The demarcation of permanent preservation areas is a complex process, jeopardizing both the surveillance tasks and law enforcement. This paper presents a GIS-based alternative to the traditional labor-intensive approach - manual features extraction using paper maps and photogrammetry techniques. The methodology relies on the new recent concept of hydrologically correct digital elevation models and has as principal advantages the consistency and reproducibility of the results, besides savings on both time and labor. Considering the recent availability by NASA of SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) data on a continental scale, the results clearly show that, from now on, the enforcement of the Forest Code in Brazil is just a matter of political willingness.
Permanent preservation areas; environmental legislation; watershed management
