Global Forest Watch

Forest Watcher: Eyes in the Sky, Eyes in the Forest

Model and Strategy

The sun is rising over the Belum-Temengor Forest in Malaysia. A community ranger receives a deforestation alert from Global Forest Watch on her mobile phone. The Forest Watcher app leads her to a logging operation deep within the forest. She collects evidence and sends a report to local authorities. While law enforcement responds, social media spreads the news. The clearing stops, but the work continues. Investigators track the problem not just to company headquarters, but to the buyers in San Francisco who are on the hook for importing illegal wood. Our project empowers local people with information they need to identify and respond to forest threats in real-time. In 2014, Global Forest Watch (GFW) launched the world’s first satellite-based forest monitoring system. This project will deploy GFW’s new Forest Watcher mobile app in forests critical to biodiversity and livelihoods in Malaysia, the Philippines, and the Dominical Republic. We aim to scale Forest Watcher via the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) Partnership linking120 national NGOs and over 4,000 community groups working across 15,000 of the most important places for life on earth.

Impact

Our project targets critical forests in Malaysia, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic for biodiversity, carbon storage, and local cultural heritage. For example, the forests of Belum-Temengor in Malaysia support over 100 mammal species including Tiger, Asian Elephant, and Sumatran Rhinoceros and is the world’s richest site for the iconic hornbills. The lowland and montane forests of Mount Irid-Angelo on the Philippine Island of Luzon support dozens of rare species found only in the Philippines, including the magnificent Philippine Eagle, the country’s national bird. Through use of the Forest Watcher mobile app, local communities and environmental organizations will be empowered to participate actively in local conservation efforts and have a greater voice over the natural resources on which they depend. Capacities for law enforcement will also be strengthened, increasing investigations, arrests, fines, and prosecutions. Environmental and social impacts achieved under this project will ultimately support the scaling of the Forest Watcher app and GFW’s global conservation mission.
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Leadership

  • Crystal

    Crystal Davis

    Director, Global Forest Watch

  • Dr. Stuart

    Dr. Stuart Butchart

    Chief Scientist, BirdLife International