IMAZON

Overview

Imazon (Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia - Institute of Man and Environment of the Amazon) is an independent Brazilian research organization that produces its own deforestation monitoring and analysis.

This dataset provides:

Municipality-level deforestation pressure classification: Risk assessment of deforestation threat
Pressure categories: Three-level classification system (0, 1, 2, 3) representing deforestation pressure intensity
Geographic coverage: Municipalities in the Legal Amazon region
Municipal boundaries: Provided as spatial features (shapefile format)
Policy-relevant indicator: Used in environmental monitoring and policy assessments

Imazon’s deforestation pressure index helps identify which municipalities face high deforestation risk, valuable for targeted conservation, enforcement, and development planning.

Data Source

Imazon’s classification is based on: - Deforestation monitoring using satellite imagery - Analysis of deforestation trends and drivers - Risk assessment methodology to classify municipalities - Regular updates as monitoring data accumulates

For more information, visit Imazon Official Website.

Available Dataset

imazon_shp (Imazon Municipality Pressure Index)

Municipality-level deforestation pressure classification with spatial geometries.

Geographic unit: Brazilian municipalities
Coverage: Legal Amazon municipalities
Variables: Municipality name, state, deforestation pressure category (0-3)
Data format: Shapefile / Simple Features (SF) spatial objects
Update frequency: Periodic updates as Imazon releases new assessments
Use cases:
- Identify high-risk deforestation municipalities
- Target conservation resources to threatened areas
- Analyze geographic patterns of deforestation pressure
- Environmental risk assessment
- Monitoring enforcement effectiveness
- Correlate pressure with socioeconomic variables

Deforestation Pressure Categories

Function Parameters

1. dataset

Only one dataset is available:

dataset = "imazon_shp"  # Imazon municipality pressure classification

2. raw_data

Controls whether to download the original data or the processed/cleaned version.

TRUE: Returns raw shapefile data exactly as provided by Imazon
FALSE: Returns treated data with standardized English variable names, consistent formatting, and SF object structure

raw_data = FALSE  # logical

3. language

Output language for variable names and documentation.

"pt": Portuguese
"eng": English

language = "eng"  # character string

Examples

# download treated Imazon deforestation pressure data
data <- load_imazon(
  raw_data = FALSE,
  language = "eng"
)

Data Notes

Data Format

Shapefile format: Returned as Simple Features (SF) spatial objects
Geometric representation: Municipality polygons with pressure classification
Attributes: Municipality name, state, pressure category

Pressure Categories

The 0-3 scale represents Imazon’s assessment of deforestation risk: - Based on historical deforestation trends - Current forest cover - Accessibility and economic drivers - Human pressure factors

Important Limitations

Static classification: This is a classification/index, not time-series deforestation data
Methodology may change: Imazon’s methodology for calculating pressure may be updated
Subjective risk assessment: Classification involves judgment in addition to objective metrics
Not current alerts: This is not real-time detection like DETER; it’s a classification product
Municipal-level only: Finer spatial resolution not available

Using with Other Datasets

This dataset works well in combination with: - DETER: Compare pressure classification with actual recent deforestation - DEGRAD: Correlate pressure with degradation patterns - CEMPRE: Analyze relationship between employment and deforestation pressure - COMEX: Examine trade patterns in high-pressure vs low-pressure areas