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nomic dimensions focus on the prediction of deforestation rates and the estimation of land-
cover/land-use (LCLU) change at a regional scale.
Local stakeholders have seldom been involved in remote sensing research in the area. This is
unfortunate because municipal authorities and local organizations represent a window of opportu-
nity to improve frontier governance (Nepstad et al., 2002). These stakeholders have been increas-
ingly called upon to provide new services or fill gaps in services previously provided by federal
and state government. Small-scale farmer associations are key local organizations because some
of the obstacles to changing current land use patterns and minimizing deforestation cannot be
instituted by farmers working individually but are likely to require group effort (Sydenstricker-
Neto, 1997; Ostrom, 1999).
6.1.1
Study Objectives
The objectives of our study were to: (1) determine LC change in the recent colonization area
(1986-1999) of Machadinho D'Oeste, Rondonia, Brazil; (2) engage community stakeholders in
the processes of mapping and assessing the accuracy of LC maps; and (3) evaluate the relevance
of LC maps (inventory) for understanding community-based LU dynamics in the study area. The
objectives were defined to compare stakeholder estimates and perceptions of LC change in the
region to what could be measured through the classification of multispectral, multitemporal,
remotely sensed data. We were interested in learning whether there would be increased efficiencies,
quality, and ownership of the inventory and evaluation process by constructively engaging stake-
holders in local communities and farmer associations. In this chapter, we focus our presentation
on characterizing and mapping LC change between 1994 and 1999.
6.1.2
Study Area
) is located in the
northeast portion of the State of Rondonia, western Brazilian Amazonia (Figure 6.1). The village
of Machadinho D'Oeste is 150 km from the nearest paved road (BR-364 and cities of Ariquemes
and Jaru) and 400 km from Porto Velho, the state capital. When first settled, the majority of the
area was originally composed of untitled public lands. A portion of the area also included old,
privately owned rubber estates (
Established in 1988, the municipality of Machadinho D'Oeste (8502 km
2
), which were expropriated (Sydenstricker-Neto, 1992).
The most recent occupation of the region occurred during the mid-1980s with the development
of the Machadinho Colonization Project (PA Machadinho) by the National Institute for Colonization
and Agrarian Reform (INCRA). In 1984, the first parcels in the south of the municipality were
delivered to migrant farmers, and since then the area has experienced recurrent migration inflows.
From hundreds of inhabitants in the early 1980s, Machadinho's 1986 population was estimated to
be 8,000, and in 1991 it had increased to 16,756 (Sydenstricker-Neto and Torres, 1991; Syden-
stricker-Neto, 1992; IBGE, 1994). In 2000, the demographic census counted 22,739 residents. This
amounted to an annual population increase during the decade of the 1990s of 3.5%. Although
Machadinho is an agricultural area by definition, 48% of its population lives in the urban area
(IBGE, 2001).
Despite the importance of colonization in Machadinho, forest reserves comprise 1541 km
seringais
, or
18.1%, of its area. Most of these reserves became state extractive reserves in 1995, but there are
also state forests for sustained use. Almost the entire area of the reserves is covered with primary
forest (Olmos et al., 1999).
In biophysical terms, Machadinho's landscape combines areas of altiplano with areas at lower
elevation between 100 and 200 m above sea level. The major forest cover types are tropical
semideciduous forest and tropical flood plain forest. The weather is hot and humid with an average
annual temperature of 24
2
C and relative humidity between 80 and 85%. A well-defined dry season
occurs between June and August and annual precipitation is above 2000 mm. The soils have medium
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