ESG Data Guide 2024

World Resources Institute - Global Forest Watch

Data category

  • Environmental data
  • Geospatial Data; Forest Monitoring

The data offers solutions for:

  • Carbon footprinting
  • Environmental impact analysis and insight
  • Nature-based information
  • Near real time forest monitoring

Who are the data users?

  • Government
  • Civil society organisations; Researchers and academic organisations; Journalists

Brief description of the data offering

Global Forest Watch (GFW) is an online platform that provides data and tools for monitoring forests. By harnessing cutting-edge technology, GFW allows anyone to access near-real-time information about where and how forests are changing around the world, including annual tree cover loss data, deforestation and fire alerts, land use and designations, greenhouse gas fluxes and more. GFW hosts over 100 global and local data sets which are continuously being improved and expanded.

Where and how do you source your data?

GFW is committed to providing the highest-quality data on the world’s forests that is currently available. All of the data provided on GFW have been assessed with respect to several indicators of quality, including timeliness, accuracy, completeness, geographic coverage, innovation, and objectivity. 

Data on GFW come from a variety of sources, including governments, NGOs, academia, and industry. To acquire new data, GFW:

  • Researches and incorporates publicly available open data
  • Forms partnerships to move data into the public domain
  • Funds the creation of data sets to fill key gaps
  • Applies cutting-edge science and technology to produce new data

What is the cost for your data offering?

No cost. GFW has an open data policy, intended to provide information free of constraints and restrictions on use. All of the data, graphics, charts and other material we produce carry the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licensing. This means users are able to download, share, and adapt the data for any use, including commercial and non-commercial uses. Users must attribute the data appropriately, using the information provided in the dataset description.

Some data displayed on the GFW platform was developed by other organisations and may carry other licensing or permissions. For datasets not produced by GFW, WRI provides links to download data from the original source when they are available. Please refer to the original licensing for these datasets.

Contacts

kaitlyn.thayer@wri.org