WHAT IS MAPBIOMAS VENEZUELA?

MapBiomas Venezuela is a network that brings together experts in satellite remote sensing, geographic information systems, ecology and programming from NGOs, universities and research centers, who work collaboratively to generate and share, publicly and free of charge, accurate and updated information on the transformation of the Venezuelan territory. We produce historical series of maps of land cover and land use and water surface, dating back to 1985, covering all of Venezuela, including the Guayana Esequiba state declared in April 2024. Only Isla de Aves is not included.

PURPOSE

To contribute to the understanding of the change dynamics of the Venezuelan territory, in order to support decision-making, planning and sustainable management of the country's natural resources.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INITIATIVE

• Networking with other institutions, both national and international.
• Distributed and automated data processing through an alliance with Google Earth Engine. 
• Work aimed at generating an open platform, which can be expanded with the eventual incorporation of new topics and modules.
• Collaborative platform designed to welcome and encourage contributions from members of the scientific community. With the inputs and expertise of contributors, we aim to implement improvements in future collections.

ORIGIN

Since 2012 and 2017, respectively, Provita and Wataniba have been members of the Amazon Network of Georeferenced Socio-Environmental Information (RAISG). RAISG is a consortium of civil society organizations from Amazon countries, working together to generate and share knowledge, statistical data and geospatial socio-environmental information using common protocols, seeking to achieve the socio-environmental sustainability of the Amazon. One of the network’s initial endeavors was the construction of deforestation maps of the Venezuelan Amazon using increasingly advanced satellite data processing tools.

In search of new alternatives for the automation of processes and the generation of timely information, in March 2017, RAISG and the General Coordination of MapBiomas Network joined forces to create MapBiomas Amazonía. This initiative aims to generate annual maps of land cover and land use for the entire region, spanning from 1985 to the present.

Building on the success of their work in the Amazon region, in 2022, RAISG member institutions decided to expand mapping efforts to provide unprecedented information on land cover and land use changes at the national level in each of the Amazon countries, as well as monitoring water surface dynamics in the region.

It is within the framework of this collaboration between RAISG and MapBiomas, that in September 2023 the first collection of MapBiomas Water for the Amazon countries was published, with the mapping of the water surface with annual and monthly data. Shortly after, in November 2023, the First Collection of Annual Land Cover and Land Use Maps for the Venezuelan territory was published, covering the period 1985 – 2022.

The goal is to improve and update this information each year, as well as include new topics and modules. The results of these efforts will be publicly accessible through the MapBiomas Venezuela, providing free access to this information.