Firecast: a NR-time
Monitoring System
Improving Forest
Management for the
Tropics
Andrés Cano
Manager, Monitoring Systems
Moore Center for Ecosystem Science and
Economics
Conservation International
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CI-US, CI-Bolivia, CI-Peru, CI-Indonesia, CI-Madagascar,
NASA Ames, NASA Goddard, Esri
Overview
1)Impacts of wildland fires
2)Challenges
3)Response
4)Current systems
5)FIRECAST
6)Future Directions
Effects of wildland fires on
natural ecosystems
Emissions from tropical
deforestation 2000-2005
1) Ecosystem
destruction/degradation
2) Health
3) Access for illegal activities
Harris et al., 2012
Science
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4) Carbon emissions
Challenges to reducing
wildland fire effects
• lack of timely and accurate
information
• limited resources and capacity
• lack of evidence
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Response
Near real-time Earth
Observation data to support
decisions to…
1) Improve land use management
2) Enhance enforcement activities
3) Support national planning (e.g.
REDD+)
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CI’s early warning systems
1. Fire Alert System
https://firealerts.conservation.org
2. Illegal logging and
encroachment alerts
https://firealerts.conservation.org/fas/maps
3. Fire Risk System
http://firerisk.conservation.org
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1. Fire Alert System (FAS)
Subscription Alert system for
detected active fires (since
2003!)
Customized for individual
users needs
Website in Spanish, French,
Bahasa, & English
1538 users of the FAS
149
46
501
852
Bolivia
Indonesia
Madagascar
Peru
successful stories
Field operation in 2012 in Bukit
Barisan Selatan National Park,
Southern Sumatra. Photos
courtesy of Hagnyo Wandono
BBSTN
Project partners
2. Illegal Logging and encroachment
Alerts
Quarterly delivery of observations of illegal forest activity
(Indonesia)
Alerts are emailed to
subscribers and reports and
maps are available online
Deforestation and
Encroachment Alert for
Kerinci Seblat National Park,
Indonesia.
Analyze Landsat 15m resolution
for evidence of encroachment
How the illegal logging and encroachment is
being used
•illegal logging/ encroachment
monitoring
Training and
capacity building
3. Fire risk system
Near real-time index of fire risk in the Amazon
derived from satellite observations
Automated daily
drought/forest flammability
index available on the
website
Along with 2 other drought
indices
Field
validation by
El Museo de
Historia
Natural Noel
Kempff
Mercado
Who is using the Fire Risk System…
Used by FAN in Bolivia as an input to
their fire risk system, SATRIFO
FAN sends alerts and
provides outreach &
education for 34
indigenous and 4
Mennonite communities in
Santa Cruz
Next generation of CI’s Early Warning
Systems…
FIRECAST
CIFOR
2. FIRECAST
Fire and forest monitoring and
forecasting system
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• Integration of fire alerts and fire risk
systems
• Addition of new products
• Additional selection criteria
• Building entire new system in the
cloud
• Website overhaul
• interactive web maps
• social networking
• Delivery of alerts to mobile devices
2. FIRECAST
Fire and forest monitoring and forecasting system
Subscription email and mobile alerts for
1. active fire
detection
2. fire risk warnings
3. fire season
severity
forecasts
4. recent
deforestation
from QUICC
Fires in Madagascar on October 19th,
2008. Images from NASA’s Aqua
satellite show detected active fires (in
red) and smoke plumes.
CI’s daily risk of forest flammability
for the Amazon region elevated risk
of fire due to drought conditions
(shown in orange and red in this
map).
Fire season severity forecasts for South
America (from NASA Goddard SFC)
NASA’s QUICC
Quarterly Indicator of Change
Future Directions
• System alerts expandable to new
geographies
• Provide illegal logging and
encroachment alerts
• Enhanced website functionality and
data delivery
• Alerts and forecasts based on
available near real-time data (air
quality, burn scar, agricultural
droughts)
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• Continued outreach and
engagement to new and current users
Get Involved
1. Sign up for active fire alerts
https://firealerts.conservation.org
2. Be part of the system development.
Sign up to be a beta tester of the new
system!
Contact : Karyn Tabor /Andrés Cano
ktabor@conservation.org
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ccano@conservation.org
Thank You Team!
Andres Cano
Howard Kistler
John Manwell
Alex Dinnouti
Eddy Mendoza (CI Peru)
Juan Carlos Ledezma (CI Bolivia)
Andriambolantsoa Rasolohery (CI
Madagascar)
John Musinsky (NEON)
Forrest Melton (NASA Ames)
Doug Morton (NASA Goddard)
And others helping along the way
Carly Silverman
Kellee Koenig
Martine Culbertson
JC Spradley
Gayle Levy
Lindsay Walter-Cox
Jenny Hewson
Marc Steininger
Monique Derfuss
Justin Ward
Andrew Kolb
Heather Luca
Areliz Claros
Vlasova Gonzalez
Will Turner
Celia Harvey