Google Releases World Forest Map: Global Forest Watch

If trees are cut down in a nearby forest, soon you can find out about it in almost real time thanks to the new Global Forest Watch project , developed by Google in collaboration with the World Resources Institute and 40 other organizations.

The site has published photographs from NASA satellites over the past 13 years. Moreover, image processing algorithms allow you to calculate in detail the volume of lost and grown forests in each territory and in each country, by year. For example, here are the statistics for Russia for 2000-2013 : losses of 36.5 million hectares, only 16.2 million hectares increased (1st place in the world in terms of forest loss); Ukraine: -565 thousand ha, +353 thousand ha; Belarus: -416 thousand ha, +375 thousand ha.

Deforestation is happening almost all over the world. Worldwide Summaryshows only a few states where there has been more green cover over the past 13 years. For example, Lesotho and Egypt.

“By the time we learn about deforestation, it's usually too late to do anything,” Google writes in a press release. - Scientists have been studying the forest for centuries, pointing to the vital importance of this ecosystem for human society. But most of us still do not have timely and reliable information about where, when and why forests disappear. That should change with the launch of Global Forest Watch. ”

A project worth $ 25 million will provide operational information to environmentalists and activists about what is happening in their country and in the surrounding territories. Soon, a notification service will appear on the site that will notify of deforestation in a given area.