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A Message from WRI's Global Director of Forests

Forests provide society with a wide array of benefits. They are a source of food and medicines. They provide wood for construction, fiber for paper, and fuel for energy. Forests help moderate freshwater flows and influence regional precipitation patterns on which nearby agriculture and cities depend. Forests are also central to the fight against climate change because they help remove carbon from the air but can also emit carbon into the atmosphere when cleared. And forests harbor the most biodiversity of any ecosystem on Earth. At least 1.6 billion people rely on forest resources for their livelihoods,  including nearly 70 million Indigenous People.    

But many forests, and their capacity to provide these benefits, are under threat. Nearly half of the forests that covered 50 percent the world’s land 10,000 years ago have since been cleared. Most forests still standing today have been degraded or fragmented; by one measure, less than one-third of them are still intact.   

We have seen governments and companies make time-bound commitments to end deforestation, restore degraded forest landscapes, and achieve sustainable forest management. But rapid deforestation and forest degradation have continued, driven primarily by growing global demand for food, fuel, and fiber. Climate change impacts, including severe fires and new vectors and outbreaks of forest pests and diseases, exacerbate the decline.  

We know that timely and reliable data are critical to addressing the crisis facing the world’s forests. World Resources Institute is committed to providing the best data and technology currently available to monitor forests around the world. Since 2014, millions of people have gone online to access cutting-edge data via Global Forest Watch's easy-to-use interactive maps and dashboards, and the wide availability of forest and land cover maps based on satellite data provides more information on the world’s forests than ever before.

We also understand that maps and data often require additional analysis and interpretation to be useful for decision-making. We receive many requests from our users to help them apply data to report on policy targets, guide funding decisions, measure program impact, inform journalism, and other practical purposes. Simply providing access to data through platforms like GFW is not enough. We also need to help people with diverse needs and interests interpret data to answer their own questions. The Global Forest Review (GFR) aims to support this goal.   

We emphasize that the Global Forest Review is meant to complement, not replace, official assessment reports linked to international policy frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement, the New York Declaration on Forests, and the Convention on Biological Diversity. These policy frameworks have established specific indicators for tracking progress towards quantitative targets, and these indicators require reliable data to be effectively collected and analyzed. We have designed the Global Forest Review indicators to align with common goals that cut across these policy frameworks so that they can contribute to these official monitoring and measurement processes.

As the quality and availability of spatial data improve, we will continue to expand and improve existing content, especially as it relates to forest gain, drivers of loss and net forest change. The Global Forest Review is a living report, and we continually update its contents when new information is available. Our hope is that providing timely, independent, and globally comprehensive insights will facilitate a future of more sustainable forest ecosystems. 

— Rod Taylor, Global Director of WRI's Forest Program 

 

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What is the Global Forest Review?

The Global Forest Review (GFR) is a living online report providing the latest information on the state of the world’s forests. Unlike other reports that compile statistical data reported by governments, the GFR draws primarily on global-scale geospatial data derived from analysis of satellite imagery. This approach to forest monitoring distinguishes the GFR in several ways:

  • Spatially explicit. Satellites currently allow us to monitor the entire world’s forests at 30-meter resolution and at even higher resolutions in certain cases. This allows the GFR to go beyond global- and national-scale statistics to shed light on the local dynamics driving these trends.
  • Frequently updated. Satellites are imaging the earth every day, allowing forests to be monitored in near-real time. As a living report, the GFR is updated frequently based on the latest satellite data.
  • Globally consistent. While other reporting initiatives compile statistics reported by countries and depend on the definitions, frequency, and accuracy with which individual governments update their forest data, the GFR uses globally consistent satellite data. Satellites can be used to monitor the entire world using a consistent and transparent method, which is helpful for tracking global-scale trends. 
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A Quick Guide to the Global Forest Review Content

The Global Forest Review (GFR) has five major components:

  • Forest Pulse draws on the most recent data and analysis to reveal the latest trends in deforestation, with a particular focus on tropical primary forests. 
  • Indicators serve to track vital trends regarding the extent of global forest resources, their condition, management, and use.  
  • Top 10 Lists provide a snapshot of which countries are doing the best and worst when it comes to forests, comparing countries across multiple metrics. 
  • Targets Tracker serves as a global report on progress towards key sustainability goals related to forests. The Targets Tracker interprets the indicator data to assess progress in international efforts to reduce deforestation and restore forests. 
  • Data and Methods provides a detailed description of key data sets used and their sources, analyses performed and related assumptions, and a glossary of key terms. 
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The Data Behind the Global Forest Review

The Global Forest Review (GFR) primarily uses geospatial data provided by Global Forest Watch. The data is drawn from multiple sources, ranging from academic researchers to official government data. The keystone data set underlying most of the analysis on the GFR is a global map of tree cover change at 30-meter resolution, which depicts tree cover loss annually since 2001 and tree cover gain cumulatively from 2000 to 2020. This Global Tree Cover Change data set produced by the University of Maryland is the only regularly updated, high-resolution map of global forest change currently in existence and can be explored in more detail on Global Forest Watch (learn how this data compares to the most commonly referenced forest report — the Global Forest Resources Assessment from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations — here).

The GFR also draws on the latest versions of complimentary data sets, such as high-resolution data showing trees outside of forests and data calculating forests’ greenhouse gas emissions and removals. The GFR combines these and other spatial data sets — such as the location of protected areas or primary forests — to shed light on when, where, and why forests are changing and the impacts these changes have on biodiversity, climate change, and society.  

For more information about how the analysis in the GFR was generated, please refer to Data and Methods.  

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How to Cite the Global Forest Review

“Indicator/Page Name.” Global Forest Review, 2024, update 8. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute. Available online at https://research.wri.org/gfr/global-forest-review.

See Data and Methods for more information about the GFR’s periodic updates.

The Global Forest Review Team

Christian Aldridge
Naomi Basik Treanor
Anika Berger
John Brandt
Sarah Carter
Amanda DiMartini
Bill Dugan
Jessica Ertel
David Gibbs
Liz Goldman
Nancy Harris
Paige Johnson
Darby Levin
Katie Reytar
Nicole Sands
Michelle Sims
Justine Spore
Sara Staedicke
Fred Stolle
Gregory Taff
Rod Taylor
Kaitlyn Thayer
Romain Warnault
Jessica Webb
Mikaela Weisse
 

Given the continually updated nature of the Global Forest Review, authors listed above reflect only the current Global Forest Review team. We would like to thank the many past contributors and reviewers, both within and outside of World Resources Institute.

We would like to thank Bezos Earth Fund, Cargill, the Mulago Foundation, the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the US Agency for International Development, and the Walmart Foundation for contributing to the Global Forest Review. 

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{"Glossary":{"51":{"name":"agricultural tree crops","description":"Trees cultivated for their food, cultural, or economic values. These include oil palm, rubber, cocoa, cashew, mango, oranges (citrus), plantain, banana, and coconut.\r\n"},"141":{"name":"agroforestry","description":"A diversified set of agricultural or agropastoral production systems that integrate trees in the agricultural landscape.\r\n"},"101":{"name":"albedo","description":"The ability of surfaces to reflect sunlight.\u0026nbsp;Light-colored surfaces return a large part of the sunrays back to the atmosphere (high albedo). Dark surfaces absorb the rays from the sun (low albedo).\r\n"},"94":{"name":"biodiversity intactness","description":"The proportion and abundance of a location\u0027s original forest community (number of species and individuals) that remain.\u0026nbsp;\r\n"},"95":{"name":"biodiversity significance","description":"The importance of an area for the persistence of forest-dependent species based on range rarity.\r\n"},"142":{"name":"boundary plantings","description":"Trees planted along boundaries or property lines to mark them well.\r\n"},"98":{"name":"carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)","description":"Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) is a measure used to aggregate emissions from various greenhouse gases (GHGs) on the basis of their 100-year global warming potentials by equating non-CO2 GHGs to the equivalent amount of CO2.\r\n"},"99":{"name":"CO2e","description":"Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) is a measure used to aggregate emissions from various greenhouse gases (GHGs) on the basis of their 100-year global warming potentials by equating non-CO2 GHGs to the equivalent amount of CO2.\r\n"},"1":{"name":"deforestation","description":"The change from forest to another land cover or land use, such as forest to plantation or forest to urban area.\r\n"},"77":{"name":"deforested","description":"The change from forest to another land cover or land use, such as forest to plantation or forest to urban area.\r\n"},"76":{"name":"degradation","description":"The reduction in a forest\u2019s ability to perform ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and water regulation, due to natural and anthropogenic changes.\r\n"},"75":{"name":"degraded","description":"The reduction in a forest\u2019s ability to perform ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and water regulation, due to natural and anthropogenic changes.\r\n"},"79":{"name":"disturbances","description":"A discrete event that changes the structure of a forest ecosystem.\r\n"},"68":{"name":"disturbed","description":"A discrete event that changes the structure of a forest ecosystem.\r\n"},"65":{"name":"driver of tree cover loss","description":"The direct cause of forest disturbance.\r\n"},"70":{"name":"drivers of loss","description":"The direct cause of forest disturbance.\r\n"},"81":{"name":"drivers of tree cover loss","description":"The direct cause of forest disturbance.\r\n"},"102":{"name":"evapotranspiration","description":"When solar energy hitting a forest converts liquid water into water vapor (carrying energy as latent heat) through evaporation and transpiration.\r\n"},"2":{"name":"forest","description":"Forests include tree cover greater than 30 percent tree canopy density and greater than 5 meters in height as mapped at a 30-meter Landsat pixel scale.\r\n"},"3":{"name":"forest concession","description":"A legal agreement allowing an entity the right to manage a public forest for production purposes.\r\n"},"90":{"name":"forest concessions","description":"A legal agreement allowing an entity the right to manage a public forest for production purposes.\r\n"},"53":{"name":"forest degradation","description":"The reduction in a forest\u2019s ability to perform ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and water regulation, due to natural and anthropogenic changes.\r\n"},"54":{"name":"forest disturbance","description":"A discrete event that changes the structure of a forest ecosystem.\r\n"},"100":{"name":"forest disturbances","description":"A discrete event that changes the structure of a forest ecosystem.\r\n"},"5":{"name":"forest fragmentation","description":"The breaking of large, contiguous forests into smaller pieces, with other land cover types interspersed.\r\n"},"6":{"name":"forest management plan","description":"A plan that documents the stewardship and use of forests and other wooded land to meet environmental, economic, social, and cultural objectives. Such plans are typically implemented by companies in forest concessions.\r\n"},"62":{"name":"forests","description":"Forests include tree cover greater than 30 percent tree canopy density and greater than 5 meters in height as mapped at a 30-meter Landsat pixel scale.\r\n"},"69":{"name":"fragmentation","description":"The breaking of large, contiguous forests into smaller pieces, with other land cover types interspersed.\r\n"},"80":{"name":"fragmented","description":"The breaking of large, contiguous forests into smaller pieces, with other land cover types interspersed.\r\n"},"74":{"name":"gain","description":"The establishment of tree canopy in an area that previously had no tree cover. Tree cover gain may indicate a number of potential activities, including natural forest growth or the crop rotation cycle of tree plantations.\r\n"},"143":{"name":"global land squeeze","description":"Pressure on finite land resources to produce food, feed and fuel for a growing human population while also sustaining biodiversity and providing ecosystem services.\r\n"},"7":{"name":"hectare","description":"One hectare equals 100 square meters, 2.47 acres, or 0.01 square kilometers and is about the size of a rugby field. A football pitch is slightly smaller than a hectare (pitches are between 0.62 and 0.82 hectares).\r\n"},"66":{"name":"hectares","description":"One hectare equals 100 square meters, 2.47 acres, or 0.01 square kilometers and is about the size of a rugby field. A football pitch is slightly smaller than a hectare (pitches are between 0.62 and 0.82 hectares).\r\n"},"67":{"name":"intact","description":"A forest that contains no signs of human activity or habitat fragmentation as determined by remote sensing images and is large enough to maintain all native biological biodiversity.\r\n"},"78":{"name":"intact forest","description":"A forest that contains no signs of human activity or habitat fragmentation as determined by remote sensing images and is large enough to maintain all native biological biodiversity.\r\n"},"8":{"name":"intact forests","description":"A forest that contains no signs of human activity or habitat fragmentation as determined by remote sensing images and is large enough to maintain all native biological biodiversity.\r\n"},"55":{"name":"land and environmental defenders","description":"People who peacefully promote and protect rights related to land and\/or the environment.\r\n"},"9":{"name":"loss driver","description":"The direct cause of forest disturbance.\r\n"},"10":{"name":"low tree canopy density","description":"Less than 30 percent tree canopy density.\r\n"},"84":{"name":"managed forest concession","description":"Areas where governments have given rights to private companies to harvest timber and other wood products from natural forests on public lands.\r\n"},"83":{"name":"managed forest concession maps for nine countries","description":"Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Indonesia, Liberia, and the Republic of the Congo\r\n"},"104":{"name":"managed natural forests","description":"Naturally regenerated forests with signs of management, including logging, clear cuts, etc.\r\n"},"91":{"name":"megacities","description":"A city with more than 10 million people.\r\n"},"57":{"name":"megacity","description":"A city with more than 10 million people."},"56":{"name":"mosaic restoration","description":"Restoration that integrates trees into mixed-use landscapes, such as agricultural lands and settlements, where trees can support people through improved water quality, increased soil fertility, and other ecosystem services. This type of restoration is more likely in deforested or degraded forest landscapes with moderate population density (10\u2013100 people per square kilometer). "},"86":{"name":"natural","description":"A forest that is grown without human intervention.\r\n"},"12":{"name":"natural forest","description":"A forest that is grown without human intervention.\r\n"},"63":{"name":"natural forests","description":"A forest that is grown without human intervention.\r\n"},"144":{"name":"open canopy systems","description":"Individual tree crowns that do not overlap to form a continuous canopy layer.\r\n"},"82":{"name":"persistent gain","description":"Forests that have experienced one gain event from 2001 to 2016.\r\n"},"13":{"name":"persistent loss and gain","description":"Forests that have experienced one loss or one gain event from 2001 to 2016."},"97":{"name":"plantation","description":"An area in which trees have been planted, generally for commercial purposes.\u0026nbsp;\r\n"},"93":{"name":"plantations","description":"An area in which trees have been planted, generally for commercial purposes.\u0026nbsp;\r\n"},"88":{"name":"planted","description":"A forest composed of trees that have been deliberately planted and\/or seeded by humans.\r\n"},"14":{"name":"planted forest","description":"Stand of planted trees \u2014 other than tree crops \u2014 grown for wood and wood fiber production or for ecosystem protection against wind and\/or soil erosion.\r\n"},"73":{"name":"planted forests","description":"Stand of planted trees \u2014 other than tree crops \u2014 grown for wood and wood fiber production or for ecosystem protection against wind and\/or soil erosion."},"148":{"name":"planted trees","description":"Stand of trees established through planting, including both planted forest and tree crops."},"149":{"name":"Planted trees","description":"Stand of trees established through planting, including both planted forest and tree crops."},"15":{"name":"primary forest","description":"Old-growth forests that are typically high in carbon stock and rich in biodiversity. The GFR uses a humid tropical primary rainforest data set, representing forests in the humid tropics that have not been cleared in recent years.\r\n"},"64":{"name":"primary forests","description":"Old-growth forests that are typically high in carbon stock and rich in biodiversity. The GFR uses a humid tropical primary rainforest data set, representing forests in the humid tropics that have not been cleared in recent years.\r\n"},"58":{"name":"production forest","description":"A forest where the primary management objective is to produce timber, pulp, fuelwood, and\/or nonwood forest products."},"89":{"name":"production forests","description":"A forest where the primary management objective is to produce timber, pulp, fuelwood, and\/or nonwood forest products.\r\n"},"87":{"name":"seminatural","description":"A managed forest modified by humans, which can have a different species composition from surrounding natural forests.\r\n"},"59":{"name":"seminatural forests","description":"A managed forest modified by humans, which can have a different species composition from surrounding natural forests. "},"96":{"name":"shifting agriculture","description":"Temporary loss or permanent deforestation due to small- and medium-scale agriculture.\r\n"},"103":{"name":"surface roughness","description":"Surface roughness of forests creates\u0026nbsp;turbulence that slows near-surface winds and cools the land as it lifts heat from low-albedo leaves and moisture from evapotranspiration high into the atmosphere and slows otherwise-drying winds. \r\n"},"17":{"name":"tree cover","description":"All vegetation greater than five meters in height and may take the form of natural forests or plantations across a range of canopy densities. Unless otherwise specified, the GFR uses greater than 30 percent tree canopy density for calculations.\r\n"},"71":{"name":"tree cover canopy density is low","description":"Less than 30 percent tree canopy density.\r\n"},"60":{"name":"tree cover gain","description":"The establishment of tree canopy in an area that previously had no tree cover. Tree cover gain may indicate a number of potential activities, including natural forest growth or the crop rotation cycle of tree plantations.\u0026nbsp;As such, tree cover gain does not equate to restoration.\r\n"},"18":{"name":"tree cover loss","description":"The removal or mortality of tree cover, which can be due to a variety of factors, including mechanical harvesting, fire, disease, or storm damage. As such, loss does not equate to deforestation.\r\n"},"150":{"name":"tree crops","description":"Stand of perennial trees that produce agricultural products, such as rubber, oil palm, coffee, coconut, cocoa and orchards."},"19":{"name":"tree plantation","description":"An agricultural plantation of fast-growing tree species on short rotations for the production of timber, pulp, or fruit.\r\n"},"72":{"name":"tree plantations","description":"An agricultural plantation of fast-growing tree species on short rotations for the production of timber, pulp, or fruit.\r\n"},"85":{"name":"trees outside forests","description":"Trees found in urban areas, alongside roads, or within agricultural land\u0026nbsp;are often referred to as Trees Outside Forests (TOF).\u202f\r\n"},"151":{"name":"unmanaged","description":"Naturally regenerated forests without any signs of management, including primary forest."},"105":{"name":"unmanaged natural forests","description":"Naturally regenerated forests without any signs of management, including primary forest.\r\n"}}}