FORESTS: NEW UN-BACKED MONITORING TOOL AIMS TO HELP COMBAT DEFORESTATION

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 9 Apr 2013 11:00:00 -0400
Subject: FORESTS: NEW UN-BACKED MONITORING TOOL AIMS TO HELP COMBAT
DEFORESTATION
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org

FORESTS: NEW UN-BACKED MONITORING TOOL AIMS TO HELP COMBAT DEFORESTATION
New York, Apr 9 2013 11:00AM
A new initiative unveiled today at the United Nations Forum on Forests
will provide clear and timely information that makes it easier for
governments, companies and communities to fight deforestation.

Global Forest Watch 2.0 is a an independent, interactive, real-time,
forest monitoring system that unites satellite technology, data
sharing and human networks around the world to provide information
critical to better managing forests.

It was developed by the World Resources Institute and a number of
partners – including Google, the University of Maryland and the UN
Environment Programme (UNEP) – and was previewed for participants at
the Forum's current session in Istanbul, Turkey.

"The Global Forest Watch 2.0, that will be launched next month, could
not come at a more critical moment," Under-Secretary-General for
Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo said at the event.

"In achieving sustainable forest management, reliable, up-to-date and
easily accessible data and information are essential to monitoring,
assessment and effective interventions," he said.

This "remarkable" new tool represents an important step in empowering
governments and communities to take evidence-based, informed decisions
in advancing sustainable forest management, he added.

"For policy to be based on science and the facts, data and information
must be widely and easily accessible. It must also be in formats
usable for decision-making and in public domains," said Mr. Wu.
"Global Forest Watch 2.0 will help achieve that objective."

Introducing the new tool, Nigel Sizer, Director, Global Forests
Initiative, World Resources Institute, pointed out that many countries
have made tremendous progress in improving the quality of information
gathered about forests and making it accessible.

One example is Brazil, with its near real-time forests monitoring
systems that have greatly enhanced its enforcement efforts.

"Deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon have dropped by 80 per
cent since 2004," Mr. Sizer said. "According to senior Brazilian
officials, this is in part due to their efforts to improve the quality
and availability of information about what is happening to those
forests and to make it rapidly available to those who can take
action."

Another example is Gabon, which is investing millions of dollars in
improving access across the region to satellite imagery and remote
sensing for a new infrastructure programme that is being developed on
the ground.

"But we need to do much better," Mr. Sizer stressed, adding that
managers and those responsible for forests in many countries still
lack access to timely information on what is happening to their
forests. This is problem in both developing and developed countries.

There are a number of problems in this area, including the fact that
information is not up to date; it is very expensive to gather
information; and the information-gathering process is very technical.

"Individual countries are spending millions of dollars on gathering
and trying to analyze satellite data rather than spending that money
on taking action to address the issues that information presents,"
said Mr. Sizer.

According to the World Resources Institute, the new initiative has
been made possible thanks to a convergence of technologies and human
networks, including advances in satellite and remote sensing
technology.

Also, cloud computing and open source software can now be used to
rapidly process and interpret large volumes of satellite data at low
cost by utilizing clusters of servers scattered around the world.
Google Earth Engine's team is partnered with Global Forest Watch 2.0
to optimize easy access to cloud computing-based forest cover
information.

Meanwhile, high-speed internet connectivity enables sending data and
forest maps processed in North America, Europe or Singapore to laptops
and mobile phones in Jakarta, Kinshasa, Lima, Vladivostok, and other
corners of the globe. Also, smartphones, which are more and more
common, can be used by anyone in the field to download maps and
satellite images, as well as upload GPS coordinates and photographs
from the ground.

In addition, crowdsourcing using simple web interfaces can empower
large numbers of people to gather and share information, participate
in forest monitoring, and hold decision-makers accountable. Added to
this are social media outlets which can spread information quickly,
help communities organize, and mobilize people to act.
Apr 9 2013 11:00AM
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