According to an assessment by Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the world’s forests continue to shrink by an average of five million hectares per year. Avoin Map is connecting Copernicus Sentinel-2 images and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index data with global forest inventory data to develop open-access, real-time monitoring of global forest coverage and environmental disasters (such as forest fires) along with carbon modelling. It also exploits Sentinel-5 data on air pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and methane. The goal of Avoin Map is to connect data to collective carbon-crediting projects and thereby provide forest owners with the incentive and funding they need to improve, restore, and monitor the carbon balance of their forests. Global efforts of this kind can achieve an annual reduction of one carbon dioxide equivalent per hectare. Based on the four billion hectares of forests in the world, the potential impact amounts to four billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year and EUR 40 billion in financial rewards for forest owners (assuming a global unit price of around EUR 10 per carbon dioxide equivalent).
Avoin Map
Otso Valta
otso.t.valta@gmail.com
