embargoes.

A simple way to understand the difference is to think of an automatically generated alert as a signal that deforestation may have occurred, while MapBiomas Alerta adds a verification and detailed characterization step, seeking to transform that signal into more spatially accurate and useful information for analysis. The result is similar, in terms of its purpose, to a photograph documenting an occurrence: the alert indicates where an investigation should be conducted, while validation adds evidence and information that help characterize the event.

Yes. All alerts processed and published by MapBiomas Alerta undergo a rigorous verification process consisting of three stages: pre-validation, validation, and auditing.

• Pre-validation – The validation process takes place in two stages. First, alerts that overlap with alerts already published by MapBiomas Alerta are automatically removed. Then, each alert undergoes visual inspection by trained analysts, supported by monthly mosaics of high-resolution Planet imagery (3.7 m) and Sentinel-2 imagery (10 m).

During the inspection, alerts considered false positives are discarded, with the reason for rejection recorded, such as silviculture, agriculture, or seasonality. When a deforestation event is confirmed, before-and-after images of the suppression are selected within a minimum area of 700 m × 700 m, allowing both the affected area and its surroundings to be viewed.

• Validation – After deforestation is confirmed and the high-resolution images are selected, the boundaries of the effectively deforested area are refined by trained analysts using supervised classification (Random Forest) in Google Earth Engine, through the MapBiomas Workspace, using samples of deforested and non-deforested areas. The resulting polygon is simplified and reviewed to reduce noise and improve its accuracy. Based on the before-and-after images and analysis of the surrounding area, the possible pressure driver associated with the deforestation is also identified, such as mining, urban expansion, agriculture and livestock, extreme weather events, aquaculture, roads, energy projects, reservoirs, or other factors. 
• Audit – Each refined alert undergoes an audit conducted by a technical supervisor for each biome. At this stage, the need for any additional adjustment before the final publication of the confirmed deforestation is assessed.

Details about the alert validation and publication methodology are available here:https://alerta.mapbiomas.org/en/metodo-mapbiomas-alerta/

MapBiomas Alerta Brazil uses a combination of high-resolution satellite imagery (Planet imagery, with 3.7 m spatial resolution) and medium-resolution imagery (Sentinel-2, with 10 m spatial resolution).

Operations are performed to smooth the perimeter and avoid an excessive number of vertices/corners. During the polygon refinement stage, a generalization process is applied, which may result in a variation of up to 5% in the final area, either increasing or decreasing it.

The operational phase seeks to evaluate all deforestation alerts detected in the country since January 2019. Alerts from before this period (October to December 2018) correspond to the pre-operational phase and represent a sample of the alerts from that period. They do not appear in the statistics or on the map, but remain in the platform's database and can be accessed through their respective alert codes. The detection date is the date on which the alert was generated by the providers (e.g., DETER, SAD, GLAD) and does not necessarily represent when the deforestation occurred. Deforestation detected in 2019, for example, may have started or occurred in 2018. Data for the current year are always partial and subject to change due to the time required to process and publish alerts. The progress of alert processing and publication can be monitored here: https://plataforma.alerta.mapbiomas.org/alert_by_status

Validated alerts are published weekly on the MapBiomas Alerta platform, generally every Tuesday.

Pressure drivers are the probable economic activities or urban expansion processes that led to deforestation. Since 2021, the validation process has included an analysis of pressure drivers, such as agriculture and livestock, illegal mining, mining, urban expansion, extreme weather events, and others.

The Alert Report is a document automatically generated by the MapBiomas Alerta platform. It brings together technical information about the alert, allowing users to quickly and directly analyze its location, the probable dates of deforestation, and relevant territorial and land-tenure intersections, such as rural properties (boundaries from the Rural Environmental Registry – CAR) and protected areas, among others. The document is intended to streamline and facilitate analysis and decision-making by users of the MapBiomas Alerta platform. Reports are available for each confirmed deforestation event, for each intersection between an alert and a property registered in CAR, SIGEF, or SNCI (with an area greater than 0.3 ha), and for each property overlapping with alerts. The reports contain specific information about the alert intersection and before-and-after high-resolution images of the deforestation, followed by complementary information, such as: 

• overlap between the deforestation alert and protected areas (Conservation Units and Indigenous Territories), settlements, Permanent Preservation Areas (APP), Legal Reserves (RL), springs, etc.;
• overlap between the alert and Native Vegetation Suppression Authorizations, Embargoes, and Forest Management Plans;
• MapBiomas land-use and land-cover history for previous years;
• methodology;
• data source.

MapBiomas Alerta provides only the codes of rural properties registered in SICAR and/or in INCRA databases. In accordance with the provisions of Brazil's General Data Protection Law (Law No. 13,709/2018), information identifying CAR property holders, such as names and CPF/CNPJ numbers, is not made available on the MapBiomas Alerta platform and is not publicly available through SICAR (National Rural Environmental Registry System).

MapBiomas Alerta publishes any and all native vegetation loss detected by alert-provider systems and validated using high-resolution satellite imagery. MapBiomas does not make judgments regarding the legality, regularity, responsibility, and/or restrictions associated with the deforestation alerts validated and published on the platform. Such assessments are the sole responsibility of public authorities and/or private and financial institutions, which may freely access the data made available by MapBiomas Alerta.

MapBiomas is not responsible for decisions made by these authorities and institutions based on the published alerts, as these contain objective and concrete data regarding the occurrence of deforestation (native vegetation loss).

All materials are free and openly available on the MapBiomas Alerta platform. https://plataforma.alerta.mapbiomas.org/

Yes. The platform provides several ways to access alerts and reports. Users can: download alerts as Shapefile (.shp) files; download consolidated annual data, including CAR information, as an Excel spreadsheet; access reports as PDF files; use a plugin to access alerts in QGIS; and access a public API providing alerts, images, and attributes as an open service for registered users. You can register here: https://plataforma.alerta.mapbiomas.org/sign-in

Questions can be sent to: suporte.alerta@mapbiomas.org.

MapBiomas data are public, open, and free to use under a Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license, provided that the source is properly referenced using the following format:

“Projeto MapBiomas Alerta – Sistema de Validação e Refinamento de Alertas de Desmatamento com Imagens de Alta Resolução: [LINK], accessed on [date].”

The occurrence of fire or burning is a reason for discarding an alert if the area is undergoing recovery in the most recent images. If vegetation is removed following a fire, the alert is maintained on the platform as native vegetation loss.

No. Alerts published on the MapBiomas Alerta platform remain public and available without an expiration date.