Global Forest Watch (GFW)

Global Forest Watch (GFW) is a free, open-access web platform for near-real-time forest monitoring, operated by the World Resources Institute. Launched as GFW 2.0 in 2014, the platform has accumulated over 9 million users.^[1]

GFW aggregates and distributes the major tropical deforestation alert datasets (GLAD-L, GLAD-S2, RADD, DIST-ALERT, and JJ-FAST) fused into an integrated 10 m confidence-tiered alert layer.^[2] It also provides the annual Hansen Global Forest Change tree-cover-loss baseline (produced by the University of Maryland with Google, USGS, and NASA), primary forest and intact forest landscape masks, biome and tree-cover layers, commodity-driven loss attribution (Curtis et al. 2018 typology), protected area and indigenous lands boundaries, and commodity concession overlays.^[3]

The platform supports map-based exploration, time-series charts, area statistics, and downloadable data exports. Two companion tools extend its reach: GFW Pro, a subscription-based enterprise platform for commodity supply-chain due diligence, and Forest Watcher, a mobile app for offline field validation.