A new online platform is now available to provide all existing and consolidated data on carbon emissions from tropical deforestation.
The Global Forest Watch Climate (GFWC) web platform encourages users to explore and analyze carbon emissions across tropical forest landscapes, monitor trends in deforestation emissions through time, make comparisons, and identify and prioritize areas for investment.
In short, GFWC helps to address issues of data availability on carbon emissions.
“There’s currently not an easy way for many of us to access information on forest carbon emissions that is accessible and comprehensive. That’s the reason why we created GFWC – to provide detailed and timely accessible data on forest carbon emission from deforestation,” said Nancy Harris, Research Manager of the Global Forest Watch at the session on monitoring tools for carbon detection at the Global Landscapes Forum, 6 December.
Launched on 1 December at the COP 21 site in Le Bourget, Paris, the platform is touted as providing, “the best available data on carbon emissions from deforestation.”
The website targets journalists, researchers, students, NGOs, policymakers, indigenous groups, activists, and users looking for data to help them understand issues around deforestation, which in turn will allow them to make informed decisions and drive action.
It is powered by a large number of data sets, including results of studies by various research centers around the globe.
The online platform has customized indicators and interactive maps to allow users to have a better understanding of where carbon emissions occurred.
“We’re trying to move away from confusing spreadsheets. Instead, we’re creating compelling visualizations to bring data to life,” said Harris.
If a user is interested in a particular country, the corresponding country profile page gives an overview of what’s happening on forested land in that country. When comparing two different countries, users can also customize the analysis that they want to see. Data sets can then be downloaded and shared by users online.
At the moment, the platform is only focused on tropical forests, as GFWC recognizes that a big chunk of deforestation in the world happens in the tropics. Moreover, Harris revealed that they are also keeping track of broad commitments over the next five years.
According to Harris, GFWC is guided by the concept once articulated by biologist Edward Osborne Wilson: We are drowning in information, while starving for wisdom. The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.
“At GFWC, we synthesize the information and it’s time for all of us to think critically and make wiser choices,” Harris said.
