A global coalition of partners, led by World Resources Institute (WRI), have launched a dynamic online forest monitoring and alert system meant to empower governments, local communities, the private sector, academics and civil society to track forest change.
20 February 2014: A global coalition of partners, led by World Resources Institute (WRI), has launched an online forest monitoring and alert system meant to empower governments, local communities, the private sector, academics and civil society to track forest change.
The system, Global Forest Watch, combines satellite data on a range of forest indicators with spatial information on land uses and crowd sourced information to create a platform for monitoring the world’s forests. The free platform aims to put decision-relevant information in the hands governments, companies, non-governmental organizations and the public. The online website allows users to identify particular geographic areas of interest and to receive updates when new information emerges. The tool has particular relevance to tracking deforestation associated with climate change.
This Global Forest Watch 2.0 revives the original Global Forest Watch concept that began in 1997 to establish a monitoring network around the world. The development of Global Forest Watch was supported by numerous international donors and partners including the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Google and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). [WRI News] [GEF Video Release] [UNEP Press Release] [Global Forest Watch]