<p>Total tropical primary forest loss in 2023 totaled 3.7 million hectares, the equivalent of losing almost 10 football (soccer) fields of forest per minute. <a href="https://gfw.global/3TPufvy" rel="noopener" target="_blank">View on the Global Forest Review.</a></p>


2023 Tree Cover Loss Data Analysis

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Isabela Barriga

<p><em>A decade ago, the launch of Global Forest Watch (GFW) ushered in a new era of accountability and transparency around monitoring and protecting the world’s forests. To celebrate 10 years of impact, our </em><strong><em>Voices of Global Forest Watch</em></strong><em> </em><strong><em>series</em></strong><em> will highlight successes of GFW users, partners and community members throughout the year. We invite you to read, watch and share the stories of exceptional leaders in forest monitoring who have played a pivotal role in protecting forests everywhere.&nbsp;</em>&nbsp;</p>



<iframe loading="lazy" width="560" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qbCzN9S6iCQ?si=7bfjPsSX-rJt3mGf" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>



<p></p>



<p><strong>“We believe at Hen Mpoano that conservation without livelihood is a mere conversation.”</strong> – <em>Justice Camillus Mensah, Project Manager at Hen Mpoano.&nbsp;</em></p>



<p><a href="https://henmpoano.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hen Mpoano</a>, a two-time recipient of GFW’s <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/grants-and-fellowships/projects/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Small Grants Fund</a> (SGF), is a nonprofit organization based in Ghana working to protect and restore the Takoradi Forest District in southwestern Ghana, home to two important reserves: Cape Three Points Forest Reserve and Subri River Forest Reserve, which is the largest forest reserve in the country and is designated as a Global Significant Biodiversity Area.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“My passion for forests is from growing up along the coasts and being exposed to mangrove exploitation. But when I got to know the importance of mangroves, I decided to use technology that I love to protect mangroves and any other coastal resource, including the coastal terrestrial forests,” said Justice. “Forest is life. I keep telling the people that indeed when the last tree dies, the last man will also die.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>Justice was able to channel his passion into working with Hen Mpoano in 2013. Over the past decade, he has contributed immensely to ongoing campaigns for coastal ecosystem conservation in Ghana and other African countries.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>During Hen Mpoano’s SGF projects, they worked to strengthen effective forest law compliance and enforcement, including pro-conservation action among forest fringing communities — all of which has been effective in reducing deforestation.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>According to Justice, forest law enforcement in Ghana is almost impossible without community involvement.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2048" height="1365" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_1530-2048x1365.jpg" alt="Community members training to use GFW tools" class="wp-image-17227" srcset="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_1530-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_1530-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_1530-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_1530-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Hen Mpoano</figcaption></figure>



<p>“We use a community-based approach to forest monitoring and protection. Members from forest fringing communities have been resourced through hands-on training on Global Forest Watch data and tools, in combination with other tools, to collect data on a regular basis,” said Justice.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>With smart phones and GPS devices, the community forest monitoring teams collect evidence of forest crimes such as GPS coordinates and geotagged pictures. This data is then used to identify hotspots of forest crimes and used to generate maps using <a href="https://mapbuilder.wri.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MapBuilder</a> and other software. These maps are shared confidentially with the Forest Services Division to help trigger enforcement action and target limited resources to hotspots.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>This work also led to an agreement for the Wildlife Division to provide armed staff support for enforcement in the two reserves. Through this joint effort, more than 70 culprits have been arrested for various infractions, particularly illegal mining.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Hen Mpoano now applies GFW tools and data to monitor mangrove and freshwater swamp in a project funded by the U.S. Forest Service — a landscape also undergoing mangrove restoration through <a href="https://www.africa.terramatch.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TerraFund for AFR100</a>. Hen Mpoano’s approach involves not only restoration and planting, but also strengthening conservation efforts in the area by engaging community members to monitor landscape changes using GFW. </p>



<p>Hen Mpoano has faced challenges, particularly with forest patrols where culprits have confronted community monitoring teams, forest officers and even Hen Mpoano staff. However, data and technology such as GFW has helped equip forest monitors with tools to continue their work.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2048" height="1365" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_8842-2048x1365.jpg" alt="Community member using GFW tools" class="wp-image-17226" srcset="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_8842-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_8842-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_8842-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_8842-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Hen Mpoano</figcaption></figure>



<p>“In my opinion, GFW has cemented the collaborative management approach by providing citizens the tools and skill to be a part of forest protection. The community members feel very much empowered,” said Justice. “If Ghana’s status as the leading country in rainforest loss can be reversed, my team has a great role to play in that process. We will not relent until we see positive change.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://henmpoano.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Learn more about Hen Mpoano here.</em></a>&nbsp;</p>



<p><em>If you are interested in supporting Hen Mpoano to continue to expand their work to protect and restore forest landscapes, contact <a href="mailto:info@henmpoano.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">info@henmpoano.org</a>.</em>&nbsp;</p>



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<div class="attribute" style="”padding-bottom:" 10px;”="">
 

Video filmed at the Land & Carbon Lab Summit in June 2023.

 

</div> 

 

<hr>



<style type="text/css"></style>

Voices of Global Forest Watch: Justice Camillus Mensah, Hen Mpoano 

<p><em>A decade ago, the launch of Global Forest Watch (GFW) ushered in a new era of accountability and transparency around monitoring and protecting the world’s forests. To celebrate 10 years of impact, our </em><strong><em>Voices of Global Forest Watch</em></strong><em> </em><strong><em>series</em></strong><em> will highlight successes of GFW users, partners and community members throughout the year. We invite you to read, watch and share the stories of exceptional leaders in forest monitoring who have played a pivotal role in protecting forests everywhere.&nbsp;</em>&nbsp;</p>



<iframe width="560" height="450" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qbCzN9S6iCQ?si=7bfjPsSX-rJt3mGf" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>



<p></p>



<p><strong>“We believe at Hen Mpoano that conservation without livelihood is a mere conversation.”</strong> - <em>Justice Camillus Mensah, Project Manager at Hen Mpoano.&nbsp;</em></p>



<p><a href="https://henmpoano.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hen Mpoano</a>, a two-time recipient of GFW’s <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/grants-and-fellowships/projects/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Small Grants Fund</a> (SGF), is a nonprofit organization based in Ghana working to protect and restore the Takoradi Forest District in southwestern Ghana, home to two important reserves: Cape Three Points Forest Reserve and Subri River Forest Reserve, which is the largest forest reserve in the country and is designated as a Global Significant Biodiversity Area.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“My passion for forests is from growing up along the coasts and being exposed to mangrove exploitation. But when I got to know the importance of mangroves, I decided to use technology that I love to protect mangroves and any other coastal resource, including the coastal terrestrial forests,” said Justice. “Forest is life. I keep telling the people that indeed when the last tree dies, the last man will also die.”&nbsp;</p>



<p>Justice was able to channel his passion into working with Hen Mpoano in 2013. Over the past decade, he has contributed immensely to ongoing campaigns for coastal ecosystem conservation in Ghana and other African countries.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>During Hen Mpoano’s SGF projects, they worked to strengthen effective forest law compliance and enforcement, including pro-conservation action among forest fringing communities — all of which has been effective in reducing deforestation.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>According to Justice, forest law enforcement in Ghana is almost impossible without community involvement.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_1530-2048x1365.jpg" alt="Community members training to use GFW tools" class="wp-image-17227"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Hen Mpoano</figcaption></figure>



<p>“We use a community-based approach to forest monitoring and protection. Members from forest fringing communities have been resourced through hands-on training on Global Forest Watch data and tools, in combination with other tools, to collect data on a regular basis,” said Justice.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>With smart phones and GPS devices, the community forest monitoring teams collect evidence of forest crimes such as GPS coordinates and geotagged pictures. This data is then used to identify hotspots of forest crimes and used to generate maps using <a href="https://mapbuilder.wri.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MapBuilder</a> and other software. These maps are shared confidentially with the Forest Services Division to help trigger enforcement action and target limited resources to hotspots.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>This work also led to an agreement for the Wildlife Division to provide armed staff support for enforcement in the two reserves. Through this joint effort, more than 70 culprits have been arrested for various infractions, particularly illegal mining.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Hen Mpoano now applies GFW tools and data to monitor mangrove and freshwater swamp in a project funded by the U.S. Forest Service — a landscape also undergoing mangrove restoration through <a href="https://www.africa.terramatch.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TerraFund for AFR100</a>. Hen Mpoano’s approach involves not only restoration and planting, but also strengthening conservation efforts in the area by engaging community members to monitor landscape changes using GFW. </p>



<p>Hen Mpoano has faced challenges, particularly with forest patrols where culprits have confronted community monitoring teams, forest officers and even Hen Mpoano staff. However, data and technology such as GFW has helped equip forest monitors with tools to continue their work.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_8842-2048x1365.jpg" alt="Community member using GFW tools" class="wp-image-17226"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Hen Mpoano</figcaption></figure>



<p>“In my opinion, GFW has cemented the collaborative management approach by providing citizens the tools and skill to be a part of forest protection. The community members feel very much empowered,” said Justice. “If Ghana’s status as the leading country in rainforest loss can be reversed, my team has a great role to play in that process. We will not relent until we see positive change.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://henmpoano.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Learn more about Hen Mpoano here.</em></a>&nbsp;</p>



<p><em>If you are interested in supporting Hen Mpoano to continue to expand their work to protect and restore forest landscapes, contact <a href="mailto:info@henmpoano.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">info@henmpoano.org</a>.</em>&nbsp;</p>



<hr> 

<div class="attribute" style="”padding-bottom:" 10px;”="">
 

Video filmed at the Land & Carbon Lab Summit in June 2023.

 

</div> 

 

<hr>



<style type="text/css"></style>

As part of our Voices of Global Forest Watch series, watch and read about Justice Camillus Mensah's work with Ghana nonprofit Hen Mpoano.

Voices of Global Forest Watch: Justice Camillus Mensah, Hen Mpoano  | Users In Action | Global Forest Watch Blog

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<p>In 2014, the future of forests looked bright. Governments, companies, non-governmental organizations and Indigenous groups committed to ten ambitious goals under the <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Declaration on Forests</a> (NYDF). This major international declaration aims to protect forests, driven by the understanding that halting deforestation is essential to mitigating climate change and maintaining other benefits of forests. These goals include <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">halving deforestation</a> by 2020 and stopping it by 2030, while restoring an area of degraded land larger than the size of India.</p>



<p><a href="http://www.forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">This year’s assessment</a> of progress on the NYDF firmly concludes that deforestation is not slowing enough to achieve this goal. In fact, by some measures, we are further from stopping deforestation now than we were six years ago. On top of that, limited data is making it difficult to fully assess progress on forest restoration. Although this reality presents a steep uphill battle, rapidly accelerating actions to end deforestation and restore forests offer hope that the 2030 goals can still be achieved. &nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>We’re headed in the wrong direction to end deforestation</strong></h3>



<p>Two independent datasets show that the world is not on track to halt deforestation. <a href="https://gfw.global/2I1sx83" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Forest Watch</a> data — created using a globally standardized remote sensing methodology — indicates that annual tropical <a href="https://gfw.global/2UGlWD1/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">primary forest</a> loss has actually increased by 41% since the NYDF was signed, and annual global deforestation has increased between 55% and 64%. The United Nations <a href="http://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forest Resources Assessment 2020</a> also indicates insufficient progress toward the NYDF goals. This aggregation of country-reported statistics on forest change shows a slight drop in deforestation since 2000, but nowhere near the amount required to achieve the 2020 or 2030 targets. &nbsp;</p>



<p>Despite the differences between the two datasets, they share a key message: the world failed to halve deforestation by 2020 and, as a result, is not on a trajectory to stop it by 2030.</p>



<p>Each year, the world loses about <a href="http://www.forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10 million hectares</a> (24.7 million acres) of forest area — equivalent to 27 soccer fields per minute. Every year that deforestation is not reduced as quickly as possible will require even larger reductions in the following years to achieve our goal. In the meantime, deforestation will continue to cause emissions, the loss of forest benefits and the curtailment of Indigenous rights. If the past 19 years are any indication, the necessary decrease in forest loss seems unlikely in the next decade. Although unlikely, the world can’t afford to not attempt reaching this goal.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Why is progress so slow?</strong></h3>



<p>The issue largely arises from the disparity between the commitments made and  the actions taken to meet them. Goals two through four of the NYDF track specific contributing factors to global deforestation, while goal five outlines restoration targets. In each of these categories, actions fell short of what is needed.</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 2</em></a><em>: Ending Deforestation from Agricultural Commodities</em></p>



<div class="imageleft"><img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="fire clearing cattle pasture in the Gran Chaco, Paraguay" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ChacoParaguay.jpg" width="100%">Fires used to clear land for pasture in Paraguay’s Gran Chaco region can be seen from an airplane. Photo by Jordi Ruiz Cirera/WRI.</div>



<p>Forest clearing <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;for new agricultural land</a> is the largest cause of deforestation. However, removing deforestation from supply chains is happening unevenly. Even where commitments exist, implementation and consequences are hard to trace through complex supply chains. Last year, nearly one-third of 350 major companies with supply chains at risk of causing deforestation did not report anything about their activities to stop deforestation. Some sectors are progressing faster than others — <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">81%</a> of Indonesian palm oil exports in 2018 came from companies with no-deforestation pledges, while just 32% of Brazilian beef exports in 2017 were produced under a commitment.</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2020NYDFReport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 3</em></a><em>: Reducing Deforestation from Other Sectors</em></p>



<p>Although <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mining and infrastructure</a> like roads and dams are not <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6407/1108/tab-figures-data" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">globally major</a> causes of deforestation, they can heavily impact forests at local scales. Companies in these sectors generally provide even less information on what they are doing to prevent deforestation than the agricultural sector does. For example, a recent World Bank <a href="https://www.profor.info/content/forest-smart-mining-identifying-factors-associated-impacts-large-scale-mining-forests" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> could not identify any mining operations that comprehensively addressed and mitigated their environmental risks, and financial institutions are generally not providing data on the extent to which their mining and infrastructure investments align with their sustainability principles. The forest impacts of these sectors are expected to intensify as the demand for mined materials increases, and as infrastructure projects bring farmers, loggers and poachers to new forest frontiers. &nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2020NYDFReport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 4</em></a><em>: Support Alternatives for Basic Needs</em></p>



<p>Efforts are increasing to find ways to meet the <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">basic needs</a> of communities, such as fuelwood and food, without further deforestation. However, these efforts aren’t happening at the necessary scale and are generally not addressing the root causes of poverty, limiting their effectiveness. For example, programs that seek to take pressure off forests by improving the agricultural productivity of smallholders’ existing farms &nbsp;often fail to invest in underlying conditions to secure farmer livelihoods such as land tenure, public services and market access, alongside improvements in governance to ensure forest protection measures are respected.&nbsp; &nbsp;But some governments, <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/07/malawi-turns-corner-solving-its-deforestation-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">like Malawi</a>’s, have begun doing that hard work and helping communities manage their forests sustainably while planting fast-growing trees to meet immediate demand for firewood.</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 5</em></a><em>: Restore Forests</em></p>



<div class="imageright"><img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="guatemala restoration project sustainable cocoa" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/guatemala.png" width="100%">In Guatemala, impact investor 12Tree is growing sustainable cocoa while protecting natural forests. Courtesy of 12Tree. </div>



<p>For restoration, the shortcomings can be linked to a lack of investment at scale and a dearth of globally consistent data. Restoring 350 million hectares will require <a href="https://www.wri.org/publication/roots-of-prosperity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">billions of dollars</a>. Funders have committed $4 billion through the <a href="http://www.afr100.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AFR100</a> Initiative in Africa and <a href="http://www.initiative20x20.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Initiative 20×20</a> in Latin America. Even that is not enough to reach the NYDF’s goal, though there are <a href="https://initiative20x20.org/restoration-projects" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dozens</a> of <a href="https://afr100.org/content/7-ways-african-leaders-are-restoring-their-landscapes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">successful projects</a> in each region. The Great Green Wall in Africa’s Sahel, for example, faces a <a href="https://www.unccd.int/publications/great-green-wall-implementation-status-and-way-ahead-2030" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$4.3 billion yearly funding gap</a> through 2030. There is also no systematic and independent way to track where or how much of that funding has reached projects, though reports indicate that governments, private investors and entrepreneurs are starting to incentivize, finance and scale up their work.</p>



<p>This underscores the importance of developing a global method that consistently tracks where those trees are growing, and that complements existing tree cover loss data. That approach will need to work inside the forest and <em>outside</em> it on farms and pasture, where restoration has the <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/small-amazonian-community-agroforestry-takes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most benefits for people</a>. Regional pilots of this method in Central America and <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/deforestation-threatens-mekong-new-trees-are-growing-surprising-places" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Southeast Asia</a>, conducted as part of the 2019 and 2020 NYDF Progress Assessments, are promising. But understanding tree cover gain and loss together – and assessing the overall health of forests – will require <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/07/trillion-trees-tracking-challenges" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">improved data and techniques</a>.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Transforming commitments into real action</strong></h3>



<p>While the latest NYDF report is stark in its message, new initiatives that can turn the tide are gaining momentum. The growth of zero-deforestation commitments shows that motivation to halt deforestation still exists across governments, companies, financial institutions and civil society. And innovative restoration programs like the more than <a href="https://initiative20x20.org/restoration-projects" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">50 private-sector projects</a> aligned with Initiative 20×20 and the growing <a href="https://www.wri.org/our-work/project/land-accelerator" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Land Accelerator network</a>, whose entrepreneurs are helping 120,000 farmers produce more sustainably, are boosting funding for forest protection and restoration. </p>



<p>Moving forward will require hard work, improving transparency, employing environmental safeguards, reducing consumption of high-deforestation goods and increasing ambition and financing from companies and governments alike. Growing investments and commitments to protecting and restoring forests must pair with equivalent action. Failing to do so will seal the fate of forests for years to come.</p>



<style type="text/css"></style>

Progress Must Speed Up to Protect and Restore Forests by 2030

<p>In 2014, the future of forests looked bright. Governments, companies, non-governmental organizations and Indigenous groups committed to ten ambitious goals under the <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Declaration on Forests</a> (NYDF). This major international declaration aims to protect forests, driven by the understanding that halting deforestation is essential to mitigating climate change and maintaining other benefits of forests. These goals include <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">halving deforestation</a> by 2020 and stopping it by 2030, while restoring an area of degraded land larger than the size of India.</p>



<p><a href="http://www.forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">This year’s assessment</a> of progress on the NYDF firmly concludes that deforestation is not slowing enough to achieve this goal. In fact, by some measures, we are further from stopping deforestation now than we were six years ago. On top of that, limited data is making it difficult to fully assess progress on forest restoration. Although this reality presents a steep uphill battle, rapidly accelerating actions to end deforestation and restore forests offer hope that the 2030 goals can still be achieved. &nbsp;</p>



<h3><strong>We’re headed in the wrong direction to end deforestation</strong></h3>



<p>Two independent datasets show that the world is not on track to halt deforestation. <a href="https://gfw.global/2I1sx83" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Forest Watch</a> data — created using a globally standardized remote sensing methodology — indicates that annual tropical <a href="https://gfw.global/2UGlWD1/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">primary forest</a> loss has actually increased by 41% since the NYDF was signed, and annual global deforestation has increased between 55% and 64%. The United Nations <a href="http://www.fao.org/forest-resources-assessment/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Forest Resources Assessment 2020</a> also indicates insufficient progress toward the NYDF goals. This aggregation of country-reported statistics on forest change shows a slight drop in deforestation since 2000, but nowhere near the amount required to achieve the 2020 or 2030 targets. &nbsp;</p>



<p>Despite the differences between the two datasets, they share a key message: the world failed to halve deforestation by 2020 and, as a result, is not on a trajectory to stop it by 2030.</p>



<p>Each year, the world loses about <a href="http://www.forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10 million hectares</a> (24.7 million acres) of forest area — equivalent to 27 soccer fields per minute. Every year that deforestation is not reduced as quickly as possible will require even larger reductions in the following years to achieve our goal. In the meantime, deforestation will continue to cause emissions, the loss of forest benefits and the curtailment of Indigenous rights. If the past 19 years are any indication, the necessary decrease in forest loss seems unlikely in the next decade. Although unlikely, the world can’t afford to not attempt reaching this goal.</p>



<h3><strong>Why is progress so slow?</strong></h3>



<p>The issue largely arises from the disparity between the commitments made and  the actions taken to meet them. Goals two through four of the NYDF track specific contributing factors to global deforestation, while goal five outlines restoration targets. In each of these categories, actions fell short of what is needed.</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 2</em></a><em>: Ending Deforestation from Agricultural Commodities</em></p>



<div class="imageleft"><img class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="fire clearing cattle pasture in the Gran Chaco, Paraguay" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ChacoParaguay.jpg" width="100%">Fires used to clear land for pasture in Paraguay’s Gran Chaco region can be seen from an airplane. Photo by Jordi Ruiz Cirera/WRI.</div>



<p>Forest clearing <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;for new agricultural land</a> is the largest cause of deforestation. However, removing deforestation from supply chains is happening unevenly. Even where commitments exist, implementation and consequences are hard to trace through complex supply chains. Last year, nearly one-third of 350 major companies with supply chains at risk of causing deforestation did not report anything about their activities to stop deforestation. Some sectors are progressing faster than others — <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">81%</a> of Indonesian palm oil exports in 2018 came from companies with no-deforestation pledges, while just 32% of Brazilian beef exports in 2017 were produced under a commitment.</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2020NYDFReport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 3</em></a><em>: Reducing Deforestation from Other Sectors</em></p>



<p>Although <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mining and infrastructure</a> like roads and dams are not <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/361/6407/1108/tab-figures-data" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">globally major</a> causes of deforestation, they can heavily impact forests at local scales. Companies in these sectors generally provide even less information on what they are doing to prevent deforestation than the agricultural sector does. For example, a recent World Bank <a href="https://www.profor.info/content/forest-smart-mining-identifying-factors-associated-impacts-large-scale-mining-forests" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">report</a> could not identify any mining operations that comprehensively addressed and mitigated their environmental risks, and financial institutions are generally not providing data on the extent to which their mining and infrastructure investments align with their sustainability principles. The forest impacts of these sectors are expected to intensify as the demand for mined materials increases, and as infrastructure projects bring farmers, loggers and poachers to new forest frontiers. &nbsp;</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/images/uploads/resource/2020NYDFReport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 4</em></a><em>: Support Alternatives for Basic Needs</em></p>



<p>Efforts are increasing to find ways to meet the <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals#goal-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">basic needs</a> of communities, such as fuelwood and food, without further deforestation. However, these efforts aren’t happening at the necessary scale and are generally not addressing the root causes of poverty, limiting their effectiveness. For example, programs that seek to take pressure off forests by improving the agricultural productivity of smallholders’ existing farms &nbsp;often fail to invest in underlying conditions to secure farmer livelihoods such as land tenure, public services and market access, alongside improvements in governance to ensure forest protection measures are respected.&nbsp; &nbsp;But some governments, <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2017/07/malawi-turns-corner-solving-its-deforestation-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">like Malawi</a>’s, have begun doing that hard work and helping communities manage their forests sustainably while planting fast-growing trees to meet immediate demand for firewood.</p>



<p><a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/goals/goal-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Goal 5</em></a><em>: Restore Forests</em></p>



<div class="imageright"><img class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="guatemala restoration project sustainable cocoa" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/guatemala.png" width="100%">In Guatemala, impact investor 12Tree is growing sustainable cocoa while protecting natural forests. Courtesy of 12Tree. </div>



<p>For restoration, the shortcomings can be linked to a lack of investment at scale and a dearth of globally consistent data. Restoring 350 million hectares will require <a href="https://www.wri.org/publication/roots-of-prosperity" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">billions of dollars</a>. Funders have committed $4 billion through the <a href="http://www.afr100.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AFR100</a> Initiative in Africa and <a href="http://www.initiative20x20.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Initiative 20x20</a> in Latin America. Even that is not enough to reach the NYDF’s goal, though there are <a href="https://initiative20x20.org/restoration-projects" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dozens</a> of <a href="https://afr100.org/content/7-ways-african-leaders-are-restoring-their-landscapes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">successful projects</a> in each region. The Great Green Wall in Africa’s Sahel, for example, faces a <a href="https://www.unccd.int/publications/great-green-wall-implementation-status-and-way-ahead-2030" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$4.3 billion yearly funding gap</a> through 2030. There is also no systematic and independent way to track where or how much of that funding has reached projects, though reports indicate that governments, private investors and entrepreneurs are starting to incentivize, finance and scale up their work.</p>



<p>This underscores the importance of developing a global method that consistently tracks where those trees are growing, and that complements existing tree cover loss data. That approach will need to work inside the forest and <em>outside</em> it on farms and pasture, where restoration has the <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/small-amazonian-community-agroforestry-takes" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">most benefits for people</a>. Regional pilots of this method in Central America and <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/deforestation-threatens-mekong-new-trees-are-growing-surprising-places" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Southeast Asia</a>, conducted as part of the 2019 and 2020 NYDF Progress Assessments, are promising. But understanding tree cover gain and loss together – and assessing the overall health of forests – will require <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/07/trillion-trees-tracking-challenges" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">improved data and techniques</a>.</p>



<h3><strong>Transforming commitments into real action</strong></h3>



<p>While the latest NYDF report is stark in its message, new initiatives that can turn the tide are gaining momentum. The growth of zero-deforestation commitments shows that motivation to halt deforestation still exists across governments, companies, financial institutions and civil society. And innovative restoration programs like the more than <a href="https://initiative20x20.org/restoration-projects" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">50 private-sector projects</a> aligned with Initiative 20x20 and the growing <a href="https://www.wri.org/our-work/project/land-accelerator" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Land Accelerator network</a>, whose entrepreneurs are helping 120,000 farmers produce more sustainably, are boosting funding for forest protection and restoration. </p>



<p>Moving forward will require hard work, improving transparency, employing environmental safeguards, reducing consumption of high-deforestation goods and increasing ambition and financing from companies and governments alike. Growing investments and commitments to protecting and restoring forests must pair with equivalent action. Failing to do so will seal the fate of forests for years to come.</p>

Progress on stopping deforestation and restoring forests must dramatically speed up in order to meet the 2030 NYDF goals.

We're Not Going to Meet NYDF Goals by 2030 | Global Forest Watch Blog

https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/3dc298e411f65b199fc3734919d6934e?s=96&d=mm&r=g

Sarah Ruiz

carbon

carbon | Global Forest Watch Blog

Susan Cook-Patton

Kristine Lister

<p>There’s increasing recognition of how nature can help tackle the climate crisis. From protecting standing forests to planting new trees, forests offer significant climate mitigation benefits. Now, new research shows that letting forests regrow on their own could be a secret weapon to fighting climate change.</p>



<p>Experts at WRI, The Nature Conservancy and other institutions mapped potential rates of carbon capture from “natural forest regrowth” – a restoration method distinct from active tree-planting – initiatives where trees are allowed to grow back on lands previously cleared for agriculture and other purposes. The results, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2686-x" target="_blank">published in <em>Nature</em></a> and available on <a href="https://gfw.global/3ndMdVE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Forest Watch </a> show that letting forests regrow naturally has the potential to absorb up to 8.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year through 2050, while still maintaining native grasslands and current levels of food production.<strong> That’s the equivalent of soaking up 23% of global emissions from the atmosphere every year. </strong></p>



<p>This is on top of the carbon sequestration already provided by existing forests, which currently absorb around 30% of CO2 emissions each year.</p>



<div class="imagecenter"><img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="natural forest regrowth could capture 23% of all carbon emissions" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Carbon_Emissions_natural_forest_regeneration_WRI.png" width="100%"></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Benefits of balancing reforestation and natural forest regrowth</h3>



<p>While decarbonization of fossil fuels and other industrial emissions remain essential pieces of the emissions-reduction puzzle, nature also has a major role to play. The United Nations declared the 2020s as the “Decade of Ecosystem Restoration,” calling for massive restoration of degraded lands to help with climate change mitigation.</p>



<p>It’s a powerful message, but too often “<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/02/want-grow-trees-consider-these-5-lessons" target="_blank">tree restoration</a>” is seen as synonymous with “tree-planting.” For example, a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01026-8#ref-CR2" target="_blank">close look</a> at a selection of national restoration commitments made under the Bonn Challenge, UN REDD+ program, Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, and other schemes reveals that almost half of the current land area slated for restoration in these countries is set to become plantations of commercial trees. Balancing active reforestation of commercial species with natural forest regrowth could make for a more effective approach in terms of both carbon and biodiversity. </p>



<p>The map generated for the recent <em>Nature</em> study can help identify locations where natural forest regrowth has high climate mitigation potential, to be considered alongside active tree-planting initiatives. There are many advantages to letting forests recover on their own: it’s often cheaper and more likely to benefit native wildlife. The new map, viewed alongside other information on the local socioeconomic setting and alternative uses for the land, can provide context for optimizing where to let nature take the lead.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Previous IPCC carbon sequestration estimates are too low</h3>



<p>This latest study shows that potential rates of carbon capture from natural forest regrowth are far higher than previously estimated.</p>



<p>For decades, ecologists have collected data on the ground at different locations around the world about how quickly previously forested areas return to forest and recover carbon after agricultural abandonment or other disturbance. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) periodically compiles these measurements by general ecosystem type to provide default rates, which many countries use to estimate how much carbon dioxides their forests remove from the atmosphere each year as they compile greenhouse gas inventories and set climate mitigation commitments. </p>



<p>The new study found that these generalized IPCC defaults underestimate carbon sequestration rates in young forests by 32% globally, and by <em>a full 50%</em> for tropical forests. This is because the new map captures spatial variability in rates across a landscape much better than a smattering of hard-won field plots can; it’s simply not feasible or cost-effective to measure carbon everywhere. </p>



<p>By using IPCC defaults, many governments may be underestimating the benefits of natural forest regrowth for capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and thus underappreciating its power as a climate change solution.</p>



<iframe loading="lazy" width="670" height="490" frameborder="0" src="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/embed/map/global/?map=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%3D%3D"></iframe>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Where does natural forest regrowth have the most carbon-removal potential?</h3>



<p>Rates at which young forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere vary by orders of magnitude around the world; tropical countries in West and Central Africa have the highest rates, while countries in Central Europe and the Middle East have the lowest. And while carbon accumulation rates are usually highest in warmer, wetter climates, they can also vary dramatically at local scales, for example with three-fold variation across Colombia alone.</p>



<iframe loading="lazy" width="670" height="490" frameborder="0" src="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/embed/map/global/?map=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%3D%3D"></iframe>



<p>By harmonizing detailed carbon measurements collected at different locations around the world and combining them with cutting-edge machine learning methods, the new map takes into account how 66 environmental variables influence forest growth rates — everything from topography to daily temperature range to soil texture. This new geospatial information is now easily accessible to governments, civil society organizations and companies via Global Forest Watch.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Forests can help with climate change mitigation and more</h3>



<p>Letting previously forested land recover carbon naturally can contribute to the 730 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide the IPCC says must be removed from the atmosphere by the end of this century to avert the worst effects of climate change. Increasing forest cover can also bring additional benefits beyond climate change mitigation, such as preventing floods, regulating rainfall, slowing biodiversity loss, and sustaining traditional ways of life and economies. </p>



<p>Equipped with a more detailed understanding of forests’ potential to capture carbon dioxide, officials can make rapid assessments on how to best use land for the greatest climate return.&nbsp;</p>



<hr> 

<div class="attribute" style="”padding-bottom:" 10px;”="">
 

Originally appeared on <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/09/carbon-sequestration-natural-forest-regrowth" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WRI Insights</a>. 
 

</div> 

 

<hr>



<style type="text/css"></style>

Young Forests Capture Carbon Quicker than Previously Thought

<p>There’s increasing recognition of how nature can help tackle the climate crisis. From protecting standing forests to planting new trees, forests offer significant climate mitigation benefits. Now, new research shows that letting forests regrow on their own could be a secret weapon to fighting climate change.</p>



<p>Experts at WRI, The Nature Conservancy and other institutions mapped potential rates of carbon capture from “natural forest regrowth” – a restoration method distinct from active tree-planting – initiatives where trees are allowed to grow back on lands previously cleared for agriculture and other purposes. The results, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2686-x" target="_blank">published in <em>Nature</em></a> and available on <a href="https://gfw.global/3ndMdVE" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Forest Watch </a> show that letting forests regrow naturally has the potential to absorb up to 8.9 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year through 2050, while still maintaining native grasslands and current levels of food production.<strong> That’s the equivalent of soaking up 23% of global emissions from the atmosphere every year. </strong></p>



<p>This is on top of the carbon sequestration already provided by existing forests, which currently absorb around 30% of CO2 emissions each year.</p>



<div class="imagecenter"><img class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="natural forest regrowth could capture 23% of all carbon emissions" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Carbon_Emissions_natural_forest_regeneration_WRI.png" width="100%"></div>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Benefits of balancing reforestation and natural forest regrowth</h3>



<p>While decarbonization of fossil fuels and other industrial emissions remain essential pieces of the emissions-reduction puzzle, nature also has a major role to play. The United Nations declared the 2020s as the “Decade of Ecosystem Restoration,” calling for massive restoration of degraded lands to help with climate change mitigation.</p>



<p>It’s a powerful message, but too often “<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/02/want-grow-trees-consider-these-5-lessons" target="_blank">tree restoration</a>” is seen as synonymous with “tree-planting.” For example, a <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01026-8#ref-CR2" target="_blank">close look</a> at a selection of national restoration commitments made under the Bonn Challenge, UN REDD+ program, Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, and other schemes reveals that almost half of the current land area slated for restoration in these countries is set to become plantations of commercial trees. Balancing active reforestation of commercial species with natural forest regrowth could make for a more effective approach in terms of both carbon and biodiversity. </p>



<p>The map generated for the recent <em>Nature</em> study can help identify locations where natural forest regrowth has high climate mitigation potential, to be considered alongside active tree-planting initiatives. There are many advantages to letting forests recover on their own: it’s often cheaper and more likely to benefit native wildlife. The new map, viewed alongside other information on the local socioeconomic setting and alternative uses for the land, can provide context for optimizing where to let nature take the lead.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Previous IPCC carbon sequestration estimates are too low</h3>



<p>This latest study shows that potential rates of carbon capture from natural forest regrowth are far higher than previously estimated.</p>



<p>For decades, ecologists have collected data on the ground at different locations around the world about how quickly previously forested areas return to forest and recover carbon after agricultural abandonment or other disturbance. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) periodically compiles these measurements by general ecosystem type to provide default rates, which many countries use to estimate how much carbon dioxides their forests remove from the atmosphere each year as they compile greenhouse gas inventories and set climate mitigation commitments. </p>



<p>The new study found that these generalized IPCC defaults underestimate carbon sequestration rates in young forests by 32% globally, and by <em>a full 50%</em> for tropical forests. This is because the new map captures spatial variability in rates across a landscape much better than a smattering of hard-won field plots can; it’s simply not feasible or cost-effective to measure carbon everywhere. </p>



<p>By using IPCC defaults, many governments may be underestimating the benefits of natural forest regrowth for capturing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and thus underappreciating its power as a climate change solution.</p>



<iframe width="670" height="490" frameborder="0" src="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/embed/map/global/?map=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%3D%3D"></iframe>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Where does natural forest regrowth have the most carbon-removal potential?</h3>



<p>Rates at which young forests remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere vary by orders of magnitude around the world; tropical countries in West and Central Africa have the highest rates, while countries in Central Europe and the Middle East have the lowest. And while carbon accumulation rates are usually highest in warmer, wetter climates, they can also vary dramatically at local scales, for example with three-fold variation across Colombia alone.</p>



<iframe width="670" height="490" frameborder="0" src="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/embed/map/global/?map=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%3D%3D"></iframe>



<p>By harmonizing detailed carbon measurements collected at different locations around the world and combining them with cutting-edge machine learning methods, the new map takes into account how 66 environmental variables influence forest growth rates — everything from topography to daily temperature range to soil texture. This new geospatial information is now easily accessible to governments, civil society organizations and companies via Global Forest Watch.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Forests can help with climate change mitigation and more</h3>



<p>Letting previously forested land recover carbon naturally can contribute to the 730 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide the IPCC says must be removed from the atmosphere by the end of this century to avert the worst effects of climate change. Increasing forest cover can also bring additional benefits beyond climate change mitigation, such as preventing floods, regulating rainfall, slowing biodiversity loss, and sustaining traditional ways of life and economies. </p>



<p>Equipped with a more detailed understanding of forests’ potential to capture carbon dioxide, officials can make rapid assessments on how to best use land for the greatest climate return.&nbsp;</p>



<hr> 

<div class="attribute" style="”padding-bottom:" 10px;”="">
 

Originally appeared on <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/09/carbon-sequestration-natural-forest-regrowth" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WRI Insights</a>. 
 

</div> 

 

<hr>

New research shows natural forest regrowth, as opposed to reforestation by tree planting, can capture more carbon dioxide from the air than previously thought.

Natural Forest Regrowth and Carbon Capture | Global Forest Watch Blog

Landscape mosaic in the bale mountain, Ethiopia. Photo by Aaron Minnick / World Resources Institute

forest change

forest change | Global Forest Watch Blog

Florence Landsberg

Fred Stolle

Dow Maneerattana

Will Anderson

John Brandt

<p>This was the year that business added its clout to the global effort to add trillions of trees to the arsenal of weapons against climate change. The goal is to use these trees to restore land and absorb climate-warming carbon out of the atmosphere, which could keep global warming below 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F), the level the Paris Agreement says is needed to avoid the most damaging effects of climate change.</p>



<p>But planting the trees in the ground is just the beginning. We need to track if these trees keep growing, how much carbon they store and what other types of benefits (e.g., food, economic, biodiversity) they provide to people and the environment. There’s one major problem to start: How do we track how and where these trees are growing?&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Why we need to track tree growth</strong>&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Just as not all trees grow to maturity, <a aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/30/most-of-11m-trees-planted-in-turkish-project-may-be-dead" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">not all tree-planting campaigns succeed</a>. Tracking tree growth helps governments, companies and NGOs to understand progress on their pledges, encourages people to replicate successful projects and tweak struggling ones and inspires funders to continue investing where they can see past progress.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Measuring progress can also put the spotlight on farmers and others who have restored their land with little external help. Across the dry Sahel, for example, farmers have <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2013/06/learning-african-farmers-how-re-greening-boosts-food-security-curbs-climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">restored</a> millions of hectares of land, boosting crop yields and stopping the southward creep of the Sahara Desert – with little outside aid or acknowledgment.&nbsp;These success stories and the lessons they hold can’t be shared unless we can systematically measure changes in the landscape.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Challenges of tracking tree growth</h3>



<p>High-quality satellite data and platforms like <a href="https://gfw.global/2BIZP9i" target="_blank" aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Forest Watch</a> track deforestation, but they don’t work well for tracking tree growth. Why?&nbsp;</p>



<p>Growing trees to maturity takes time, often 15 years or more. And with freely available satellite imagery, it is harder to see a tiny sapling slowly growing in a field than to see the blank space where a tree once stood. Very-high-resolution imagery that could see that change is available, but it is prohibitively expensive to purchase and analyze for the entire world every year.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Some individual projects do track tree growth, but each project follows its own method, and the type and quality of data vary greatly. Much of this data is not independently verified, and only spans the first few years of the project (before the trees fully mature). Third-party independent verification that certifies a project’s carbon or biodiversity benefits is often prohibitively expensive, especially for local farmers working in the developing world.&nbsp;All of that makes project managers and funders alike skeptical of tree restoration success stories. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Building globally consistent datasets</strong></h3>



<div class="imagecenter"><img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="How are we tracking trees globally" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/global-tree-growth-tracking-2-1.png" width="100%"></div>



<p>That is why we want to solve some of these problems before the <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/new-un-decade-ecosystem-restoration-offers-unparalleled-opportunity" target="_blank" aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)" rel="noreferrer noopener">UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration</a> starts in 2021, and corporate pledges to protect and grow a trillion trees start in earnest. As a member of the UN Decade’s task force on restoration monitoring and co-chair of the Global Restoration Observatory, WRI is fully engaged in this challenge.</p>



<p><a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6338/635" target="_blank" aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)" rel="noreferrer noopener">Recent studies</a> have found that there are billions of sparsely scattered trees in rural areas that we couldn’t see with conventional remote sensing approaches. By including those trees in global data, we can paint a more comprehensive picture of tree cover gain and loss.&nbsp;</p>



<p>A <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/deforestation-threatens-mekong-new-trees-are-growing-surprising-places" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pilot study</a> that WRI conducted as part of the five-year progress assessment of the <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/" target="_blank" aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Declaration on Forests</a> showed that in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region, the number of trees on farms and pasture – where restoration has the most benefit for people – <em>increased</em>, even as forest loss expanded. Building on that study, we are working with new data from the University of Maryland’s GLAD lab to expand that work to Latin America, aiming to develop a globally consistent, annual dataset that can track where trees are growing at the global, national and subnational scales.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, we have also begun analyzing raw satellite data across more than 30 landscapes of around 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) each. The goal is to build accurate wall-to-wall maps of millions of trees that official statistics, plans and models have rarely considered. Combining this approach with the global data can help us see more trees more accurately than before and track the overall progress of Trillion Trees and the tree restoration movement.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Establishing a protocol and community of practice</strong></h3>



<div class="imagecenter"><img decoding="async" class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="how to track tree planting projects" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/trillion-trees-how-to-track-social-1.png" width="100%"></div>



<p>Globally consistent, independent data is important for identifying where “hotspots” of tree restoration success (or failure) are occurring, so that we can better understand the impact of countries’, NGOs’ and companies’ investments.</p>



<p>We also need to make sure that the many individual projects that get funding from platforms like <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/06/growing-trillion-trees-right-terramatch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TerraMatch</a> are part of a well-supported community of practice, where consistent, independent monitoring protocols are in place to support both project implementers and funders.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Adapting to the local context and goals is important. To build this community of practice, we need a consistent, scientifically sound, cost-effective protocol that practitioners across the world can use, and investors can trust. That’s what WRI is building for projects that restore trees within agricultural, forest and urban landscapes. The protocol focuses on key indicators – tree count, tree cover and tree species – that will be measured for up to 15 years after planting.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Because this protocol will combine field data collection with remote monitoring approaches like satellite imagery interpretation and artificial intelligence, the costs will be kept as low as possible. When projects use the same protocol, their aggregated data will help us understand whether those trillion trees are growing and whether our efforts to fight climate change are on the right track.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Measuring, understanding and investing in tree restoration</strong>&nbsp;</h3>



<p>We will need a robust global atlas to track tree restoration progress that mirrors the role that Global Forest Watch plays for tree cover loss – a “Restoration Watch.” We need a platform that will deliver lessons learned from the robust work that WRI and many others have carried out at the national and landscape levels.&nbsp;We also need an adaptable yet consistent protocol for projects.</p>



<p>Measuring tree growth is only one benchmark of restoration success. We need to invest in measuring the <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2018/09/social-network-analysis-helping-us-regreen-rwanda-it-can-inform-your-environmental-work" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">economic and social impact of restoration</a> too, to ensure that people stand to benefit.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For now, in a world where corporations and governments are increasingly interested in proving their success scientifically, tracking progress is essential. Funders invest in measuring success and insist that their planting partners do too. They must realize that the true price of tree restoration success goes beyond tree planting to include the cost of engaging local people, preparing and caring for trees and measuring progress. With this new momentum spurred by corporate pledges, platforms like TerraMatch and the latest scientific advances, now is the time to start tracking progress.</p>



<hr> 

<div class="attribute" style="”padding-bottom:" 10px;”=""> 


Originally appeared on <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/07/trillion-trees-tracking-challenges" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WRI Insights</a>. 


</div> 

 

<hr>



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The Challenge of Tracking How a Trillion Trees Grow

<p>This was the year that business added its clout to the global effort to add trillions of trees to the arsenal of weapons against climate change. The goal is to use these trees to restore land and absorb climate-warming carbon out of the atmosphere, which could keep global warming below 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F), the level the Paris Agreement says is needed to avoid the most damaging effects of climate change.</p>



<p>But planting the trees in the ground is just the beginning. We need to track if these trees keep growing, how much carbon they store and what other types of benefits (e.g., food, economic, biodiversity) they provide to people and the environment. There’s one major problem to start: How do we track how and where these trees are growing?&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Why we need to track tree growth</strong>&nbsp;</h3>



<p>Just as not all trees grow to maturity, <a aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/30/most-of-11m-trees-planted-in-turkish-project-may-be-dead" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">not all tree-planting campaigns succeed</a>. Tracking tree growth helps governments, companies and NGOs to understand progress on their pledges, encourages people to replicate successful projects and tweak struggling ones and inspires funders to continue investing where they can see past progress.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Measuring progress can also put the spotlight on farmers and others who have restored their land with little external help. Across the dry Sahel, for example, farmers have <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2013/06/learning-african-farmers-how-re-greening-boosts-food-security-curbs-climate-change" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">restored</a> millions of hectares of land, boosting crop yields and stopping the southward creep of the Sahara Desert – with little outside aid or acknowledgment.&nbsp;These success stories and the lessons they hold can’t be shared unless we can systematically measure changes in the landscape.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">Challenges of tracking tree growth</h3>



<p>High-quality satellite data and platforms like <a href="https://gfw.global/2BIZP9i" target="_blank" aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Forest Watch</a> track deforestation, but they don’t work well for tracking tree growth. Why?&nbsp;</p>



<p>Growing trees to maturity takes time, often 15 years or more. And with freely available satellite imagery, it is harder to see a tiny sapling slowly growing in a field than to see the blank space where a tree once stood. Very-high-resolution imagery that could see that change is available, but it is prohibitively expensive to purchase and analyze for the entire world every year.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Some individual projects do track tree growth, but each project follows its own method, and the type and quality of data vary greatly. Much of this data is not independently verified, and only spans the first few years of the project (before the trees fully mature). Third-party independent verification that certifies a project's carbon or biodiversity benefits is often prohibitively expensive, especially for local farmers working in the developing world.&nbsp;All of that makes project managers and funders alike skeptical of tree restoration success stories. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Building globally consistent datasets</strong></h3>



<div class="imagecenter"><img class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="How are we tracking trees globally" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/global-tree-growth-tracking-2-1.png" width="100%"></div>



<p>That is why we want to solve some of these problems before the <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/press-release/new-un-decade-ecosystem-restoration-offers-unparalleled-opportunity" target="_blank" aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)" rel="noreferrer noopener">UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration</a> starts in 2021, and corporate pledges to protect and grow a trillion trees start in earnest. As a member of the UN Decade’s task force on restoration monitoring and co-chair of the Global Restoration Observatory, WRI is fully engaged in this challenge.</p>



<p><a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6338/635" target="_blank" aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)" rel="noreferrer noopener">Recent studies</a> have found that there are billions of sparsely scattered trees in rural areas that we couldn’t see with conventional remote sensing approaches. By including those trees in global data, we can paint a more comprehensive picture of tree cover gain and loss.&nbsp;</p>



<p>A <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/10/deforestation-threatens-mekong-new-trees-are-growing-surprising-places" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pilot study</a> that WRI conducted as part of the five-year progress assessment of the <a href="https://forestdeclaration.org/" target="_blank" aria-label="undefined (opens in a new tab)" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Declaration on Forests</a> showed that in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region, the number of trees on farms and pasture – where restoration has the most benefit for people – <em>increased</em>, even as forest loss expanded. Building on that study, we are working with new data from the University of Maryland’s GLAD lab to expand that work to Latin America, aiming to develop a globally consistent, annual dataset that can track where trees are growing at the global, national and subnational scales.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>



<p>Harnessing the power of artificial intelligence, we have also begun analyzing raw satellite data across more than 30 landscapes of around 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) each. The goal is to build accurate wall-to-wall maps of millions of trees that official statistics, plans and models have rarely considered. Combining this approach with the global data can help us see more trees more accurately than before and track the overall progress of Trillion Trees and the tree restoration movement.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Establishing a protocol and community of practice</strong></h3>



<div class="imagecenter"><img class=" wp-image-3569 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="how to track tree planting projects" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/trillion-trees-how-to-track-social-1.png" width="100%"></div>



<p>Globally consistent, independent data is important for identifying where “hotspots” of tree restoration success (or failure) are occurring, so that we can better understand the impact of countries’, NGOs’ and companies’ investments.</p>



<p>We also need to make sure that the many individual projects that get funding from platforms like <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/06/growing-trillion-trees-right-terramatch" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TerraMatch</a> are part of a well-supported community of practice, where consistent, independent monitoring protocols are in place to support both project implementers and funders.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Adapting to the local context and goals is important. To build this community of practice, we need a consistent, scientifically sound, cost-effective protocol that practitioners across the world can use, and investors can trust. That’s what WRI is building for projects that restore trees within agricultural, forest and urban landscapes. The protocol focuses on key indicators – tree count, tree cover and tree species – that will be measured for up to 15 years after planting.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Because this protocol will combine field data collection with remote monitoring approaches like satellite imagery interpretation and artificial intelligence, the costs will be kept as low as possible. When projects use the same protocol, their aggregated data will help us understand whether those trillion trees are growing and whether our efforts to fight climate change are on the right track.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Measuring, understanding and investing in tree restoration</strong>&nbsp;</h3>



<p>We will need a robust global atlas to track tree restoration progress that mirrors the role that Global Forest Watch plays for tree cover loss – a “Restoration Watch.” We need a platform that will deliver lessons learned from the robust work that WRI and many others have carried out at the national and landscape levels.&nbsp;We also need an adaptable yet consistent protocol for projects.</p>



<p>Measuring tree growth is only one benchmark of restoration success. We need to invest in measuring the <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2018/09/social-network-analysis-helping-us-regreen-rwanda-it-can-inform-your-environmental-work" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">economic and social impact of restoration</a> too, to ensure that people stand to benefit.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For now, in a world where corporations and governments are increasingly interested in proving their success scientifically, tracking progress is essential. Funders invest in measuring success and insist that their planting partners do too. They must realize that the true price of tree restoration success goes beyond tree planting to include the cost of engaging local people, preparing and caring for trees and measuring progress. With this new momentum spurred by corporate pledges, platforms like TerraMatch and the latest scientific advances, now is the time to start tracking progress.</p>



<hr> 

<div class="attribute" style="”padding-bottom:" 10px;”=""> 


Originally appeared on <a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2020/07/trillion-trees-tracking-challenges" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WRI Insights</a>. 


</div> 

 

<hr>

Tracking tree growth will help us understand whether those trillion trees are growing and whether our efforts to fight climate change are on the right track.

Challenges of Measuring Tree Restoration | Global Forest Watch Blog

mexico

mexico | Global Forest Watch Blog

<p><em>Perfil de usuario – José Villa, <a href="http://www.nevadodecolima.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">parque nacional Nevado de Colima</a></em> </p>
<div class="imageright"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-4531 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="JOSÉ VILLA CASTILLO" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/JOSÉ-VILLA-CASTILLO.jpg" width="100%" />José Villa</div>
<p> <strong>Con que organización trabaja usted y con qué tipo de proyectos?</strong>  Trabajo para la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Territorial del Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco, soy el coordinador ejecutivo del parque nacional volcán <a href="http://www.nevadodecolima.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nevado de Colima</a> que es una área natural protegida transferida del gobierno federal al gobierno del estado para su administración. Desarrollo la administración del parque con el apoyo de mi equipo de trabajo en 25 proyectos en el año donde destaca la producción de planta en viveros tecnificados y la reforestación del parque  (<a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/stories/387" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ver la historia en el mapa aquí</a>).  <strong>Por qué le interesan los bosques?</strong>  Mi inquietud de mi infancia y juventud cercana a bellos bosques de Michoacán me condujo  a explorarlos a través de innumerables e inolvidables campamentos al interior de esas hermosas frondas boscosas serpenteadas por arroyos y lagos de ensueño  y es allí donde me nace el amor y cariño por la naturaleza, interés que no dejé de aprovechar en mi acertada decisión de vida que me cambaría para siempre al estudiar la licenciatura en Biología que se vio coronada profesionalmente por las personas que confiaron en mí para dirigir el maravilloso parque nacional (PN) volcán Nevado de Colima.  Hoy a 12 años de distancia, a cargo de mi espectacular área natural protegida tengo el honor de decir con orgullo que mi formación juvenil y aprecio por la naturaleza fueron los  detonantes para edificar las mejores acciones para la conservación de mi tesoro forestal alpino el Nevado de Colima.  <strong>Cómo conoció usted a GFW?</strong>  Desde mi postura como administrador del PN volcán Nevado de Colima consulto diversas plataformas en la red con temas de interés por la conservación de los bosques, entre ellas los vi hace años en mi Facebook. </p>
<div class="center"><img decoding="async" class="wp-image-4532 aligncenter" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="PN VOLCÁN NEVADO DE COLIMA" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PN-VOLCÁN-NEVADO-DE-COLIMA.jpg" width="100%" />Parque Nacional Volcán Nevado de Colima, México.</div>
<p> <strong>Cómo es que GFW ayuda a su trabajo y que ha logrado su organización usando los datos?</strong>  Bajo la normatividad de la CONANP se establece que el “Programa de conservación y manejo del parque nacional volcán Nevado de Colima” (PCyM) es el instrumento que determina la planificación, sus reglas administrativas  y establece criterios y acciones de conservación  de los recursos naturales del área.  Por su parte el Artículo 77 del Reglamento de la LEGEEPA en materia de áreas naturales protegidas  establece que cada cinco años se realizará la evaluación del  PCyM con el objeto de evaluar su efectividad y proponer posibles modificaciones.  Para la evaluación del PCyM en el año de 2014 resultó de relevancia el análisis en Global Forest Watch, al interior del ANP donde se observó que los pequeños cambios de cobertura forestal del ANP (señalados en pixeles rosas) corresponden a la subzona de recuperación tal como lo señala el PCyM.  está subzona fue ganada  a cambio de uso de suelo a ganaderos con procesos de denuncia y actos de Profepa  entre los años de 2009 a 2011 y cuenta con tres polígonos de 60 hectáreas cada uno para un total de 180 hectáreas bajo proyectos de compensación ambiental de la CONAFOR y mantenimiento del ANP donde se  plantaron 100,000 árboles juveniles de Pinus hartwegii con sobrevivencias del 95%.  Con las citadas herramientas y acciones demostramos a la CONANP que existe una ganancia neta  de esta subzona a los procesos de recuperación del bosque y  que en éste tópico el PCyM es efectivo por lo que su vigencia y asignación de recursos permanece para los próximos cinco años de administración del área.  <strong>Encontró usted algo sorprendente en los datos?</strong>  Me parece sorprendente que GFW focalice a miles de hectáreas deforestadas (pixeles en color rosa) del Complejo Volcánico de Colima por factores locales bien conocidos de cambio de uso de suelo como ganadería extensiva y agricultura y que ésta amplia superficie de extintos bosques sigan en incremento con el paso del tiempo.  <em>Reportado por <a href="http://www.reforestamosmexico.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reforestamos Mexico</a>.</em>  </p>
<hr />
<div class="attribute">BANDERA DE LA FOTO: Parque Nacional Volcán Nevado de Colima, México. Por José Villa.</div>
<hr />
<style type="text/css"></style>

Perfil de usuario – José Villa

<em>Perfil de usuario – José Villa, <a href="http://www.nevadodecolima.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">parque nacional Nevado de Colima</a></em> <div class="imageright"><img class="wp-image-4531 alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="JOSÉ VILLA CASTILLO" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/JOSÉ-VILLA-CASTILLO.jpg" width="100%" />José Villa</div> <strong>Con que organización trabaja usted y con qué tipo de proyectos?</strong>  Trabajo para la Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Territorial del Gobierno del Estado de Jalisco, soy el coordinador ejecutivo del parque nacional volcán <a href="http://www.nevadodecolima.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nevado de Colima</a> que es una área natural protegida transferida del gobierno federal al gobierno del estado para su administración. Desarrollo la administración del parque con el apoyo de mi equipo de trabajo en 25 proyectos en el año donde destaca la producción de planta en viveros tecnificados y la reforestación del parque  (<a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/stories/387" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ver la historia en el mapa aquí</a>).  <strong>Por qué le interesan los bosques?</strong>  Mi inquietud de mi infancia y juventud cercana a bellos bosques de Michoacán me condujo  a explorarlos a través de innumerables e inolvidables campamentos al interior de esas hermosas frondas boscosas serpenteadas por arroyos y lagos de ensueño  y es allí donde me nace el amor y cariño por la naturaleza, interés que no dejé de aprovechar en mi acertada decisión de vida que me cambaría para siempre al estudiar la licenciatura en Biología que se vio coronada profesionalmente por las personas que confiaron en mí para dirigir el maravilloso parque nacional (PN) volcán Nevado de Colima.  Hoy a 12 años de distancia, a cargo de mi espectacular área natural protegida tengo el honor de decir con orgullo que mi formación juvenil y aprecio por la naturaleza fueron los  detonantes para edificar las mejores acciones para la conservación de mi tesoro forestal alpino el Nevado de Colima.  <strong>Cómo conoció usted a GFW?</strong>  Desde mi postura como administrador del PN volcán Nevado de Colima consulto diversas plataformas en la red con temas de interés por la conservación de los bosques, entre ellas los vi hace años en mi Facebook. <div class="center"><img class="wp-image-4532 aligncenter" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="PN VOLCÁN NEVADO DE COLIMA" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/PN-VOLCÁN-NEVADO-DE-COLIMA.jpg" width="100%" />Parque Nacional Volcán Nevado de Colima, México.</div> <strong>Cómo es que GFW ayuda a su trabajo y que ha logrado su organización usando los datos?</strong>  Bajo la normatividad de la CONANP se establece que el “Programa de conservación y manejo del parque nacional volcán Nevado de Colima” (PCyM) es el instrumento que determina la planificación, sus reglas administrativas  y establece criterios y acciones de conservación  de los recursos naturales del área.  Por su parte el Artículo 77 del Reglamento de la LEGEEPA en materia de áreas naturales protegidas  establece que cada cinco años se realizará la evaluación del  PCyM con el objeto de evaluar su efectividad y proponer posibles modificaciones.  Para la evaluación del PCyM en el año de 2014 resultó de relevancia el análisis en Global Forest Watch, al interior del ANP donde se observó que los pequeños cambios de cobertura forestal del ANP (señalados en pixeles rosas) corresponden a la subzona de recuperación tal como lo señala el PCyM.  está subzona fue ganada  a cambio de uso de suelo a ganaderos con procesos de denuncia y actos de Profepa  entre los años de 2009 a 2011 y cuenta con tres polígonos de 60 hectáreas cada uno para un total de 180 hectáreas bajo proyectos de compensación ambiental de la CONAFOR y mantenimiento del ANP donde se  plantaron 100,000 árboles juveniles de Pinus hartwegii con sobrevivencias del 95%.  Con las citadas herramientas y acciones demostramos a la CONANP que existe una ganancia neta  de esta subzona a los procesos de recuperación del bosque y  que en éste tópico el PCyM es efectivo por lo que su vigencia y asignación de recursos permanece para los próximos cinco años de administración del área.  <strong>Encontró usted algo sorprendente en los datos?</strong>  Me parece sorprendente que GFW focalice a miles de hectáreas deforestadas (pixeles en color rosa) del Complejo Volcánico de Colima por factores locales bien conocidos de cambio de uso de suelo como ganadería extensiva y agricultura y que ésta amplia superficie de extintos bosques sigan en incremento con el paso del tiempo.  <em>Reportado por <a href="http://www.reforestamosmexico.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reforestamos Mexico</a>.</em>  <hr />  <div class="attribute">BANDERA DE LA FOTO: Parque Nacional Volcán Nevado de Colima, México. Por José Villa.</div>  <hr />  <style type="text/css"></style>

Perfil de usuario – José Villa, parque nacional Nevado de Colima José Villa Con que organización trabaja usted y con qué tipo de proyectos? Trabajo para

Perfil de usuario – José Villa | Global Forest Watch Blog

https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/24e4b4a3160f1ef325f06a7df2da246f?s=96&d=mm&r=g

Octavia Payne

<div class="right"><img decoding="async" class="alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IMG_0204.jpg" width="100%" />Cowling Arboretum. Photo by James Anderson for WRI.</div>
<p> By <a href="http://www.wri.org/profile/james-anderson" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">James Anderson</a>  For me, few landscapes can rival the beauty of the tallgrass prairie and oak savannas of the Upper Midwest. During the summer and fall, waving sheets of big bluestem prairie grass blanket the rolling hills, dotted with tall, yellow-flowered tall compass plants, bushy wild indigo and shady stands of wild burr oaks.  I visited that landscape recently on a trip to my hometown of Northfield, Minnesota. There, Carleton College operates the 880 acre (360 hectare) <a href="https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/arb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cowling Arboretum</a>, a giant outdoor laboratory for conservation and restoration ecology. I set out on a jog to take the recently launched <a href="http://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/2015/07/gfw-goes-mobile-putting-forest-information-in-the-palm-of-your-hand/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Global Forest Watch mobile site</a> for a spin. For the uninitiated, <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Global Forest Watch</a> is an online platform for monitoring forest change using new technology, led by the World Resources Institute and about 70 other partner organizations.  The arboretum is easily <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/14/44.48/-93.14/ALL/grayscale/loss,forestgain/591?begin=2001-01-01&end=2015-01-01&threshold=30" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recognizable on the GFW map</a> as a block of tree cover, relatively dense and extensive compared to the surrounding farmland. Much of southern <a href="http://bit.ly/234MV97" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Minnesota</a> must have once looked like this before the oak savannas and tallgrass prairie were plowed over for farmland. Now <a href="https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/arb/habitats/prairie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">less than 1 percent</a> of Minnesota’s original tallgrass prairie remains. Much of the arboretum itself exists on former agricultural land, but has been replanted with native species or allowed to regenerate with the guidance of students and staff.  For that reason, I was surprised to see several sizable patches of tree cover loss in the arboretum on the GFW map. Satellite-based <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/3/15.00/27.00/ALL/grayscale/loss,forestgain?tab=countries-tab&begin=2001-01-01&end=2015-01-01&threshold=30" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">data</a> from the University of Maryland and Google register more than <a href="http://bit.ly/1IKUN25" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">7.5 hectares</a> (18.5 acres) of clearing in two areas in 2013. How could it be that trees were being felled in this sensitive conservation and restoration area? </p>
<div class="center"><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/embed/map/15/44.48/-93.14/ALL/satellite/loss,forestgain?begin=2001-01-01&end=2014-01-31&threshold=30" height="240" width="100%" frameborder="0" align="center"></iframe></div>
<p> As it turns out, trees were indeed cleared in the arboretum in 2013, but as part of a long-running project by the arboretum staff and students to <a href="https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/arb/management/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">restore native habitats</a>. The tree cover loss data represent removal of pine plantations (originally established as timber crops in the 1940s and ‘50s.) Although native to Minnesota, these pines are <a href="https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/arb/habitats/conifer_plantation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">not part of the natural ecosystem</a> in this area, and do not reproduce well on their own, support native species, and are less resilient to the historical local fire regime. The satellite data may also be detecting the systematic removal of <a href="https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/arb/species/invasives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">invasive species</a> such as European buckthorn, bush honeysuckle, Siberian elm, and more. Students and volunteers remove many of these by hand and treat the roots with herbicide, or clear the areas with prescribed fires mimicking the natural regime.  But it’s not all about stopping the bad, it’s also about promoting the good. In addition to removing non-native and invasive species, the arboretum team are extensively planting Bur, White, and Red Oak, Black Cherry, Butternut, Wild Plum, and Silver Maple. Seedlings, which are subject to predation from mammals such as voles and overpopulated white-tailed deer, are protected by plastic guards, and others are fenced in as part of animal exclosure experiments. (By the way, this project is a great example the sort of restoration WRI seeks to <a href="http://www.wri.org/our-work/project/global-restoration-initiative" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">scale up around the world</a>.)  Much of the replanting has happened recently, so with the exception of a few pixels it doesn’t yet show up in the University of Maryland/Google tree cover <em>gain</em> data yet (which only detects plants five meters in height or more, and only currently counts regrowth from 2001-2012). But as the trees grow and regrowth monitoring improves, we could see a very different map of this area on GFW in a few years. </p>
<div class="center"><img decoding="async" class="aligncenter  wp-image-3729" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="Oak savanna restoration" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IMG_0198.jpg" width="100%" />Cowling Arboretum. Photo by James Anderson for WRI.</div>
<p> Now I have another reason to enjoy visiting the prairies and savannas of my local arboretum. Not only is it a great spot to enjoy the outdoors, but it is a perfect illustration of how on-the-ground knowledge can complement remote sensing technologies to tell a powerful story about a landscape. Because I thought this success story was important to share, I uploaded it as a <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/stories/245" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GFW User Story</a> so that future visitors to the arboretum or GFW map could understand the data better.  I encourage you to do the same. What story will you tell?  </p>
<hr />
<div class="attribute">  This post also appeared on <a href="http://www.wri.org/blog/2016/01/zooming-real-reasons-tree-cover-loss-and-gain-minnesota%E2%80%99s-oak-savanna" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WRI Insights</a>.  Thanks to Nancy Braker of Carleton College for her helpful input and suggestions.  </div>
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Zooming In: The Real Reasons for Tree Cover Loss and Gain in Minnesota’s Oak Savanna

<div class="right"><img class="alignright" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IMG_0204.jpg" width="100%" />Cowling Arboretum. Photo by James Anderson for WRI.</div> By <a href="http://www.wri.org/profile/james-anderson" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">James Anderson</a>  For me, few landscapes can rival the beauty of the tallgrass prairie and oak savannas of the Upper Midwest. During the summer and fall, waving sheets of big bluestem prairie grass blanket the rolling hills, dotted with tall, yellow-flowered tall compass plants, bushy wild indigo and shady stands of wild burr oaks.  I visited that landscape recently on a trip to my hometown of Northfield, Minnesota. There, Carleton College operates the 880 acre (360 hectare) <a href="https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/arb/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Cowling Arboretum</a>, a giant outdoor laboratory for conservation and restoration ecology. I set out on a jog to take the recently launched <a href="http://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/2015/07/gfw-goes-mobile-putting-forest-information-in-the-palm-of-your-hand/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Global Forest Watch mobile site</a> for a spin. For the uninitiated, <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Global Forest Watch</a> is an online platform for monitoring forest change using new technology, led by the World Resources Institute and about 70 other partner organizations.  The arboretum is easily <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/14/44.48/-93.14/ALL/grayscale/loss,forestgain/591?begin=2001-01-01&amp;end=2015-01-01&amp;threshold=30" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recognizable on the GFW map</a> as a block of tree cover, relatively dense and extensive compared to the surrounding farmland. Much of southern <a href="http://bit.ly/234MV97" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Minnesota</a> must have once looked like this before the oak savannas and tallgrass prairie were plowed over for farmland. Now <a href="https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/arb/habitats/prairie/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">less than 1 percent</a> of Minnesota’s original tallgrass prairie remains. Much of the arboretum itself exists on former agricultural land, but has been replanted with native species or allowed to regenerate with the guidance of students and staff.  For that reason, I was surprised to see several sizable patches of tree cover loss in the arboretum on the GFW map. Satellite-based <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/3/15.00/27.00/ALL/grayscale/loss,forestgain?tab=countries-tab&amp;begin=2001-01-01&amp;end=2015-01-01&amp;threshold=30" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">data</a> from the University of Maryland and Google register more than <a href="http://bit.ly/1IKUN25" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">7.5 hectares</a> (18.5 acres) of clearing in two areas in 2013. How could it be that trees were being felled in this sensitive conservation and restoration area? <div class="center"><iframe src="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/embed/map/15/44.48/-93.14/ALL/satellite/loss,forestgain?begin=2001-01-01&amp;end=2014-01-31&amp;threshold=30" height="240" width="100%" frameborder="0" align="center"></iframe></div> As it turns out, trees were indeed cleared in the arboretum in 2013, but as part of a long-running project by the arboretum staff and students to <a href="https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/arb/management/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">restore native habitats</a>. The tree cover loss data represent removal of pine plantations (originally established as timber crops in the 1940s and ‘50s.) Although native to Minnesota, these pines are <a href="https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/arb/habitats/conifer_plantation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">not part of the natural ecosystem</a> in this area, and do not reproduce well on their own, support native species, and are less resilient to the historical local fire regime. The satellite data may also be detecting the systematic removal of <a href="https://apps.carleton.edu/campus/arb/species/invasives/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">invasive species</a> such as European buckthorn, bush honeysuckle, Siberian elm, and more. Students and volunteers remove many of these by hand and treat the roots with herbicide, or clear the areas with prescribed fires mimicking the natural regime.  But it’s not all about stopping the bad, it’s also about promoting the good. In addition to removing non-native and invasive species, the arboretum team are extensively planting Bur, White, and Red Oak, Black Cherry, Butternut, Wild Plum, and Silver Maple. Seedlings, which are subject to predation from mammals such as voles and overpopulated white-tailed deer, are protected by plastic guards, and others are fenced in as part of animal exclosure experiments. (By the way, this project is a great example the sort of restoration WRI seeks to <a href="http://www.wri.org/our-work/project/global-restoration-initiative" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">scale up around the world</a>.)  Much of the replanting has happened recently, so with the exception of a few pixels it doesn’t yet show up in the University of Maryland/Google tree cover <em>gain</em> data yet (which only detects plants five meters in height or more, and only currently counts regrowth from 2001-2012). But as the trees grow and regrowth monitoring improves, we could see a very different map of this area on GFW in a few years. <div class="center"><img class="aligncenter  wp-image-3729" style="padding-bottom: 10px;" alt="Oak savanna restoration" src="https://dev-global-forest-watch-blog.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IMG_0198.jpg" width="100%" />Cowling Arboretum. Photo by James Anderson for WRI.</div> Now I have another reason to enjoy visiting the prairies and savannas of my local arboretum. Not only is it a great spot to enjoy the outdoors, but it is a perfect illustration of how on-the-ground knowledge can complement remote sensing technologies to tell a powerful story about a landscape. Because I thought this success story was important to share, I uploaded it as a <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/stories/245" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">GFW User Story</a> so that future visitors to the arboretum or GFW map could understand the data better.  I encourage you to do the same. What story will you tell?  <hr />  <div class="attribute">  This post also appeared on <a href="http://www.wri.org/blog/2016/01/zooming-real-reasons-tree-cover-loss-and-gain-minnesota%E2%80%99s-oak-savanna" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WRI Insights</a>.  Thanks to Nancy Braker of Carleton College for her helpful input and suggestions.  </div>  <hr />  <style type="text/css"></style>

Cowling Arboretum. Photo by James Anderson for WRI. By James Anderson For me, few landscapes can rival the beauty of the tallgrass prairie and oak

Zooming In: The Real Reasons for Tree Cover Loss and Gain in Minnesota’s Oak Savanna | Global Forest Watch Blog