Zero Deforestation Agreement Assessment at Farm Level in Colombia Using Alos Palsar: Challenges of Monitoring Systems Aimed to Reduce Deforestation

We assess the fulfillment of zero deforestation agreements at farm level, ALOS-1 and ALOS-2 PALSAR fine beam dual imagery for years 2010 and 2016 was processed with ad-hoc routines to estimate stable forest, deforestation, and stable non-forest extension for 2615 participant farms in five regions of Colombia. Farms associated with Meta Foothills regions showed zero deforestation during the period analyzed (2010–2016), while other regions showed low deforestation rates with the exception of the Cesar River Valley (75 ha). Results, suggests that topography and dry weather conditions have an effect on radar-based mapping accuracy. Nevertheless, overall ALOS Phased Array L-band SAR (PALSAR) data provided overall accurate, relevant, and consistent information for forest change analysis for local zero deforestation agreements assessment.