Earth Day was celebrated earlier this month, giving folks around the world a chance to think about their carbon footprint, and how they relate to the natural world around them. One organization that does this, not only on Earth Day but every day of the year, is the Global Forest Watch, an initiative to monitor the world’s population of trees.
Since 1997, Global Forest Watch has been on a mission to maintain and broaden a global forest-monitoring network. It began as an effort introduced by the World Resources Institute (WRI), as part of its Forest Frontiers Initiative. Today, the organization has continued to improve how it monitors forests by merging cutting edge technology with on-the-ground partners from around the world. In 2011, the Global Forest Watch entered a new era with an expanded group of partners, more monitoring capabilities than ever before, and more support from environmental activists from across the globe.
Global Forest Watch’s mission is to help policy-makers achieve sustainable management of forest resources through strengthened land-use planning and monitoring. Its new satellite technology, open data, and crowdsourcing capabilities allow for people around the world to become empowered, informed environmental activists who have the power to contribute to better forest management. Global Forest Watch was recently featured on Philanthropy News Digest, which praised the organization for its outstanding web features that make for an incredibly compelling interactive experience.
Aside from collecting and demonstrating data that reveals the state of forests around the world, Global Forest Watch is an initiative that brings together likeminded people. Users of its website can share and read stories from people on the ground and learn about which forests need the most support. Global Forest Watch seeks to keep its users informed about forests both in their area and abroad, and connects those who are passionate about environmental preservation and eliminating forest depletion.
With partners and collaborators like NASA, Greenpeace, Global Witness, Conservation International, Google, and many others, the Global Forest Watch serves as a massive coalition of individuals and organizations who apply humanitarian values to environmental issues. As passionate as it is innovative, Global Forest Watch has become one of the most powerful resources available to those who are concerned with environmental issues, putting such issues into a contemporary context and working towards finding solutions.
Learn more by visiting www.globalforestwatch.org