Global Forest Watch

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Global Forest Watch

Global Forest Watch provides the best available data and user-driven tools for monitoring forests. It's free and easy-to-use.

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www.globalforestwatch.org Global Forest Watch (GFW) is an interactive online forest monitoring and alert system designed to empower people everywhere with the information they need to better manage and conserve forest landscapes. Global Forest Watch uses cutting edge technology and science to provide the timeliest and most precise information about the status of forest lands

capes worldwide, including near-real-time alerts showing suspected locations of recent tree cover loss. GFW is free and simple to use, enabling anyone to create custom maps, analyze forest trends, subscribe to alerts, or download data for their local area or the entire world. Users can also contribute to GFW by sharing data and stories from the ground via GFW’s crowdsourcing tools, blogs, and discussion groups. Special “apps” provide detailed information for companies that wish to reduce the risk of deforestation in their supply chains, users who want to monitor fires across Southeast Asia, and more. GFW serves a variety of users including governments, the private sector, NGOs, journalists, universities, and the general public. GFW is a growing partnership of organizations contributing data, technology, funding, and expertise. The GFW partnership is convened by the World Resources Institute.

05/11/2026

2025 tree cover loss data analysis in 7 charts.

Tropical primary forest loss dropped 36% in 2025, but overall loss remains high as fires pose a rising threat.

Read the full analysis at the link in bio.

04/29/2026

Tropical primary rainforest loss dropped in 2025 after record-breaking loss in 2024. But forest loss remains high, and fires pose a growing threat.

2025 data from UMD Global Land Analysis and Discovery team is now available on Global Forest Watch.

Countries like Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia and Malaysia are showing it’s possible to quickly slow forest loss with stronger policies and enforcement.

However, climate-driven fires are a dangerous new normal, threatening to reverse this progress. Plus, demand for commodities like cattle, soy, palm oil and gold is driving forest loss in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Read the full analysis here on World Resources Institute's living report on forests, the Global Forest Review 👉 https://bit.ly/4tEjQm7

🌎 Explore the data on Global Forest Watch: https://bit.ly/48suuUq
🌍 Learn more about how the data compares to other national estimates: https://bit.ly/3QFdAMe
🌏 Check out the data on WRI’s new innovative, AI-powered system: https://bit.ly/48sU4Zu

Our thanks to WRI Africa, WRI Brasil, WRI Indonesia, WRI Colombia and WRI Europe for their invaluable contributions to this analysis.

03/31/2026

In Congo Basin forests, a new road can cause big changes. A single narrow path can trigger a cascade of disturbances and quickly make intact forests more vulnerable to agricultural expansion, mining, logging, poaching and other threats.

But tracking these roads is difficult. Many are unpaved, temporary and quickly reclaimed by the forest, becoming nearly invisible in satellite imagery.

🎥 Watch the video to see forest roads in Cameroon become overgrown and hidden from above.

We are excited to help close this gap and introduce a new, high-resolution data set that maps road development in tropical rainforests across six Congo Basin countries, building upon prior research.

Read our blog to learn more: https://bit.ly/4m4tfR5
Explore the data on GFW: https://bit.ly/4s3F1fy

03/09/2026

Over the past 10 years there’s been a slow but stubborn rise in the rate of forest loss, including primary forests, in the Congo Basin.

The spans six countries, which hold some of the largest areas of primary tropical forest in the world: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo.

The DRC alone accounted for roughly 75% of average annual primary forest loss in the Congo Basin, followed by Cameroon. That partly reflects the amount of forest area in both countries, but it also underscores how critical it is to address forest loss in this region.

More on what’s driving in the DRC and Cameroon

In English ➡️ https://bit.ly/47jgs6P
In French ➡️ https://bit.ly/4rRNkMt

03/05/2026

The Congo Basin plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle. As the largest remaining net carbon sink in the tropics, the removed an annual average of 160 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) from the atmosphere over the past decade. That's equivalent to more than Nigeria’s fossil fuel emissions.

Yet there’s been a slow but stubborn rise in the rate of across the Congo Basin's primary forests.

Over the last five years, the Democratic Republic of the Congo ( ) ranked among the top three tropical countries for forest loss globally, and among the top 10. Both countries have the largest areas of primary forest in the region, and this persistent trend underscores the need for stronger policy action and targeted interventions.

Together with the team at WRI Africa, we dive deep into data from University of Maryland's GLAD Lab to share why forest loss in the Congo Basin requires immediate action.

Read our latest analysis to understand where loss is happening and the different drivers of loss, well as recommendations that could turn the tide.

In English ➡️ https://bit.ly/47jgs6P
In French ➡️ https://bit.ly/4rRNkMt

02/16/2026

"Environmental governance in conflict zones is often treated as impossible, something to address only after peace arrives. Our experience suggests the opposite: Forest monitoring during political crisis is both feasible and essential."

Myanmar's 2021 military coup triggered years of devastating violence and displacement and made patrolling contested forest territory very dangerous.

In a new guest blog, former GFW recipient Forest Trends shares how remote sensing tools supported safer forest monitoring in Myanmar after the coup. Working with Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC), they trained 15 NUG MONREC forest officers to use GFW tools to detect deforestation alerts and conduct ground-truthing when conditions allowed.

Read the full story and their broader lessons about monitoring in conflict zones 📖 https://bit.ly/3ZBuCMw

01/19/2026

📢 Applications for the 2026 open today!

We’re looking for projects that translate data into action, using Global Forest Watch tools to monitor forests, prevent deforestation, and drive real-world impact. Grants of $10,000–$40,000 USD will support 12-month projects that harness GFW to strengthen forest monitoring efforts on the ground.

This year's grantees will also help test Global Nature Watch, our new experimental AI-powered land monitoring system.

Apply here 👉 https://bit.ly/49Hxk80

📅 Deadline: February 6, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET
✅ Applications accepted in English, Spanish and French. Applicants must identify one point-person with working proficiency in English.
👀 Please carefully review applicant guidelines and FAQs on the application page
💻 Join our applicant webinar on January 27: https://bit.ly/3LDc7Us

Share this opportunity with eligible, interested partners in your network!

World Resources Institute

01/14/2026

GFW’s integrated alerts layer now detects deforestation and disturbance across all vegetation globally. Here’s what you need to know ⬇️

1️⃣ The integrated alerts layer on GFW is now called integrated alerts, marking the addition of DIST-ALERT to the system. By combining four independent alert systems — GLAD-L, GLAD-S2, RADD and DIST-ALERT — users can monitor deforestation and other vegetation disturbances more effectively than by relying on any one system alone.

2️⃣ The addition of DIST-ALERT to both GFW and brings expanded coverage and functionality — the integrated alerts layer now covers all vegetation both inside and outside of forests everywhere on Earth and detects repeated disturbances.

3️⃣ Are you focused on forests? It is still possible to display only alerts within areas of at least 30% tree cover canopy density across the globe, so you can continue to monitor forests specifically but with expanded geographical coverage.

4️⃣ Users will see more alerts, including alerts outside of forest for the first time.

Learn more about this exciting update on our blog ➡️ https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/data-and-tools/integrated-deforestation-alerts/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=integrateddistalert

And start exploring the data on Global Forest Watch today 🌎 https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/?map=eyJkYXRhc2V0cyI6W3siZGF0YXNldCI6ImludGVncmF0ZWQtZGVmb3Jlc3RhdGlvbi1hbGVydHMtOGJpdCIsIm9wYWNpdHkiOjEsInZpc2liaWxpdHkiOnRydWUsImxheWVycyI6WyJpbnRlZ3JhdGVkLWRlZm9yZXN0YXRpb24tYWxlcnRzLThiaXQiXX0seyJkYXRhc2V0IjoicG9saXRpY2FsLWJvdW5kYXJpZXMiLCJsYXllcnMiOlsiZGlzcHV0ZWQtcG9saXRpY2FsLWJvdW5kYXJpZXMiLCJwb2xpdGljYWwtYm91bmRhcmllcyJdLCJvcGFjaXR5IjoxLCJ2aXNpYmlsaXR5Ijp0cnVlfV19&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=integrateddistalert

11/06/2025

Storytelling for forest protection 📚 🎥 ✍️

Meet the grantees empowering journalists, youth, and Indigenous communities to transform forest data into powerful stories that expose illegal activity, raise awareness and inspire action.

🌏 Open Development Cambodia will train communities, Indigenous groups, and journalists on evidence-based storytelling using GFW data. They also plan to create bilingual platform with automatic forest disturbance alerts, alongside a social media campaign to raise awareness.

🌍 Radio Workshop will train Batwa and Bantu youth how to produce compelling, data-driven radio journalism to increase public awareness around illegal deforestation the DRC's Équateur Province.

Congratulations again to all twelve of our 2025-2026 recipients! Learn more about their projects on our blog
➡️ https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/users-in-action/2025-global-forest-watch-small-grants-fund-recipients/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=sgfcycle2025

11/04/2025

Introducing the 2025-2026 recipients scaling community-led forest stewardship in Africa.

🌍 The Resource Foundation Ghana is training communities, officials, and law enforcement to use the GFW Forest Watcher app for real-time forest monitoring and reporting, strengthening local response to illegal activities and addressing information gaps.

🌍 Action for Sustainable Development, also a 2023 grantee, is expanding community-led forest monitoring to Cameroon's Boumba Bek National Park, combining technology with on-the-ground observations to strengthen enforcement and trust among communities, authorities and conversation stakeholders.

🌍 Alphome Community Farms is facing deforestation threats across Haut-Uele, Democratic Republic of the Congo. They will train community members, youth and leaders to use GFW to collect information for a public awareness campaign.

🌍 Sekakoh Organization is empowering Cameroon's Ebo Forest communities and equipping them with the GFW Forest Watcher app and drones to document to document and verify illegal activities in this Key Biodiversity Area.

Learn more about their projects and all our recipients
➡️ https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/users-in-action/2025-global-forest-watch-small-grants-fund-recipients/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=sgfcycle2025

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