A total of 15 projects were selected; the award recognizes initiatives that use platform data in high-impact solutions
July 20, 2025
The winners of the 7th edition of the MapBiomas Award were announced on July 7, during the 1st MapBiomas User Summit, held at Insper in São Paulo, which brought together users of the platform. This year’s edition recognized nine works and also granted honorable mentions to six other projects.
The award recognizes works—articles, dissertations, studies, and other projects—that utilize the platform's data to generate impacts in the areas of conservation, sustainable management, and the fight against climate change.
A total of 180 applications were received across the categories: General, Youth, School Applications, Business Applications, Public Policy Applications, Fighting Deforestation, and Climate Emergency.
Biologist Hugo Fernandes, a professor at the Federal University of Ceará (UFCE) and director of Seteg, invited to participate in the award's opening, stated that it is high time to address solutions to current challenges. “I am tired of talking about apocalypses; I want to talk about solutions. And what is this award if not a recognition of the effort of those who want to solve the crises we are living through today?” he asked.
The 7th MapBiomas Award distributed a total of R$ 90,000. Each winner also received an annual digital subscription to Ciência Hoje magazine, as well as a scholarship for a geoprocessing course on satellite imagery using Google Earth Engine, promoted by Solved, and the production of a short video about their work.
Meet the winning projects and their authors or representatives by category below.
See how the award ceremony went here.
GENERAL CATEGORY
1st Place
Pollination ecosystem service potential in the state of São Paulo
Eduardo Freitas Moreira & Rafael Barreiro Chaves et al. (University of São Paulo and Semil)
2nd Place
The ineffectiveness of current environmental and fire policies in the world’s largest wetland
Lucas Barros da Rosa, Luiza Moura Peluso, Priscila Lemes et al. (University of British Columbia)
Honorable Mention
Thirty years of vertical and horizontal expansion in Brazilian cities
Guilherme Iablonovski, Henrique Evers (WRI Brasil)
YOUTH CATEGORY
1º lugar
Explorando variáveis topográficas na análise de susceptibilidade a erosão linear Laudier Lopes Abreu & Édipo Herique Cremon (Instituto Federal de Goiás)
2º lugar
Can pasture recovery curb deforestation in Brazil? Evidence from a dynamic model
Shai Oliveira Vaz & Marcelo Sant’Anna (Fundação Getulio Vargas)
Honorable Mention
Alerta vermelho: subsidiando estrategicamente a prevenção de dengue com IA em Sergipe
Dulce Maria Trindade Vilanova, Mariana Santos Rodrigues, Irene Barbosa da Fonseca Teixeira (Universidade Federal de Sergipe)
CATEGORIA APLICAÇÕES EM ESCOLAS
WINNER
Letramento científico na formação cidadã: jovens lideranças em prol da recuperação de nascentes
Alice Arantes Carneiro (Colégio Católica Padre de Man)
Honorable Mention
MapBiomas como material para Olimpíada Brasileira de Restauração de Ecossistemas
Cinthia Rodrigues Grecco, Giuliana do Vale Milani, Annebelle Rene Andria (Quero na Escola)
CATEGORIA APLICAÇÕES EM NEGÓCIOS
WINNER
Potencial de carbono
Tatyana Maya Okano, Bruno Reis de Franca, Caio Cesar Dantas et al. (Banco do Brasil)
Honorable Mention
Large-scale forest restoration generates comprehensive biodiversity gains in na Amazonian mining site
Priscila Sanjuan de Medeiros Sarmento, Markus Gastauer, Taise Pinheiro (Instituto Tecnológico Vale)
CATEGORIA APLICAÇÕES EM POLÍTICAS PÚBLICAS
WINNER
Plataforma Ecológico-Econômica de Pernambuco
Governo do estado de Pernambuco (Agência Estadual de Meio Ambiente – CPRH)
Honorable Mention
Plataforma de Áreas Restauráveis em Unidades de Conservação do Estado de São Paulo
Paulo Guilherme Molin, Paulo André Tavares, Patrick Faria Fernandes (UFSCar)
CATEGORIA EMERGÊNCIA CLIMÁTICA
WINNER
A nature-based solutions framework for managing environmental disaster risks
Viviane Dib da Silva, Fernando Resende, Stella Manes et al. (Instituto Internacional para Sustentabilidade)
Honorable Mention
Coastal resilience and adaptation strategies: Natural habitats for coastal protection and Atlantic forest restoration on the coast of the Rio de Janeiro state
Igor Rodrigues Henud, Alain Alves Póvoa, Mariana Gonçalves Tavares (Universidade Federal Fluminense)
CATEGORIA COMBATE AO DESMATAMENTO
WINNER
El epicentro de la deforestación em Bolivia: impactos socioecológicos e impunidade em San Ignacio de Velasco
Carlos Eduardo Quezada Lambertin, Roberto Navia, Stanislaw Czaplicki (Universidad Católica Boliviana & Revista Nómadas)