Sumatra's Leuser Ecosystem is the last place on Earth where rhinos, elephants, sun bears and orangutans live in the wild, but it's threatened by logging, road development poaching and illegal mining. Global Forest Watch works with local partner HAkA to protect this distinctive area's environment.
Satellite and other data reveal where restoring degraded landscapes could help improve food security in Malawi.
Cinderella’s job in the household included cleaning the ashes from the fireplace – exactly the role forests play for Earth by absorbing fossil fuels' carbon emissions. Yet much like Cinderella, forests remain underappreciated.
Small farmers could be key actors in reforming Indonesia's palm oil industry, which has been linked to child and forced labor, deforestation and the demise of iconic species like orangutans. But they can't do it without support from government and corporations.
From clean water provision to storm protection, forests provide benefits for everyone—even those who live in the concrete jungle.
GLAD alerts on Global Forest Watch can spot changes in forests around the globe, showing forest regions at risk now in Indonesia, Cameroon and Brazil.
Most climate change solutions focus on mitigation—ways to slash emissions as quickly as possible, such as by adopting renewable energy. But research shows these aren't enough. To prevent the worst impacts of climate change, the world will need to reach net-negative emissions, a point at which we're actually removing more carbon from the air than we're putting in.
Drought is fueling water shortages and food insecurity in Karangazi, Rwanda. Jean Baptise Mutabaruka knows that planting trees would help his community, but he's struggled to find funding.
Forested nations like Gabon are just starting to develop commodities like palm oil. But as more companies commit to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains, will Gabon get left behind?
Indonesia’s Geospatial Information Agency will announce results this week of a competition for mapping the nation’s peat. The winning team will receive $1 million. The world will receive the information it needs to start protecting these carbon-rich wetlands.
Parts of the United States are experiencing blizzard and frigid temperatures, possibly spurred by climatic changes. It's reminiscent of the types of extreme conditions we witnessed over and over last year.
Despite recent policies, Indonesia is still losing billions from unreported and illegally sourced timber. Tougher law enforcement could help.
Indigenous Peoples and local communities are the world’s secret weapon to preserve forests and mitigate climate change, and LandMark — the first global platform to provide maps of collectively held indigenous and community lands — helps measure their impact.
New data on the LandMark platform backs up what research already shows: Indigenous Peoples and local communities are some of the best environmental stewards.
While restoring degraded landscapes yields $7-$30 for every $1 invested, it still isn't receiving the funding it needs. That's where governments come in.
Deforestation from road building or expanding plantations isn’t typically spotted until a sizable patch of land disappears. But now satellites are watching.
This paper lays out a methodology for filtering millions of weekly deforestation alerts in order to find the most concerning areas of forest clearing.
Countries considering open data policies have to guard against falsification and misuse, but there are clear ways to avoid these problems.
New research from WRI and others shows that stopping deforestation, restoring forests and improving forestry practices could cost-effectively remove 7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, or as much as eliminating 1.5 billion cars.
Forests are more important to climate action than most people appreciate, argues Frances Seymour. They're a cheaper way to reduce emissions, and we already have the political frameworks in place to reduce deforestation.