Moving beyond forest monitoring with new Alerts updates

GFW Pro has introduced some important changes to the alerts analyses and map view, designed to significantly expand how and where users can track land-use change in near-real-time. With the new Global Integrated Disturbance Alerts, which now includes DIST-Alerts, users can view alerts within forests globally as well as alerts for disturbances in other ecosystems - including grassland, savannas, wetlands and crops. This enhances previously available alerts for tropical forests by expanding the coverage of alerts to allow users to monitor forests and vegetation anywhere in the world.

This expanded coverage means users can track changes in not just forests but also other vital ecosystems around the world that play a critical role in biodiversity and climate stability. A Disturbance Alerts Drivers layer is available in Map view to distinguish between human-caused conversion of natural lands to other land uses like agriculture or mining, as well as natural disturbances like drought and wildfires.

The integrated alerts enable users to derive meaningful summary statistics as the layer indicates where multiple alert systems have reported an alert in any given location and displays it through confidence levels. Confidence levels help prioritize alerts for follow-up.

The improved and expanded alert system makes it possible for supply chain actors to monitor progress toward no-conversion commitments or compliance with regulatory requirements, providing a more comprehensive picture of land-use change and supporting better decision-making.

Read more about how Integrated Disturbance Alerts work.