Images: Deforestation Around the World

Global Forest Watch

global forest watch map

(Image credit: World Resources Institute)

Global Forest Watch, launched Feb. 20, 2014, provides a near real-time update of forest loss around the globe. [Read more about the Global Forest Watch website]

Forests from Orbit

satellite images of deforestation

(Image credit: World Resources Institute)

Satellite images from NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites, as well as the Landsat satellites, shows clear-cutting encroaching on forests.

Indonesia Forest Loss

Forest loss in Indonesia

(Image credit: World Resources Institute)

Pink overlaying the satellite imagery shows forest loss in Indonesia, where palm oil plantations and oil drilling are major deforestation drivers.

Active Fires Globally

global active fires

(Image credit: World Resources Institute)

Information from NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites shows active fires in the past seven days around the globe.

Forest Loss

pink forest loss on global map

(Image credit: World Resources Institute)

Global Forest Watch updates monthly with medium-resolution satellite data, and annually with high-resolution data that shows forests in great detail.

Countries Mapped

Countries in global forest watch

(Image credit: World Resources Institute)

Country pages organize deforestation and forest gain by nation.

Brazil Forest Data

Brazilian forest loss and gain

(Image credit: World Resources Institute)

Individual country pages on Global Forest Watch show national data on forest loss and gain.

Land Use

land use in indonesia map

(Image credit: World Resources Institute)

In Indonesia and several other regions, the map includes land-use data, such as clear-cutting or oil and gas concessions, seen here.

User Stories

User stories crowd-sourced

(Image credit: World Resources Institute)

Global Forest Watch users can upload local stories or alerts to warn of deforestation threats.

Protected Area Lost

deforestation in national park

(Image credit: World Resources Institute)

Marahoue National Park in the Ivory Coast has lost more than 90 percent of its forest cover. On the Global Forest Watch Map, the protected area is shown in blue, overlapping with the pink deforestation.

Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz. 

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