The 2015 data on tree cover loss has been added to Global Forest Watch. Here's what we learned.
Russia
Under Russia's new post-2020 climate change commitment, the country could actually increase its emissions 40-50 percent above current levels by 2030.
Russia and Canada experienced massive tree cover loss in 2011-2013, with annual losses in their northern forests equal to an area the size of Ireland, mostly due to forest fires, according to new satellite data from WRI’s Global Forest Watch.
Groups call for redoubled effort to protect last great forest wilderness sites
Editor’s Note: To view the Intact Forest Landscape mapping methods and findings please visit: www.intactforests.org.
B ЧЁМ НАША ГЛАВНАЯ ИДЕЯ? (Pусский)
Global Forest Watch (GFW) is a forthcoming initiative that seeks to revolutionize the global fight against deforestation by mobilizing new technologies and human networks to provide timely information on the state of the world's forests.
Weaving the Net
Climate Change, Complex Crises and Household Resilience
Complex crises produce impacts that cascade across space and time in unpredictable ways, and create severe hardship among vulnerable groups in developing countries. This paper uses the food crisis of 2008 as a basis for...
A recent incident at Lumber Liquidators highlights how alleged ties to illegally harvested woods can negatively impact business. Moreover, it shows that the U.S. Lacey Act—which bans trafficking of illegally sourced wood and paper products—is continuing to crack down on suspected illicit activity. It’s important that companies take note—and take action.
Photo Credit: mr. Wood/Flickr
What Gets Mapped Gets Managed in Russia
Many nations struggle with how to manage and protect their natural resources—resources that are frequently the source of significant biological and economic value. Russia can better protect its important nature conservation areas, thanks to a new map and data set developed by WRI and Global Forest Watch Russia. This map provides the most comprehensive view of all of Russia’s federal-level protected areas. Now, the Ministry for Natural Resources can better monitor activities where logging and mining is allowed, and stop activities in pristine and protected areas. Already, Megatron, a Russian oil company, has changed the boundaries of its drilling concession where they overlapped a protected area.
Russia Protects Its Ancient Forests
Russia’s forests are the largest in the world. Stretching from the Baltic to the Sea of Japan, they encompass the last wild forests of Europe, make up the vast wilderness of Siberia, and provide habitat for the highly endangered Siberian tiger.
In recent decades, road-building, logging, and wildfires have increasingly degraded these ancient and previously largely intact forests. To protect some particularly valuable forests, the Russian government used data provided by Global Forest Watch Russia, a partnership between WRI and several Russian forest conservation groups.
Dr. Lars Laestadius leads WRI’s work in Russia. “The Russian government’s attitude toward non-governmental organizations is very cautious, but, at the same time, it realizes they have unique biodiversity data and maps on the country’s forests. Using satellite imagery and field visits, the Global Forest Watch Russia network mapped conservation values in Russia’s forests and made the results publicly available.”
These maps influenced the Russian government as it prioritized new areas for protection and drew the boundaries of three new national parks. Similarly, the forest-rich Republic of Karelia bordering Finland relied on Global Forest Watch Russia maps and data for its new forest plan, which outlines thirteen new protected areas and identifies future areas for protection.
In Eastern Europe and Latin America all measured countries show a top-heavy BOP spending pattern, illustrated here by Russia.
