WRI Insights

Updated maps of forest damage can take years to produce, making it difficult to know where to focus limited enforcement efforts. But it doesn't have to be this way, thanks to advances in technology. [Global Forest Watch](http://www.globalforestwatch.org/), the near-real time forest monitoring application released by WRI and partners last week, is powered in part by FORMA, a monitoring system that issues monthly forest loss alerts for the [humid tropics](http://worldwildlife.org/biomes/tropical-and-subtropical-moist-broadleaf-forests) in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. FORMA (FORest Monitoring for Action) is designed to help people managing forests respond more quickly to unwanted forest loss. Learn more about the system through our new [issue brief](http://www.wri.org/publication/satellite-based-forest-clearing-detection-brazilian-amazon).

Clearing land for timber and agriculture is likely to blame for Indonesia's latest bout of fires. According to data from [Global Forest Watch](http://www.globalforestwatch.org/)—a new online system that tracks tree cover change, fires, and other information in near-real time—**roughly half of these fires are burning on land managed by oil palm, timber, and logging companies**—despite the fact that using fire to clear land is illegal in Indonesia.

In the world of forestry, bamboo doesn’t always get the credit it deserves. Dismissed as a weed or marginalized in traditional forest management, bamboo could actually play an important role in [forest and landscape restoration](http://www.wri.org/our-work/project/forest-and-landscape-restoration). With adequate attention, investment, and the right standards in place, it could become a major renewable and sustainable crop—if we can update our outmoded view of it.

Last week, President Obama [directed](http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/02/18/remarks-president-fuel-efficiency-standards-medium-and-heavy-duty-vehicl) his administration to set new fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, including large pick-up trucks, school buses, and tractors. Improving fuel efficiency standards from these vehicles—which make up 20 percent of U.S. transport emissions—can not only rein in emissions, it can help consumers save money at the gas pump.

U.S. [manufacturing](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-02/u-s-ism-manufacturing-index-fell-to-57-in-december-from-57-3.html)—and the jobs that go with it—have been steadily increasing since 2010. The future of U.S. manufacturing jobs is not set in stone—it will be highly influenced by company investments and new policies. As policymakers, private companies, and industry stakeholders turn their attention to the ongoing resurgence of U.S. manufacturing, policy and private sector programs are available to generate the [Good Jobs, Green Jobs](http://www.greenjobsconference.org/program/workshops/monday/capturing-opportunities-in-u-s-clean-energy-manufacturing) needed to sustain American prosperity.

With [Global Forest Watch](http://globalforestwatch.org), everyone from business executives to policymakers to indigenous groups can find out what’s happening in forests around the world—and use this information to take action. Now that we have the ability to peer into forests around the globe, a number of telling stories are beginning to emerge. Learn more about how you can make your own map, [here](/resources/videos/global-forest-watch-tutorial-overview).

We know remarkably little about what is happening to forests. This information gap is a key reason why [the world loses](http://www.wri.org/blog/new-high-resolution-forest-maps-reveal-world-loses-50-soccer-fields-trees-minute) 50 soccer fields’ of forests every minute of every day. But it’s also a gap that’s about to become significantly more narrow with the launch of [Global Forest Watch](http://www.globalforestwatch.org/) today.

Governments, businesses, development agencies, and NGOs are increasingly turning to [economic valuation](http://www.wri.org/blog/does-economic-valuation-really-influence-coastal-policy) as a way to protect coral reefs and mangroves. This process makes the economic case for protection and sustainable use of natural resources by showing the monetary, employment, and infrastructure benefits ecosystems provide—metrics that are easily understood by decision-makers. But not all economic valuations are created equal. WRI's [new guidebook](http://www.wri.org/publication/coastal-capital-guidebook) shows how NGOs and other stakeholders can conduct economic valuations in ways that lead to real change on the ground.

More than [70 percent of the world’s population](http://www.who.int/gho/urban_health/situation_trends/urban_population_growth_text/en/) will live in cities by 2050. Cities represent the single-greatest opportunity for targeted, meaningful actions that create impact on the ground, improve the quality of life for billions of people, and reduce the risks of climate change. This opportunity was a key theme at the C40 Mayors Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The [Green Climate Fund (GCF)](http://www.wri.org/blog/green-climate-fund-inception-launch-0) has big ambitions: It aspires to become the [main global fund](http://gcfund.net/fileadmin/00_customer/documents/pdf/GCF-governing_instrument-120521-block-LY.pdf) for providing climate change finance, contributing to activities like the design of resilient cities and the expansion of low-emission power generation. While the GCF Board should be ambitious and innovative, they can also look to what’s been done before. Drawing knowledge from the experiences of other critical climate and development funds is one way to ensure that the GCF succeeds.