ENVIRONMENT: New tool to track world deforestation

THE WORLD’S first “Global Forest Observatory " will track the process of deforestation in the world including Panama in near real time, thanks to Google technology in collaboration with NASA satellites.

"Global Forest Watch is a near real-time platform that will fundamentally change the way people and companies manage forests," said Andrew Steer, president of the World Resources Institute, in presenting the project in Washington.

Therefore, he said, " Now , the bad guys will not be able to hide and the good guys will be recognized for their leadership." According to data from the University of Maryland ( United States) and Google , the world has lost 2.3 million square kilometers of forest ( equivalent to 50 football fields every minute of every day).
During the past 12 years, countries with the highest incidence were : Russia , Brazil, Canada , United States and Indonesia. But Panama has its own deforestation problems with illegal logging, clearnce for cattle farming, and the encroachment of developers who even attack th country's  protected mangroves.
The application, which can be accessed freely on www.globalforestwatch.org / map page is updated monthly with new information.
It will allow you to compare the performance of companies and suppliers who respect their commitments to the woods.
Governments, especially those in developing countries, will help them design smarter policies, identify areas of illegal deforestation and manage their forest resources more sustainably.
Funding for development of this website comes from more than 40 environmental groups and government agencies in the United States, United Kingdom and Norway.
In Panama some 6m lliom acres pf forest have been devastated in the last decade. Most  of the country’s trees are located in the provinces of Darien, Panama and Bocas del Toro, as well as in the reserve of the Embera indians.

The Los Santos, Herrera, and Cocle provinces, as well as the Ngöbe Bugle Shire, are the most deforested, mostly due to farming and cattle-ranching activities.

Forest loss results in the loss of biodiversity, erosion and affects the quality of water resources.