CartoVista
CartoVistaCartoVista has decided to offer you a « forest map » because « Love a Tree Day » took place only a few weeks ago, but mainly because the situation of forests facing deforestation and fires is critical. Creating a map that focuses on this subject seemed necessary, even more so when we know that the summer season, often marked by an increase in forest fires, will soon begin. This work includes five main themes that combine raster data and vector data in the form of polygons and points.
Tree cover and places to watch
The first theme consists of raster data from Global Forest Watch. These raster data focus on the total tree cover in the world and its gains and losses since 2001. We have added places to watch reported by Global Forest Watch, which lists hot spots related to soybean or palm oil cultivation or places listed by Mongabay, an environmental information website.
Crops that endanger forests
The second theme addressed by this map focuses on the cultivation of palm oil (its production and consumption) and soy in the world. These two products have caused an exponential rate of deforestation in the last years and, thus, must be considered for this study. We have also mapped the tree cover by country, allowing us to understand the importance of forests in several regions.
Protecting forests is turning out to be very dangerous
Finally, we wanted to map the 2021 Global Witness report that focuses on murders related to environmental and forest protection. You will see that taking action to preserve the environment is becoming increasingly dangerous in many countries. This document reports that 227 people have been killed because they were trying to protect their land, rights, forests, and communities.
Sources
Global Forest Watch
Global Witness
Mongabay
Our World in Data
