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The Value of Satellite-Based Active Fire Data for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of REDD+ in the Lao PDR

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Abstract

Shifting cultivation is a dominant land-use system in Laos, and fire is the tool commonly used to clear fallow vegetation for subsequent cultivation. We assessed the feasibility of active fire data derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) for monitoring fires in Laos. Specifically, we investigated the potential of the active fire data as input into monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems to assess the effectiveness of measures related to Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus the enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+). Our qualitative and quantitative accuracy assessments of the fire data yielded mixed results with varying degrees of undetected fires and false detections. Hence, at IPCC Tier 3, the uncertainties inherent in the detection accuracy become too large. Active fire data can be valuable for supporting national-level MRV at Tier 2 in combination with auxiliary data for characterizing fire-dependent local land-use systems, such as shifting cultivation.

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Notes

  1. Because of the data gaps, all calculations conservatively approximate fire patterns and should not be interpreted as comprehensive fire counts.

  2. See http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/ensostuff/ensoyears.shtml

  3. http://www.earthobservations.org/geonetcast.shtml

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Climate Protection through Avoided Deforestation Project (CliPAD) with funding from the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German International Cooperation (GIZ), implemented by the Department of Forestry of the Lao PDR. We acknowledge support from the project entitled Impacts of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Carbon Stocks (I-REDD+). I-REDD + is funded by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Research Programme. More information can be found on the web site: http://www.i-redd.eu. We particularly thank Dirk Pflugmacher, Gernot Rücker and two anonymous reviewers for their excellent comments on earlier versions of this paper. We are indebted to Patrick Hostert, Andreas Heinimann, Gabriel Eickhoff, Kasper Hurni and Conny Hett for comments, discussions and support. We also thank Kasper, Conny and Anouxay Phommalath as well as the volunteers from “Weltwärts” for the collection of ground control points. Discussions on the Google group LaoFAB have generated a number of highly valuable responses, and we acknowledge all experts who replied, particularly the contributions by Dirk Van Gansberghe and Oliver Ducourtieux. Finally, we gratefully acknowledge the Participatory Land and Forest Management Project for Reducing Deforestation in Lao PDR (PAREDD) of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which provided the plot-level dataset.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Central and Eastern Europe (IAMO), Theodor-Lieser-Str. 2, 06120, Halle (Saale), Germany

    Daniel Müller

  2. Geography Department, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany

    Daniel Müller & Stefan Suess

  3. Independent Consultant on Natural Resources & Fire Management, Uhlandstr. 15, 74889, Sinsheim, Germany

    Anja A. Hoffmann

  4. Climate Protection through Avoided Deforestation (CliPAD), Technical Cooperation Module, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Department of Forestry, That Dam Campus, Chanthabury District, Vientiane Capital, Lao People’s Democratic Republic

    Georg Buchholz

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  1. Daniel Müller
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Müller, D., Suess, S., Hoffmann, A.A. et al. The Value of Satellite-Based Active Fire Data for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification of REDD+ in the Lao PDR. Hum Ecol 41, 7–20 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-013-9565-0

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