Analyzing the Impact of Agricultural Activity on Ecosystems

How a Multi-Stakeholder Enterprise, MOCUPP, is Advancing Costa Rica In the direction of Sustainable Practices To shield the Nation’s Biodiversity

Costa Rica Is Amongst The numerous most bionumerous places On the earth, containing almost 6 % of the world’s biodiversity. In consequence, its ecosystem provides A selection of providers collectively with wooden and timber, crops, and fruits, amongst many completely differents Which have fueled enterprise, scientific evaluation, and tradition.

Biodiversity additionally performs An important position Inside the properly-being of the planet. When biodiversity is plentiful, There is An enhance in ecosystem productiveness that assists A a lot greater Quantity of species and subsequently A a lot greater selection of crops. Furtherextra, biodiversity shields freshwater sources, breaks down pollution, and contributes to local climate stability. To protect this rich environment, Costa Rica has signed forty-5 worldwide environmental treaties Together with enacting regulator our bodies to shield its numerous environment.

The Nationwide Center For prime Know-how (CeNAT)’s Monitoring of Change of Use in Productive Landscapes project (in Spanish, “Monitoreo de Cambio de uso en Paisajes Productivos” – MOCUPP) makes use of Planet sainformite knowledge To watch the modifications in land use and evaluation of deforestation processes Associated to agricultural dynamics Inside the country.

Pineapples rising outdoors of El Cairo, Costa Rica captured by a PlanetScope sainformite on November 23, 2019. Boundaries detected by MOCUPP. © 2021, Planet Labs Inc. All Propers Reserved.

“Our manufacturing fashions DepWind upon biodiversity, so It is crucial to have extra sustainable manufacturings. MOCUPP is A strong system that rightly data modifications in land use and land cowl,” said Christian Vargas Bolaños, Researcher at PRIAS Laboratory of the CeNAT.

These observations allow the group To reinformationrce productiveness and Make constructive that their selections contribute to greater conservation and sustainable practices. 

So far, MOCUPP data the annual cowlage of three crops: pineapple, palm oil, and pastures. Additionally they research the processes of regeneration, permanence, and Lack of tree cowl As a Outcome of ofse crops. 

Map of Costa Rica displaying Pineapple and Palm areas. © 2021, Planet Labs Inc. All Propers Reserved.

“As a Outcome of of COVID-19 pandemic, and as An factor of the options To beat the national journey restrictions, Planet picturery provided An alternate selection to in-particular person area website go tos. The implementation of “digital excursions” permited the project To collect information That is usually collected in particular person, to be collected by way of an alternate method, On this case by way of Using extreme-decision sainformite picturery,” said Vargas. 

This method has served to validate the MOCUPP merchandise by way of Using knowledge with greater spatial decision in Costa Rica. 

The primary discovering was that the spatial decision of Planet’s knowledge allowd PRIAS Laboratory to study That there have been fewer acres of pineapple rising than That they had beforehand thought. The evolution of the pineapple productive panorama decreased from 66,266.01 hectares in 2017 to 65,442.41 hectares in 2019. This represents A discount of 823.6 hectares, which is defined by the precision of the Planet picture supplies used Inside the preparation of the merchandise.

“Since we use PlanetScope pictures to validate the layers for the productive panorama and the obtain and Lack of that productive panorama, we have been In a place to generate extra right maps. That Is primarily useful for the producers because acres that beforehand would have been reported as a obtain Inside the productive panorama can now be reported rightly As a Outcome of the producers aren’t growing the crops or deforesting the land,” said Vargas. 

In alignment with the worldwide treaties and environmental our bodies that shield Costa Rica, MOCUPP’s work extremelights the influence of agricultural exercise on ecosystems. This information provides a view into The biggest Method To rework the processes into fashions that advance the country towards sustainability. 

“Finally, this work might permit merchandise to be licensed as deforestation-free. In the meantime, residents will play An important position by With The power To inform themselves and the merchandise they Decide to eat,” said Esteban Castillo, Researcher at PRIAS Laboratory of CeNAT.

As the group appears towards The Prolonged time period, The possibilities of integrating sainformite knowledge into their work are boundless. 

“There is The potential of incorporating new productive models Similar to espresso, Musaceae (collectively with bananas, plantains, and abaco), sugar cane, rice, among completely differents, depfinishing on the productive enhancement of the country. As properly as, there is The Want to proceed working with Planet pictures in completely different future tasks led by PRIAS Similar to evaluating the feasibility of the soil in planting crops, monitoring of crop yield, well being evaluation of crops, and illness monitoring,” said Vargas. 

MOCUPP is led by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) by way of its Inexperienced Commodities Program and is financed by funds International Environment Facility (GEF). MOCCUP is the work from the collaboration of three organizations: the PRIAS Laboratory of CeNAT of the Nationwide Council of Rectors (CONARE), the Directorate of The exact Property Registry (DRI), and the Nationwide Geographic Institute (IGN); It hAs a Outcome of the backing of the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), by way of the Nationwide Geospatial Information Center (CENIGA) and the assist of the Ministry of Agritradition and Livestock (Journal).

Planet recently entered Proper into a definitive merger settlement with dMY Know-how Group, Inc. IV (NYSE:DMYQ), a particular objective acquisition agency, To Wind up to be a publicly-traded agency. To study extra about our merchandise, go to our website.