Forest in South America (excluding Brazil) is 2,500,000 
square quilometers large and even a little greater when all 
the measurements shall be completed. This huge system 
is covered by 156 nominal LANDSAT full frames. 
In order to have a complete coverage of each country in 
two periods the Project requested 350 images INPE- 
Brazil (270), EOSAT-USA(80) and Cotopaxi-Ecuador 
(2). the number of images that were distributed to 
Panamazonia countries. Just 28 images from both periods 
(7% of the images) were not available due to excessive 
cloud coverage (limit of clouds: 40%) 
Typical patterns of deforestation widely distributed in 
Brazil have not been found in others South American 
countries. This is the case of the large farmlands widely 
spread in the Brazilian Amazonia. They were not 
depicted elsewhere in the Panamazonia counbtries. The 
fish ribbon-like pattern of landuse widely distributed also 
in Brazil is not found too. Out of Brazil the settlers work 
in smaller sites. Growing settlements can be found in 
Bolivia (Cochabamba and Santa Cruz de la Sierra), Peru 
(Pucalpa and Iquitos), Ecuador (Napo Headwaters), 
Colombia (Guaviare and Caqueta Headwaters). 
The partial results indicate that the numbers for 
deforestation in South America issued elsewhere (e.g. 
FAO, Friends of Earth} for Bolivia between the periods 
of 1984 to 1991 were 300% overestimated. Other partial 
results of Peru, Colombia and Venezuela are indicating 
that the numbers for the deforestation in South America 
must be reviewed. This revision must to be done taking 
in account new technological capabilities as GIS and 
orbital all weather Remote Sensing devices. 
5. NEW FEATURES 
Spectral and temporal attributes of Remote Sensing data 
have shown new features mostly within the Brazilian 
bounds. These features are indicating an expantion in 
ore/oil exploitation and increased actions of gold miners. 
Waterscape changes for instance that were detected in 
Xingu and Tapajos rivers are due to the digging of gold 
bearing alluvia. Coarsed sediments digged and washed 
out from the alluvial banks are changing clean and fresh- 
water rivers into turbid and muddy streams. Images have 
shown that typical digging signatures are drifting from 
the exhausted gold gravels of Carajas-Serra Pelada to the 
North of Mato Grosso State and to the South of Para 
State. 
Environmental damages otherwise are not the case for the 
large and well planned projects of ore exploitation such 
are Pitinga (Tin), Trometas (bauxite) and Carajas (Fe, 
Mn, Ni, Au). These projects have grown without 
significant damages except for those due to the 
exploration fo the sorrounding overburden. Shortwaye 
infrared images of those sites have shown no impacts in 
the waterscapes that sorround the open pitch mines 
Brazilian Oil Company has recently measured giga cubic 
meters of gas in the headwaters of Tefe River in the State 
of Amazonas and potential oil trappings have also been 
mapped. Geophysical and Geological prospecting have 
let some surprising features within the forest and they 
were clearly registered in the images as delta wing-like 
patterns. 
Except for spectral bands, the temporal attributes are the 
key elements to monitor the land and the waterscapes of 
the Panamazonia countries. To track timely and 
effectively the enviromental changes in this region one 
must to gain high experience in analysing and integrating 
the data collected by current all weather Remote Sensing 
satellites . That is de coming purpose of the Panamazonia 
scientific team. 
6. SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 
ENRIC, 1994. A Source Book on Tropical Forest 
Mapping Trough Satellite Imagery: the Status of Current 
International Efforts. | Environmental and Natural 
Resources Information Center (ENRIC). Arlington, VA- 
USA 
FAO. 1988. An Interim Report on the State of the Forest 
Resources in the Developing Countries. Forest Resources 
Division. Rome 
Girou D.; Lamotte G..1994. Guyane Francaise-Projet 
Panamazonia 1993. Ecole Nationale de Genie Rural des 
Eaux et des Forets (ENGREF). Centre de Kourou. 
Kourou, Departement du Guyane, France. 
INPE, 1994. Technical Cooperation and Training within 
the Panamazonia Project: a Proposal to UNEP. Brazilian 
National Institute of Space Research (INPE). Sao Jose 
dos Campos, SP, Brazil 
Martini P.R., 1992. Panamazonia Project: an Executive 
Report. Sociedad de Especialistas Latinoamericano en 
Percepcion Remota SELPER Newsletter 8 (1) pp.8-12. 
Martini PR, 1993. Panamazonia Project to Monitor South 
America Tropical Forest. In: Memories of VI Latin 
America Remote Sensing Symposium. Cartagena de 
Indias, Colombia, pp. 25-29. 
Melo Wilches H.. 1993. Proyecto de Monitoreo de la 
Influencia Humana en la Deforestacion de la Cuenca del 
Amazonas. In: Abstracts of. VI Latin America Remote 
Sensing Symposium, Cartagena de Indias. Colombia. 
p.169. 
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International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B7. Vienna 1996