12 June 2013: The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) announced the continuation of the project on ‘Monitoring deforestation, logging and land use change in the Pan Amazonian Forest – PANAMAZON II,’ which supports monitoring of forest cover in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.

According to ITTO, additional project funding is provided by the Governments of the Netherlands and Germany and by the participating countries. In addition, technical support is received from Brazilian institutions and the Ministries of Environment of the participating countries.

Over a five year period, the new Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) project on ‘Monitoring of forest cover in the Amazon Region’ will build on the work carried out by ITTO to improve access to real time and accurate information on deforestation, logging and land use change. Achievements to date include the establishment of a regional coordination unit, adoption of a regional methodology for forest monitoring to be applied at the national level, and national training in the use and analysis of satellite imagery.

The new project will continue support for national monitoring infrastructure and access to monitoring technology, in addition to facilitating the development of national monitoring plans and ensuring the equalization of institutional capacity for land use change monitoring. The above activities are intended to address illegal logging and contribute to reduced deforestation in the Amazon basin. [ITTO Press Release]