Potential of the Amazon Region of AMACRO in the Carbon Market based on Above-Ground Live Biomass
Datasets and Deforestation Dashboards
Biomass, carbon market, remote sensing, radar, Amazon, AMACRO
Climate change and the rise in greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere have been challenges faced by humanity in recent decades. A global proposal to try to mitigate the negative effects of rising land temperatures is the carbon market. Although it has been enhanced and expanded since its proposal, the lack of regulation, oversight, and methodological standards in this market still create uncertainties and significant gaps, sparking discussions about who truly benefits from the market. Brazil does not have a regulated carbon market, and among the vast amount of biomass present in the country's forests that could generate income for Brazil in relation to carbon, the Amazon presents significant potential in this scenario, based on the carbon stored in its biomass and soil. One Amazonian area stands out with great potential for increased greenhouse gas emissions and is characterized as a new frontier of deforestation in the Amazon by the 2022 Annual Deforestation Report from MapBiomas: AMACRO. In this context, Baccini et al. (2012) estimated the above-ground living biomass of the planet's pantropical region to estimate the carbon stored in it for the year 2010. This study assessed the amount of equivalent carbon dioxide stored in the biomass and soil of the Amazon region of AMACRO, currently under intense land use pressures, using the dataset from Baccini et al. (2012) as a reference, to inform decisions regarding the regulation of the carbon market in Brazil. Data generated by MapBiomas for deforestation and land use and cover were also observed to evaluate the region's evolution in these aspects. It was observed that the protected areas of AMACRO (Federal Conservation Units and Indigenous Lands) store a significant portion of the region's carbon and represent an important focus for strategic considerations about alternatives to curb deforestation and land use change, with incentives to maintain forests standing, such as the carbon market and the CPR Verde, aiming for economic development aligned with sustainable practices and benefiting local traditional communities.