Google, in collaboration with the Institute of World Resources and 40 other organizations, has developed a new project called Global Forest Watch, which provides view on tendency of forestlands decrease and increase worldwide.
One can find on the project’s website photos from NASA satellites for the last 13 years of observations. Image processing algorithm performs a detailed calculation of felling and planting of forests worldwide. For example, Russia for 2000-2013 felled 36.5 million hectares and planted only 16.2 million hectares (1st place in the world for the forest losses); Ukraine: -565 hectares and +353 hectares, Belarus: -416 hectares and +375 hectares.
Deforestation concerns a great number of countries worldwide. Project’s summary shows that over the last 13 years, only few countries managed to increase forestlands.
"By the time we learn about deforestation it can be too late to do anything - Google says in press release. - Scientists have been studying forest regeneration for centuries, pointing to the vital importance of this ecosystem to human society. However, most of us still do not have updated and accurate information about where, when and why forests are disappearing. And Global Forest Watch project should change it».
The $25 million project will provide necessary information to ecologists and activists about what is happening in their country and surrounding areas. Project’s site plans an option of notification about deforestation in a given location, in the nearest future.
Source - www.agroinsurance.com
