Blog Posts: mapping

Satellites have detected more than 1,000 active fire points around Fort McMurray, Canada in the last week. Data from the Global Forest Watch platform provides context on what's happening in these northern forests.

Under international human rights laws, indigenous communities must be able to approve any development project that directly affects their lands or resources. There are a few reasons why this doesn't always happen in practice.

Drained peatland caused by agricultural expansion is an important but little-known source of emissions in tropical regions. New WRI research finds that the annual emissions from peat drainage in Indonesia and Malaysia equate to emissions from nearly 70 coal plants, or the total annual emissions of Vietnam.

The Paris Agreement will only take effect once 55 countries representing at least 55 percent of global emissions sign and ratify it. WRI's new Paris Agreement Tracker monitors countries' progress toward joining the Agreement, and allows users to create, share and embed their own combinations for bringing it into force.

New satellite-based research shows that forest loss in tiger habitats was lower than expected, just 8 million hectares over the last 14 years, less than 8 percent of total tiger habitat. With the right conservation and monitoring, scientists say tiger populations can double or even triple in the coming decades.

Companies, especially those with consumer-facing brands, have become increasingly concerned about the reputational, operational and legal risks posed by deforestation. So some are seeking out ways to root it out of their supply chains.

Despite the fact the Indonesia's peatlands are a major carbon sink, we know surprisingly little about them—much of the information out there about their extent, thickness and change is inaccurate. The recently launched Indonesian Peat Prize aims to change that.

Today, more than 300 individuals and organizations launched the Global Call to Action on Indigenous and Community Land Rights. The campaign aims to double the amount of land legally recognized as owned or controlled by Indigenous Peoples and communities by 2020, and eventually, secure lands for all communities and Indigenous Peoples.

Nigel Sizer looks back on the past five years as director of WRI's Forests program. Starting next month, he'll take up his new role as president of the Rainforest Alliance.

New data on Global Forest Watch shows that in some of the world's most heavily forested nations, more than 90 percent of tree cover loss is happening in natural forests rather than plantations. That's a problem since natural forests, especially those in the tropics, provide much greater climate, biodiversity and water benefits over planted lands.