Global Forest Watch
Global Forest watch is a free web based mapping platform that provides near real-time forest monitoring data.
URL
https://www.globalforestwatch.org/
Description
Global Forest Watch offers a wide range of data layers which can be visualized on a map. The data is organized into five sections "Forest Change", "Land Cover", "Land Use", "Climate" and "Biodiversity".
Forest Change
The main focus of the map is to monitor forest change by showing where trees are disappearing (or appearing) in many areas across the world. It also offers country insights, for instance for Brazil, Cambodia, Peru and Indonesia.
Within the "Forest Change" section, users can activate more data layers, namely "tree cover change", "disturbance alerts" and "fires":
Tree cover change
Global Forest Watch (GFW) provides comprehensive data on tree cover loss and gain over time.
The Tree Cover Loss data, derived from annual satellite analysis (primarily Landsat imagery), tracks where forest cover has disappeared year by year since 2000. This data has a spatial resolution of 30 meters and includes global coverage, excluding some of the driest areas where tree cover is minimal. Users can view yearly loss, compare change over decades, and analyze potential drivers of tree cover loss.
Tree Cover Gain data shows where forests have regrown or expanded between 2000 and 2012. Although updated less frequently than loss data, this layer helps provide a more complete picture of forest dynamics.
Disturbance alerts
GFW offers types of disturbance alerts that notify users when potential deforestation or degradation might affects forests. The alerts are coming from satellite data that detect changes in the forest cover.
There are three disturbance alerts:
Integrated deforestation alerts: Those alerts are using an integrated layer called GLAD (Global Land Analysis and Discovery) deforestation alerts. These alerts are updated weekly and are based on 30-meter resolution imagery from the Landsat satellite program, which detects sudden changes in vegetation that indicate tree cover loss. GLAD alerts are available globally and are especially useful in tropical forests.
Another key type of disturbance alert is RADD (Radar for Detecting Deforestation). Unlike optical satellite sensors, RADD alerts are based on radar imagery from the Sentinel-1 satellite, which can penetrate cloud cover and collect data in all weather conditions. These alerts are available every 5 to 12 days and offer a finer resolution (10 meters).
The coverage of said tree loss covers a time frame of two years.
The system also provides a global vegetation disturbance alert but for now this alert remains under construction without any statistics or analysis being shared through the map. There is also a "places to watch" alert where mongabay reporting, oil palm and soy incidents that are linked to deforestation appear in the map.
Fires
GFW also provides detailed monitoring of active fires, which are a major cause of forest degradation and greenhouse gas emissions. The fire alerts come from NASA’s VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) satellite sensor and are updated several times daily.
These VIIRS active fire alerts identify thermal anomalies—or “hotspots”—that are likely to be caused by open burning, including wildfires, slash-and-burn agriculture, or land-clearing fires. With a resolution of approximately 375 meters, these alerts offer global coverage and are essential for detecting both natural and human-induced fires.
On the GFW map, users can view fire alerts in near real time, filter by date, and overlay them with other data layers such as forest cover, protected areas, or concession boundaries. This helps users determine whether fires are occurring in sensitive or high-risk areas.
Land Cover
Land Cover provides essential spatial data about what types of natural or human-altered surfaces exist across the globe. On the left-hand side of the GFW map interface, under the “Land Cover” section, users can select from multiple global and regional datasets.
These layers can be toggled on/off and displayed simultaneously with forest change data, protected areas, concessions, and other relevant features.
For certain land cover datasets, the Land Cover section lets users view data by year (e.g., to see land cover classification from 2015 through 2022), using the timeline slider.
Users can also adjust the opacity of the land cover layers and rearrange their layer order in the map interface, allowing for better comparison between multiple datasets.
The map’s Analysis Tool lets users draw a custom area, upload a shapefile, or select predefined administrative/ecological zones (like countries or river basins). GFW then calculates the distribution of land cover classes within the selected region.
Land Use
Land use refers to how humans utilize land for various activities such as agriculture, forestry, conservation, mining, and infrastructure. The GFW map offers multiple data layers showing the spatial distribution of economic activities and land management designations.
On the left-hand side of the GFW map interface, under the “Land Cover” section, users can toggle on or off various dataset layers.
Climate
The "Climate" section of the Global Forest Watch Map is designed to help users understand the relationship between forests and climate change. It provides access to datasets related to carbon stocks, carbon emissions, forest carbon flux, and forest carbon offsets.
Climate layers can be overlaid with forest change data (e.g., tree cover loss) or land use layers (e.g., concessions, protected areas) to evaluate the potential climate impact of land-use change.
Biodiversity
The Biodiversity section of the Global Forest Watch Map offers data and tools to help users understand how forest ecosystems support global biodiversity. These datasets provide visual insights into species richness, habitat ranges, conservation priorities, and threats to biodiversity.
Biodiversity layers can be combined with forest change data, land use data, and protection status to identify at-risk ecosystems or areas where conservation is urgently needed. While biodiversity data is generally static or updated periodically (not annually), users can still assess changes by overlaying recent forest loss or fire alerts over biodiversity layers.
Cost
Level of difficulty
Requirements
There are no requirements for using this tool. You can explore features such as deforestation, fires, land cover, land use, biodiversity, and weather data from 2001 on (in most of the regions) without creating an user account. However, researchers who want to optimize their research can create an account using their e-mail address which them to sign up for alerts in an area of interest, analyze data, and receive email notifications when new alerts are available.
Limitations
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Ethical Considerations
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Guide
Global Forest Watch provides a step-by-step guide on how to use the map.
The Global Forest Watch Fire Report Map is mentioned in Wim Zwijnenburg's Bellingcat article Black Gold Burning: In Search Of South Sudan’s Oil Pollution
Tool provider
The World Resources Institute (WRI).
Advertising Trackers
Bellingcat Volunteer Team
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