China, Brazil launch jointly developed satellite to monitor Amazon rainforest

An earth observation satellite, jointly developed by China and Brazil, has been launched in space which will monitor Amazon rainforest. According to China’s news agency, the China-Brazil Earth Resource Satellite-4A (CBERS-4A) was launched on a Long March-4B rocket under a bilateral programme.

The CBERS-4A is the sixth series of satellites developed by China and Brazil under the technological cooperation which first began in 1988. The CBERS-4A has been developed to observe earth for non-military use and will monitor Amazon rainforest and other environmental changes. The CBERS-1, first of the series, was launched on October 14, 1999, using the same rocket Long March 4B and remained functional until August 2003.

The second satellite, CBERS-2, was launched in 2003 and was retired from service in January 2009, after the launch of CBERS-2B. The multilateral group of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, known as BRICS, is looking to chalk a framework to create remote-sensing satellites to observe Earth and share data among them. In 2018, the China National Space Administration said that each country will provide two satellites and CBERS will also be included. 

Read: Anti-CAA Protests Turn Violent In UP's Bulandshahr, Vehicle Set On Fire

Amazon fires in Brazil

The observation of Amazon rainforest is of utmost significance since there has been rampant deforestation due to fires. The deforestation in Amazon rainforest has surpassed 10,000 square kilometres within a year, the highest in more than a decade. As per the data generated by the Satellite Legal Amazon Deforestation Monitoring Project (PRODES), the total deforestation, between August 2017 and July 2018, in the world's largest rainforest was at 7,033 square kilometres. The mapping used Landsat or similar satellite images to record and quantify deforested areas larger than 6.25 hectares. 

Read: California: Firefighters Called To Rescue Dog Stuck On Tree After Chasing Cat

PRODES considers deforestation the complete removal of primary forest cover by clearcut, regardless of the future use of these areas. The annual PRODES deforestation rate has been used as an indicator for proposing public policies and for evaluating the effectiveness of their implementations. PRODES spatial data are used for certification of agribusiness production chains, intergovernmental agreements such as the United Nations Conference on Climate Change.

Read:  2 Firefighters Die, 3 Hurt As Wildfires Ravage Australia

Read: Deforestation In Amazon Jumps 100% In November Over Same Month Last Year

(With inputs from agencies)