A global monitoring system allows users to monitor deforestation around the world in near-real time. Global Forest Watch was developed by more than 40 organizations concerned about the loss of trees around the world.
Researchers estimate the Earth lost 568 million acres of wild forest between 2000 and 2012. This is equivalent to cutting down 50 soccer fields of trees every second for 12 years. During those years, nearly 200 million acres of new forest was planted. This makes it difficult to calculate where deforestation is occurring. The new system compiles 500 million satellite photographs from NASA's Landsat program with ground reports from observers. The data is merged on the internet cloud by the Google Earth Engine.
University of Maryland researchers created the new computer code needed to track the loss of forests. Global Forest Watch is backed by Google, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and dozens of other organizations, including European food producer Unilever and Nestle. Those two corporations were among businesses pledging to not use palm oil collected from lands that were virgin rain forest.
"Deforestation poses a material risk to businesses that rely on forest-linked crops. Exposure to that risk has the potential to undermine the future of businesses... [T]he launch of Global Forest Watch - a fantastic, innovative tool - will provide the information we urgently need to make the right decisions," Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, said.
Changes in growth can be seen with a resolution of 100 feet. Tree loss in the tropics will be measured with a detail of 1600 feet.
Community groups and organizations are being encouraged to send photos and video to the site. Some small groups are reporting loss of forests to watchdogs groups. Members of the Paiter Surui culture are using cells phones and GPS to report examples of deforestation.
"[M]any governments like Indonesia and the Democratic Republic of Congo welcome Global Forest Watch because it can help them design smarter policies, enforce forest laws, detect illegal forest clearing, manage forests more sustainably, and achieve conservation and climate goals," World Resources Institute wrote in a press release.
Much of the deforestation taking place today is never recorded, and those carrying out the destruction are not held accountable. Using the new database, government agencies and private organizations can be put on alert when the loss of forests is taking place. Likewise, countries and private land owners planting new coverage can be acknowledged. The American government, along with agencies from Britain and Norway, provided grants for the project.
The new map is free to use, and requires no special knowledge to use. Members of the public are encouraged to view the chart on the Global Forest Watch Web site.
