CBFP partner for the month of May 2014: World Resources Institute (WRI)
The World Resources Institute focuses on the intersection of the environment and socio-economic development and has been working intensively in the Congo Basin since the late 1990s. Globally, WRI’s programs address six urgent challenges: forests, water, food, climate change, energy, cities, and transport.
WRI’s work in the Congo Basin focuses in particular on land, governance, and forests.
WRI works with partners in government, business, and civil society to ensure access to high-quality information, tools, and training on forests and land use.
WRI has been working with the Congo Basin Forest Partnership to achieve outcomes on the ground through two major initiatives: Global Forest Watch and the Congo Basin Forest Atlases.
Global Forest Watch (GFW) is a dynamic online forest monitoring and alert system that empowers people everywhere to better manage forests. Global Forest Watch unites satellite technology, open data, and crowdsourcing to guarantee access to timely and reliable information about forests. GFW is free and follows an open data approach in putting decision-relevant information in the hands of governments, companies, NGOs, and the public. GFW is supported by a diverse partnership of organizations that contribute data, technical capabilities, funding, and expertise.
Global Forest Watch provides a wealth of forest information for the Congo Basin, including tree cover loss and gain data from the University of Maryland and Google at 30 meter resolution, monthly Forest Monitoring for Action (FORMA) tree cover loss alerts, daily NASA active fire alerts, and land use data on protected areas, logging, plantations, mining, and more. GFW also does in-depth regional work in collaboration with Ministries of Forest and Environment, OSFAC, the Jane Goodall Institute, UNEP, and other key regional partners.
GFW MAP focused on Congo Basin Link: http://cdb.io/1tDmtSd
Congo Basin Forest Atlases
The Congo Basin Forest Atlases are living forest information systems, merging the latest technology in remote sensing and GIS with ground-truthing to monitor and sustainably manage the region’s forests. The first Forest Atlas system was established within the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife of Cameroon in 2005, and since then Atlases have been developed for other Congo Basin countries, including Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
Cameroon
WRI partners with the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) to develop the Interactive Forest Atlas of Cameroon, and to build the capacity of forest stakeholders in remote sensing, GIS, and forest information management. This partnership aims to strengthen forest management and land use planning by bringing all major land use categories onto the same platform.
Central African Republic
WRI partners with the Ministry of Waters, Forests, Hunting and Fishing (MEFCP) to develop the Interactive Forest Atlas of the Central African Republic.
Congo
WRI partners with the Ministry of Forest Economy and Sustainable Development (MEFDD) to develop the Forest Atlas of the Republic of Congo.
Democratic Republic of Congo
WRI partners with the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism (MECNT) to develop the Interactive Forest Atlas of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Equatorial Guinea