MapBiomas Alerta is not a new alert system, but rather an effort to improve the usability and effectiveness of alerts generated by existing systems. The MapBiomas Alerta initiative provides, on a public and open platform, alerts regarding the loss of natural vegetation from various sources such as IDEAM, GLAD, RADD, DIST, etc. These alerts are verified, validated, and cross-referenced with territorial and government data. Details regarding the validation and methodology of MapBiomas Alerta are available at the following link

Generally, existing systems identify alerts through large-scale automated analysis of medium-resolution satellite images (10 to 250 meters resolution). These images have a weekly or bi-weekly revisit frequency and allow for the identification of loss of natural vegetation alerts, but without many options for analysis at the rural property level, considering the limitations associated with spatial resolution and the image acquisition frequency.

In MapBiomas Alerta, loss of natural vegetation alerts produced by various monitoring initiatives are gathered, validated, and refined using daily images with 3.7-meter resolution. Each alert is evaluated by trained analysts, who select high-resolution before-and-after images of the deforestation, producing an illustrative effect similar to a photo of a vehicle's license plate in traffic violation reports.

All alerts published by MapBiomas Alerta undergo a rigorous three-step process consisting of validation, refinement, and auditing.

• Validation – Alerts undergo a visual assessment by expert analysts using daily PlanetScope imagery, filtering out duplicates and selecting the best satellite evidence (before and after) with minimal cloud cover. At this stage, “false positives” are ruled out using technical criteria such as seasonality, burning without a change in land use, or previous interventions, ensuring that only events involving actual loss of natural vegetation proceed in the process.
• Refinement – The affected area is delineated using supervised pixel sampling on both undisturbed and altered surfaces. The resulting polygon is cleaned to remove noise, and finally, a pressure vector (such as mining, agriculture, or natural phenomena) is assigned to it based on the photointerpretation of the observed changes between the selected images.
• Audit – Each refined alert is verified by a regional technical supervisor, who checks the image quality, the boundaries of the polygon, the consistency of the dates, and the correct categorization of the cause of the event. This final quality control ensures the integrity of the data before its official release.
  

Additional details regarding the methodology for validating and publishing alerts are available at the following link

The project utilizes daily images with a spatial resolution of 3.7 meters, acquired from the PlanetScope constellation on a daily basis, which comprises over 200 microsatellites.

During the refinement stage, a generalization process is applied that can result in a variation of up to 5% (either an increase or a decrease) in the final area. The minimum area required for the publication of each alert on the MapBiomas Alerta Colombia platform is 0.1 hectares. 

Additional details regarding the methodology for validating and publishing alerts are available at the following link

The operational phase aims to assess all natural vegetation loss alerts detected nationwide from January 2020 onwards. The detection date is when the alert was generated by the providers (e.g., GLAD, SMBYC, RADD, DIST, among others) and does not necessarily represent the time when the deforestation occurred. For example, deforestation detected in 2020 may have started or occurred in 2019. Current year data is always partial and subject to change due to the processing and publication time of the alerts. Monitor the progress of alert processing and publication here: https://plataforma.colombia.alerta.mapbiomas.org/

Validated alerts are published weekly on the MapBiomas Alerta Colombia platform.

Pressure vectors are identified as the processes and activities that drive the loss of natural vegetation, including economic activities such as agriculture, mining, and urban expansion, as well as natural phenomena such as windsweeper, among others.

The Detailed Alerts Report is a document automatically generated by the MapBiomas Alerta platform that consolidates technical information associated with each alert, enabling a direct analysis of the location, area, date, and relevant territorial overlaps, followed by supplementary information such as land cover and land use history generated by MapBiomas Colombia, historical mosaics of Landsat imagery, data sources, and methodology.

This document streamlines and facilitates analysis for decision-making by users of the MapBiomas Alerta platform.

MapBiomas Alerta only provides property codes from Rural Cadastre. Due to data privacy laws, owner information like names and tax IDs are not publicly accessible on the platform or in Rural Cadastre.

The MapBiomas Alerta platform reports any validated loss of natural vegetation based on high-resolution satellite imagery. MapBiomas does not evaluate the legality, responsibility, and/or restrictions regarding the validated and published alerts on the MapBiomas Alerta platform. Therefore, users interested in using the information contained in deforestation reports, including financial institutions, are responsible for evaluating such information based on documents and information obtained from the parties involved or competent public agencies.

MapBiomas is not responsible for the decisions made by these bodies and institutions based on the published alerts, as these contain objective and verifiable data on the existence of deforestation (loss of natural vegetation).

All material is free and open, available on the platform. https://plataforma.colombia.alerta.mapbiomas.org/

Yes. The platform allows access to alerts and reports in various formats. Alerts can be downloaded as Shapefiles (.shp), and reports are available for download in PDF format.

Contact us via e-mail: mapbiomas.colombia@gaiaamazonas.org.

MapBiomas data is public, open and free by simply referring to the source following the format below.
"MapBiomas Alert Project - Validation and Refinement System for Natural Vegetation Loss Alerts with High-Resolution Images: [LINK] accessed on [date]"

MapBiomas Alerta Colombia publishes alerts for vegetation cover loss, whether of anthropogenic or natural origin; however, if the detected event involves controlled burning practices that do not result in the loss of natural vegetation, the alert is discarded.

No, alerts published on the MapBiomas Alerta Colombia platform remain public and accessible without an expiration date.