Methodology & Data: Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunity

This guide details the methodology and data sources used by the World Resources Institute (WRI) to create the Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunity. The atlas identifies global areas of forest loss and evaluates the feasibility of restoration by contrasting potential forest coverage with current coverage and human pressure.

• The Atlas identifies over two billion hectares of global restoration opportunity landscapes, an area described as being larger than South America. Of this total, mosaic restoration represents the largest opportunity, accounting for 1.5 billion hectares, or three quarters of the total opportunity area.
• The methodology defines four categories of forest condition based on a comparison of current and potential forest maps: Intact (no conversion or degradation), Fragmented/managed (experienced timber extraction or managed as plantations), Degraded (reduction in volume, canopy cover, and biodiversity), and Deforested (converted to non-forest land uses).
• Restoration opportunities are categorized by human pressure and population density: Wide-scale restoration is targeted at areas with fewer than 10 people per square kilometer; Mosaic restoration is for areas with moderate pressure (10 to 100 people per square km); and Remote restoration applies to unpopulated areas with fewer than one person per square km within a 500-km radius.
• The analysis concludes that restoration opportunities are present on all continents and are generally not linked to current deforestation hotspots, as most opportunity landscapes were deforested or degraded in the distant past.
• The Bonn Challenge, established in September 2011 by the German Government and IUCN, sets a global target to restore 150 million hectares of deforested and degraded lands by the year 2020.
• Current forest coverage is mapped using MODIS 250m data and classified into three density types: Closed forest (canopy density > 45%), Open forest (25-45%), and Woodlands (10-25%).

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). Methodology & Data: Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunity. https://www.wri.org/data/methodology-data-atlas-forest-landscape-restoration-opportunity

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Methodology & Data: Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunity. n.d. https://www.wri.org/data/methodology-data-atlas-forest-landscape-restoration-opportunity.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Methodology & Data: Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunity |url=https://www.wri.org/data/methodology-data-atlas-forest-landscape-restoration-opportunity |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendmethodology, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Methodology \& Data: Atlas of Forest Landscape Restoration Opportunity}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://www.wri.org/data/methodology-data-atlas-forest-landscape-restoration-opportunity}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }