1. (Alphabetically) Dylan Becker and Rachel Shaffer
Plan Trifinio: Is Conservation for a Transnational Boundary Effective?
Context Methods
Study Site
Data
Preliminary Results
Future directions
We would like to thank our peers in GES 4090 at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs for their help in our research!
References
Acknowledgements
Figure 1:
The Trifinio Park Region is a transboundary
natural reserve that covers parts of
Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.
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Guatemala
Honduras
El Salvador
Central America
Park Region
Outside of Park
This study used satellite imagery, specifically MODIS Terra NDVI monthly composites, that was acquired
from the United States Geographical Survey Global Visualization Viewer (USGS Glovis) The spatial
resolution consists of 1km per pixel. The temporal resolution of the study extends from February 2000 to
December 2015. The shapefiles of the all the country boundaries used in the value extraction were all
derived from a World Countries shapefile, acquired from the Environmental Systems Research Institute
(ESRI), and the Trifinio boundary shapefile was acquired from the United Nations Educational, Scientific,
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) geoportal. The 10 kilometer buffer shapefile was created in ArcMap,
using the buffer and intersect tools on the country shapefiles and the Trifinio boundary shapefile.
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Change in Mean Annual NDVI Variance within Countries per YearChange in Mean Annual NDVI Reflectance within Countries per Year
Change in Mean Annual NDVI Reflectance within Countries per Year
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Inside of Park Boundary
for Each Country
Outside of Park Boundary
for Each Country
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Change in Mean Annual NDVI Reflectance per Year
Change in Mean Annual NDVI Variance (2000-2015)
The graphs displaying changes in mean annual NDVI
Reflectance gives an indication of the overall amount of
vegetation density within the landscape for each year. It is a
way to represent the averaged pixels from each month
within that year. The change in mean annual NDVI Variance
is representative of the degree of landscape heterogeneity
for each year. It is a way to express the variation of pixel
values within a raster dataset. By comparing the two, we
can come up with different conclusions about the landscape
of the Trifinio region. Together, a low mean and low
variance can represent degraded landscapes. Low mean
values with high variance indicates landscapes that may
possess a lot of bare ground. Landscapes with high mean
and low variance values suggests more vegetation cover for
that year (Cui, Gibbes, Southworth, & Waylen, 2013).
ChangeinNDVIVarianceReflectance
(micrometers)
Figure 8:
The following graphs measure the mean annual NDVI
(Normalized Vegetation Index) values and their average
monthly variance.
Note: The Mean Annual NDVI values are normalized, the
variance values are not, which is why micrometers for each
appears in different units.
Mean and Variance Charts
For future directions in research, the team would like to explore creating different maximum likelihood classifications that
better differentiate the landscape, in terms of defining more land cover classes, so that change in forest variation may also be
detected. This would allow the researchers to monitor the health of the forest over time and to determine areas that have
undergone forest degradation, deforestation, and reforestation. In conjunction with each county’s conservation policies, this
information could provide further insights into the Trifinio Plan’s efficacy in regards to transnational boundary conservation.
ChangeinNDVIReflectance
(micrometers)
In each image, the water class showed the least amount of change
across the study area over time. At a 1km spatial resolution on the
MODIS imagery, only large bodies of water appear on the maximum
likelihood classifications, which were expected to change very little
or not at all. The Land Cover Change from 2005 to 2010 image
shows a large amount of area that changed from minimal forest to
bare soil. It also shows a large area of dense forest cover that
changed to less dense forest cover. This can be attributed to the year
2010 being an exceptionally dry year for the Trifinio region, causing
drought during this time period, as the North American Drought
Monitor has indicated (National Integrated Drought Information
Systems, 2010). The regions that suffered the most from the
drought in 2010 had mostly recovered by 2015. There are also a lot
of interchanges between less dense forest and more dense forest
throughout the study period, where less dense forest will become
dense forest and vice versa. However, this does not account for
forest loss or gain, but shows an interclass variation between dense
and less dense forest cover due to variation in climate and
precipitation over time.
Figure 5:
Change in land
cover from 2000
to 2005 derived
from Maxlike
classifications
Figure 6:
Change in land
cover from 2005
to 2010 derived
from Maxlike
classifications
Figure 7:
Change in land
cover from 2010
to 2015 derived
from Maxlike
classifications
The Trifinio region is a protected area covering 7,500 square kilometers that lies in the upper
watershed of the Lempa River of Central America, spanning the national boundaries of Guatemala,
Honduras, and El Salvador. Trifinio is home to many species of indigenous flora and fauna, several of which
can be found on the endangered species list. Five types of forest are found in the region: cloud forests;
transitional forests; mixed forests consisting of pine and oak; sub-tropical dry forests; and tropical forests
(Artiga, 2003). These forests are characterized by pronounced seasonality in rainfall distribution with
several months of drought (Portillo-Quintero & Sanchez-Azofeifa, 2010). There are also several basins
found in the Trifinio region: the Lempa River basin, the only transnational watershed in Central America;
the basin of the Motagua River, which flows towards the Guatemalan territory; and the Ulúa River basin in
Honduras (Artiga, 2003).
As of the year 2000, the area boasted a population of 670,000 inhabitants, a density of about 89
people per square kilometer, with about 70% of the population living rurally (Artiga, 2003). Of the regions
inhabitants, 87% live in relative poverty and 53% live in extreme poverty, relying mostly on small
agriculture (Artiga, 2003). Over 75% of the Trifinio region is covered in mountains with shallow soils that
limit large scale agriculture, lending to the lack of productivity in the area (Artiga, 2003).
Only in recent years, the mid 1990s, has there been a systematic effort to place infrastructure such as
roads in the region (Artiga, 2003). The initiative to protect the environment of the region began with the
signing of the Esquipulas peace agreement in 1987 (Artiga, 2003). Conservation efforts were largely placed
on reforesting the area.
Globally, forest environments provide a myriad of human benefits at multiple spatial scales (Scullion,
Vogt, Sienkiewicz, Gmur, & Trujillo, 2014). The benefits of forest environments include timber, clean water,
and the delivery of ecosystem services, such as carbon cycling (Scullion, Vogt , Sienkiewicz, Gmur, & Trujillo,
2014). It is vital to preserve these ecosystem goods and services, as well as the biodiversity that they
encompass, for future generations and for the prosperity of life on this planet. By protecting forested areas
from anthropogenic threats, such as deforestation and mining, destruction of the ecosystem can be
prevented.
In recent years, there has been a rapid evolution in remote sensing of protected areas, exemplified by the
number of scientific articles and reviews that use satellite imagery to assess land cover and land cover
change, as well as techniques to model and monitor biodiversity and natural resource issues in individual
protected areas (Gillespie, Willis, & Ostermann-Kelm, 2015). Remote sensing can also provide an effective,
non-invasive means for monitoring the progress of protected areas and for observing conservation efforts
and the effects of climate change around the globe. This makes remote sensing a useful tool in the
conservationist’s arsenal.
The Trifinio region is a protected area that spans the national boundaries of three countries: Guatemala,
Honduras, and El Salvador. The Trifinio Plan, implemented in 1987, is a transnational conservation plan aimed
at protecting the Trifinio region through multinational cooperation amongst the three countries, and is the
only transnational conservation effort in Central America (Artiga, 2003). If proven effective, The Trifinio Plan
could serve as a model for the conservation and preservation of diverse forest ecosystems in other parts of
the world that span international boundaries. Furthermore, this effort could provide a model for international
cooperation in regards to global conservation efforts. This research attempted to determine the effectiveness
of each country’s individual conservation efforts to evaluate the efficiency of transnational boundary
conservation within the region for the years 2000 to 2015. Factors that were taken into account were
anthropogenic as well as climatic changes in the Trifinio environment.
Artiga, R. (2003). The Case of the Trifinio Plan in the Upper Lempa: Opportunities and Challenges for the Shared Management of Central American Transnational
Basins. UNESCO.
Cui, X., Gibbes, C., Southworth, J., & Waylen, P. (2013). Using Remote Sensing to Quantify Vegetation Change and Ecological Resilience in a Semi-Arid System. Land, 108-130.
Gillespie, T. W., Katherine, W. S., & Ostermann-Kelm, S. (2014). Spaceborne Remote Sensing of the World's Protected Areas. Progress in Physical Geography, 388-404.
National Integrated Drought Information Systems. (2010). North American Drought Monitor. Retrieved from North American Drought Portal:
http://www.drought.gov/nadm/
Portillo-Quintero, C. A., & Sanchez-Azofeifa, G. A. (2010). Extent and Conservation of Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas. Biological Conservation, 144-155.
Scullion, J. J., Vogt, K. A., Sienkiewicz, A., Gmur, S. J., & Trujillo, C. (2014). Assessing the Influence of Land-Cover Change and Conflicting Land-Use Authorizations on
Ecosystem Conversion on the Forest Frontier of Madre de Dios, Peru. Biological Conservation, 247-258.
Figure 2:
2001 Mean Annual NDVI with
Trifinio Boundaries
Figure 3:
2001 Variance Image with
Trifinio Boundaries
Figure 4:
Analysis of change using 2001 Maximum
Likelihood Classification based on Mean
Annual NDVI Images
Trifinio Region as a Whole
Change in Mean Annual NDVI Variance within Countries per Year
ChangeinNDVIReflectance
(micrometers)
ChangeinNDVIReflectance
(micrometers)
ChangeinNDVIVarianceReflectance
(micrometers)
ChangeinNDVIVarianceReflectance
(micrometers)
Department of Geography and
Environmental Studies
Cui, X., Gibbes, C., Southworth, J., & Waylen, P. (2013). Using Remote Sensing to Quantify Vegetation Change and Ecological Resilience in a Semi-Arid System. Land, 108-130.