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VIDEO: Patrol the Leuser Ecosystem with Forest Defenders at HAkA
It’s the last place on Earth where orangutans, Sumatran rhinos and elephants and tigers still roam wild together, and it’s under threat. The Leuser ecosystem in Indonesia is a hotspot for biodiversity and a vital carbon sink, but encroachment from logging and oil palm and rubber plantations is eating away at the forest. Forest, Nature and Environment of Aceh (HAkA), an organization dedicated to protecting the environment in Indonesia’s […]

Geospatial Data Brings Indigenous and Community Lands to the Forefront of Forest Management
Nearly 500 million people around the world live in and depend on forests, making these groups key to sustainable management of forests. Unfortunately, many local and indigenous communities often struggle with visibility and proper government acknowledgement of this role. Data from LandMark, recently added to Global Forest Watch (GFW), can help bring the role of […]

30 Years of Forest Protection in the Yucatán Peninsula
Pronatura Península de Yucatán A. C. is one of Global Forest Watch’s (GFW) 2019 small grants fund recipients. The Small Grants Fund provides financial and technical support to organizations working in the tropics to turn forest monitoring information into action using GFW. As of March 2020, Pronatura Península de Yucatán A. C. is celebrating its […]

“Forest Guardians” in Nepal Employ Citizen Science to Protect Endangered Red Pandas
Saroj Shrestha and Sony Lama are wildlife conservationists affiliated with Red Panda Network, a conservation organization dedicated to conserving Red Pandas and their habitats throughout Nepal. Red Panda Network is a 2019 Small Grants Fund Recipient. In the misty forests of the Eastern Himalayas, a creature with a fluffy red coat and long bushy tail climbs through the trees. It looks […]

10 Big Changes for Forests Over the Last Decade
The last decade was pivotal for the world’s forests. The 2010s saw the rise of unprecedented new commitments — from governments and the private sector alike — to bring deforestation to heel. The UN REDD+ framework, the New York Declaration on Forests and the Sustainable Development Goals set out ambitious targets to conserve and restore millions […]

Mapa Oaxaca Platform Puts the Power of Data into the Hands of Mexican Communities
Raul Padilla Calderon is an IT consultant working with the Oaxacan government on Biodiversity matters, and Floriberto Vásquez Ruiz works within the Oaxacan state government as the Undersecretary for Climate Change, Natural Resources and Biodiversity. In Oaxaca, Mexico, 78% of the land is controlled by local communities— that’s over 9,375,000 hectares. Yet, although these communities […]

Hutanwatch Spearheads Forest Data Transparency in Malaysia
It started off as a side project. Global Forest Watch (GFW) user, JD*, had a day job at the time — and still does — working with NGOs on forest and land use issues in Malaysia. JD was frustrated with the difficulty of finding reliable maps of forest cover for the country. Much of the […]