Monitoring Rainforests Worldwide: Tasso Azevedo on MapBiomas Global

Oct. 23, 2024

On October 10, 2024, Brazil LAB hosted an event with Tasso Azevedo, a Brazilian scientist and social entrepreneur. Azevedo is an affiliate scholar in the Department of Anthropology and the Brazil LAB, and is known for his work on sustainability, climate change, and forest monitoring. He spoke about MapBiomas, a network of scientists and institutions that he coordinates. MapBiomas monitors land cover and land use in the tropics and produces detailed maps to help manage land and combat deforestation. Azevedo emphasized the growing importance of monitoring not only forests but also land-use patterns in regions like Brazil, where rapid environmental changes are exacerbating the effects of climate change. 

Azevedo's presentation highlighted the devastating environmental changes in Brazil, such as severe droughts, wildfires, and temperature anomalies that were once rare. He presented MapBiomas as a tool to understand and combat these changes, providing decision-makers with critical data to inform policy and conservation efforts. In addition, the project has expanded to other tropical regions with the goal of building local capacity to generate land use data. Recently recognized by The Audacious Project Azevedo and MapBiomas' work continues to draw global attention to the urgent need for sustainable land management and forest conservation.

At the event, Gabriel Vecchi Knox Taylor Professor of Geosciences and Director of the High Meadows Environmental Institute at Princeton, followed Azevedo's presentation with insightful comments. Vecchi emphasized the interconnectedness of global environmental challenges such as climate change, land use, and deforestation. He praised the MapBiomas platform for its potential to address these issues by providing detailed, actionable data. Vecchi also emphasized the importance of balancing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while adapting to rapidly changing climate conditions. He noted that tools like MapBiomas put Brazil and other tropical regions in a better position to effectively manage these environmental crises. His remarks underscored the importance of neutral, data-driven approaches to inform policy decisions and conservation strategies.

During the Q&A session, the audience engaged with Tasso Azevedo on a range of topics, particularly the practical applications and challenges of using MapBiomas data. A key question raised was the neutrality of the platform and how it avoids political bias, to which Azevedo responded that the project deliberately focuses on data alone, leaving policy decisions to other stakeholders. He also addressed concerns about potential misuse of the data, such as identifying valuable trees for illegal logging, emphasizing that transparency and widespread access to the data could act as a deterrent to such activities. Another question touched on the scalability of MapBiomas, with Azevedo outlining plans to expand the platform to other tropical regions and potentially beyond, while maintaining the importance of local involvement in data collection and application. The discussion highlighted the adaptability of the platform and its role in promoting both environmental accountability and action on a global scale.

The event, which recording is available at the Brazil LAB YouTube channel, was moderated by Brazil LAB academic research manager Miqueias Mugge.

The event was co-sponsored by the Department of Anthropology, the High Meadows Environmental Institute, the Program in Latin American Studies, and the Department of Spanish and Portuguese.

Tasso