Between 2 July and 30 September 2026, satellite alert systems recorded 52,415 high-confidence deforestation alerts across Kazumba, Kasaï-Central, covering 641.47 hectares. An independent optical check using Sentinel-2 imagery supports it: median greenness (NDVI) fell by -0.123 between May and September, with 99% and 100% of pixels usable, so cloud is not hiding the picture. The area carries protected-or-indigenous tags.
What this is not: it is not proof of illegal clearing. The alerts cannot tell apart legal clearing, fire, storm damage, selective logging or plantation harvest, and regrowth cycles can look like loss. The loss rate here is 0.957× the surrounding 25 km neighbourhood — slightly below the regional pace, not an outlier. An El Niño phase (ONI 1.8) can dry vegetation and push NDVI down on its own.
What would change our mind: concession and protected-area layers showing authorised activity; burn-scar or fire data matching the alert footprint; or follow-up imagery showing green returning, which would point to seasonal stress or regrowth rather than permanent clearing.
Written by AI, then checked by a separate reviewer before publication. Every claim points at the evidence below.