WHAT IS THE MAPBIOMAS VENEZUELA INITIATIVE?

MapBiomas Venezuela is an initiative that brings together experts in satellite remote sensing, geographic information systems 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. This initiative offers a historical series of annual land cover and land use maps, dating back to 1985, encompassing the entirety of Venezuela (except for the Los Monjes Archipelago, Isla de Aves and Guayana Esequiba - Reclamation Area subject to the Geneva Agreement of February 17, 1966).

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 nationally and in other Amazonian countries.
• 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, the 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

It is within the framework of this collaboration between Raisg and MapBiomas, that Provita, together with the Laboratory of Geographic Information Systems and Environmental Modeling of the Simón Bolívar University (LSIGMA – USB), and Wataniba, and with the participation of important experts from various national universities and research centers, developed the First Collection of Annual Land Cover and Land Use Maps for the entire Venezuelan territory, 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 valuable information.