The Standard method—forest cover change describes the process used by the INCAS remote-sensing programme, known as the Land Cover Change Analysis (LCCA) programme, to monitor changes in forest cover in Indonesia. The LCCA is designed to provide a wall-to-wall, spatially detailed monitoring of Indonesia’s forest changes over time.
The objective of the LCCA is to produce annual maps of national forest extent and change from Landsat imagery time series. Annual maps of forest extent and change have been completed for the 13-year period 2000–2012 based on regional analyses, i.e. Kalimantan, Sumatra, Papua, Sulawesi, Java, Nusa Tenggara, and Maluku Islands, using a nationally consistent methodology. Analysis of 2013 and 2014 data is currently underway.
National, fully spatial, temporally consistent, annual forest cover change is analysed by LAPAN using remote-sensing data in consultation with national experts with on-ground experience. These observed changes in forest cover allow for consistent monitoring of changes in forest cover over time.
Sources of data and methods used for analysis and generating annual forest extent and changes in Indonesia under the LCCA programme are described in LAPAN (2014) The Remote Sensing Monitoring Program of Indonesia’s National Carbon Accounting System: Methodology and Products, Version 1. Full publication available here.
The A summary of the Standard method—forest cover change is available here .