Global Forest Watch Helps Indigenous Peoples Reduce Deforestation

A randomized control trial in the Peruvian Amazon demonstrated that Indigenous communities using Global Forest Watch satellite alerts reduced deforestation rates by 52% in the first year and 21% in the second year compared to a control group. The system, which costs approximately $6 per hectare annually, empowers local monitors to detect illegal clearing and coordinate community responses.

• A two-year randomized control trial in Loreto, Peru, involving 36 Indigenous communities using Global Forest Watch satellite alerts, resulted in deforestation rate decreases of 52% in the first year and 21% in the second year relative to 37 control communities.
• The forest monitoring system implemented by the Rainforest Foundation US is estimated to cost roughly $6 per hectare of forest per year, covering equipment, technology, training, and community payments.
• Indigenous communities globally act as effective land stewards, with forests on their lands storing approximately 37.7 billion tons of carbon and exhibiting lower deforestation rates than lands managed by other groups.
• Participating communities reported that the use of satellite-based monitoring technologies improved the efficiency of forest monitoring and accelerated the decision-making process.

APA

World Resources Institute (2022). Global Forest Watch Helps Indigenous Peoples Reduce Deforestation. https://www.wri.org/outcomes/global-forest-watch-helps-indigenous-peoples-reduce-deforestation

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Global Forest Watch Helps Indigenous Peoples Reduce Deforestation. 2022. https://www.wri.org/outcomes/global-forest-watch-helps-indigenous-peoples-reduce-deforestation.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Global Forest Watch Helps Indigenous Peoples Reduce Deforestation |date=19 September 2022 |url=https://www.wri.org/outcomes/global-forest-watch-helps-indigenous-peoples-reduce-deforestation |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2022global, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Global Forest Watch Helps Indigenous Peoples Reduce Deforestation}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2022}, month = sep, url = {https://www.wri.org/outcomes/global-forest-watch-helps-indigenous-peoples-reduce-deforestation}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }