Developing Data Stories Using GFW for Journalism_September 14 2023

AGENDA
• Introduction
• How to Use Global
Forest Watch
• Speaker
Presentations
• Conclusion
• Q&A
Photo: Reporter Brasil

GOAL:
• Learn how Global Forest Watch
can inspire and strengthen your
reporting
• Hear how you can work directly
with our team!
Photo: AMPA

GLOBAL FOREST WATCH
• GFW offers a suite of forest
monitoring tools designed to:
• Increase knowledge and
transparency about forest
landscapes
• Advance private sector action
to stop commodity-driven
deforestation and manage
forests sustainably
• Harness information to
mobilize local action by
governments and civil society

SPEAKERS
Kaitlyn Thayer
Communications
Manager
Global Forest Watch
Willie Shubert
Global Program Director
Mongabay
Isabela Barriga
Engagement Specialist
Global Forest Watch
MODERATOR
Kuek Ser Kuang Keng
Data Editor, Environmental
Investigations Unit
Pulitzer Center
Madeleine Ngeunga
Africa Editor,
Pulitzer Center;
Rainforest Investigations
Fellow, InfoCongo

Using Global Forest Watch to
Report on Forest Change
Kaitlyn Thayer
Global Forest Watch Communications Manager
GFW media inquiries? → kaitlyn.thayer@wri.org

Topics
• Talking about tree cover
• Data for an ongoing story
• Generating story ideas
• Working with the team at Global Forest Watch (GFW)

Tree cover loss is not always deforestation
Tree cover loss is defined as the complete removal of tree cover for any reason. It
includes both human-caused loss and natural disturbances, and loss that is
permanent or temporary.
Deforestation typically refers to human-caused, permanent removal of
natural forest cover.
Global Forest Watch has data on tree cover loss. Tree cover is a convenient metric
for monitoring forest change because it is easily measurable from space and
satellite imagery. It is difficult to monitor deforestation with satellite imagery
alone.
More info at research.wri.org/gfr/key-terms-definitions
Talking about tree cover:

Why the focus on tropical primary forests?
Primary forest are mature rainforest that are especially important for biodiversity,
carbon storage and regulating regional and local climate effects.
More than 96% of deforestation, or human-caused, permanent removal of
forest cover occurs, in the tropics.
Talking about tree cover:
More info at research.wri.org/gfr/key-terms-definitions

Data for an ongoing story
• Dashboard statistics
• Map
• Expert data analysis
• GFW Blog
• Global Forest Review
• WRI Insights
www.globalforestwatch.org/dashboards

• Map
• GFW Blog
• Global Forest Review
• WRI Insights
www.globalforestwatch.org/map

• Map
• GFW Blog → globalforestwatch.org/blog
• Global Forest Review → research.wri.org/gfr
• WRI Insights → wri.org/insights

Generating story ideas
• Tree cover loss data
• Deforestationalerts
• Fire alerts
• Contextual data
• Key biodiversity areas
• Alliance for Zero Extinction
• Protected areas
• Concessions
• Indigenous and Community
Lands
• Places to Watch

Working with the team at GFW
• Interview a GFW expert
• Request raw data (also on GFW!)
• Fact checking and quote review
• Advanced notice helps us, help you
GFW media inquiries? Contact kaitlyn.thayer@wri.org

Developing Data Stories:
Using Global Forest Watch for
Journalism
By Madeleine Ngeunga, Rainforest Investigations Fellow

A long story with Global Forest Watch tools
● Investigating forest management and
policy, agribusiness and land grabbing,
Indigenous rights, land-use conflict,
climate change, and environmental
justice issues in the Congo Basin
region and beyond.
● Using data-driven stories to highlight
the political, social, and environmental
factors causing forest loss across the
Congo basin region and beyond.
● Global Forest Watch fellow in 2019
● Pulitzer Center Rainforest
Investigations Network fellow in 2021-
2023.
● Part of the Pulitzer center team
supporting African journalists across
sub-saharan Africa to report on
rainforestrelated issues and conduct
investigative journalism.
● Also works as an editor with InfoCongo

Deforestation alertsbeyond the limitsof logging titlesand agricultural
plantation in Lokoudje/South Cameroon.
A series of 7 collaborative investigations produced &
co-publishedby Le Monde and InfoCongo, in
partnershipwith the Pulitzer Center’s Rainforest
Investigations Network
The system behind the looting
of Cameroon’s forest
A troubling increase in illegal logging
cases, with legal logging companies
found to be the culprits.

Cameroon Forest Atlas
GFW and Forest Atlas for national overview of the logging activities

Many companies use the logging
title just to launder timber from
other areas.
From the Forest Atlas
and data hidden into
public documents
Building a new database
Over the years, several of these
companies have been sanctioned for
illegal logging, including cutting
timber beyond the limits of the area
assigned to them.

An Opaque Agro-
industry Razes
Cameroon’s
Forests with
Impunity
Investigating Forest Loss: RADD alerts + Forest Atlas + PLANET imageries

Interpreting the data
InfoCongo in partnership with the Rainforest Investigation
Network/Pulitzer Center analyzed satellite images of the area
allocated to the agri-business company, from PLANET over
three major time periods.
A=Undisturbed Forest: In image A, December 2019, no
disturbance is visible on this plot of forest yet.
B=Cleared forest: As of December 2020, there is a significant
tree cover loss. This occurred 3 months after Camvert planted
its first oil palm plants, after the forest had been destroyed.
C=Oil palm plantation: A year later, we noticed the emergence
of well-marked oil palm plantation plots.

In South Cameroon, how a new palm
plantation led to vast clearing of forest,
triggering human and wildlife conflicts.
● The company started its activities on
the pathway of large mammals of the
Campo man national park
● We mapped fresh traces of elephant
dung and footprints a few steps from
the Bagyeli camp
● We combined and analysed the field
trip data with Forest Atlas/Global
Forest Watch and Planet imageries
● The endangered mammals of the
park are confused following the
destruction of the forest in which
they used to roam.
Interpreting the data

Impact
Following our series of stories on the The system behind the looting of Cameroon’s forest
the Cameroonian Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife reacted.
He sent an administrative letter to its regional representatives and the director of forest control
points ordering them to reinforce forest control, because he heard there was a lot of illegal timber
being transported across the country.
This is typically what we explained in our series + exposing case of illegal logging involving
companies owning logging titles.
It's one of the first times in Cameroon that the government has reacted to the publication of
an article and not denied the facts. On the contrary, for our series, the Ministry of Forests is
urging its representatives in the field to step up controls on timber transport, in order
to combat the transport of illegal timber.

Madeleine Ngeunga
Twitter: @NgeungaM
Email: mngeunga@pulitzercenter.org

33
Chasing Deforestation
Using near-real-time satellite alerts to track deforestation and inspire
journalism that reveals the stories within the data.
Willie Shubert, Global ProgramDirector,Mongabay
willie@mongabay.com
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

34
Mongabay is a
global
non-profit
newsroom
dedicated to
reporting on
the world’s
most important
ecosystems

There are
over
11,000
active
satellites
in orbit

We’re using near-
real time data and
an algorithm that
identifies areas
with concerning
levels of tree
cover loss.
37

Using this data, journalists are responding
to alerts by investigating the causes of
recent deforestation
38

39
Why do we need to use an algorithm?
Alerts provide a wealth of information,
but there are literally millions of alerts
each month – we need a way to filter.
Methodology
1. Divide world into grid cells
(10 km x 10 km)
2. Calculate an “importance score” for
each grid cell
1. Count alerts by grid cells
2. (a) Incorporate protected areas
2. (b) Plus intact forest landscapes

40
Methodology (continued)
3. Multiply the score by the
number of alerts that month
4. Select the top 10 grid cells
per region (exclude
anything with too low of an
importance score)
3. The importance score is multiplied by the number of alerts
4. Locations outside the top 10
grid cells is filtered out

41
Methodology (continued)
5. Curation of locations to select the most interesting stories

“Bolivia: Indigenous territories cornered by the
agricultural expansion of a Mennonite
community”
42

43
Satellite data
gives us a lead
and location to
provide
assignments
People see
satellite images.
They feel
stories.

44
Reporters mobilized
to examine and
explain the
deforestation
through
documentation,
interview, and
analysis.

45
One story is small.
Data puts it in
context.
Mongabay used
GFW data to
discover similar
patterns in
multiple locations.

46
Mongabay’s
video series
Chasing
Deforestation
brings all the
elements of
this reporting
approach
together.

47
Thank you
Contact me:
Willie Shubert, Global Program Director, Mongabay
willie@mongabay.com
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Kuang Keng Kuek Ser
Data Editor, EnvironmentalInvestigations Unit
Developing Data Stories:
Using Global Forest Watch for
Journalism
14 Sep 2023

How to find
deforestation
hotspots in
British Columbia?

The size of
British Columbia
is 944,735 km²
4 times the size
of UK

By March 2023, the
Network had
➔ 46 projects supported by RIN
➔ 37 fellows
➔ ~ 190 original works published
in 2 years
➔ 500+ republications
➔ 5 million online views (2023)
➔ 110,000 social media shares
➔ 1.2 million YouTube views
Our numbers

Kuang Keng Kuek Ser
keng@pulitzercenter.org
Check out our toolkits and
methodologies at
pulitzercenter.org/journalism/initiative
s/rainforest-investigations-network-
initiative
Thank you

Stay in touch!
1. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter
2. Follow us on social media @globalforests
3. Explore the GFW Help Center for other tutorials and resources on how to
use GFW tools and data
• Webinars, trainings and office hours
4. Complete our survey!
GFW media inquiries? Contact kaitlyn.thayer@wri.org

Thank you! Questions?
Kaitlyn Thayer
Communications
Manager
Global Forest Watch
Willie Shubert
Global Program Director
Mongabay
Isabela Barriga
Engagement Specialist
Global Forest Watch
MODERATOR
Kuek Ser Kuang Keng
Data Editor, Environmental
Investigations Unit
Pulitzer Center
Madeleine Ngeunga
Africa Editor,
Pulitzer Center;
Rainforest Investigations
Fellow, InfoCongo
Anika Berger
Research Analyst
Global Forest
Watch

Contact Information & Resources
Global Forest Watch
• GFW Media inquiries?
• Contact Kaitlyn: kaitlyn.thayer@wri.org
• GFW data or alert questions?
• Contact Anika: anika.berger@wri.org
• Opportunitiesfor engagement, future webinars, etc.?
• Contact Isabela: isabela.barriga@wri.org
Pulitzer Center
• Kuang Keng Kuek Ser: keng@pulitzercenter.org
• Madeleine Ngeunga: mngeunga@pulitzercenter.org
Mongabay
• Willie Shubert: willie@mongabay.com

Developing Data Stories Using GFW for Journalism_September 14 2023

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