This is how local people are helping to map the trees that tech cannot

Feb 23, 2021

A vine climbs along the bark of a tree in the Karura forest in Nairobi, Kenya, April 16, 2020.

The human eye is capable of capturing data that satellites cannot. Image: REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Katie Reytar

Research Associate, World Resources Institute

Marie Duraisami

Manager, Sustainable Landscapes And Restoration, WRI India

Will Anderson

Communications Lead, Global Restoration Initiative, WRI

Carolina Gallo Granizo

Researcher, The Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism

Bernadette Arakwiye

Research Associate, Forest Program, WRI Africa

Tesfay Woldemariam

GIS Research Associate, Global Restoration Initiative

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Steps in Planning, Conducting, and Processing the Data from a Collect Earth Mapathon

Mapathons allow people with first-hand knowledge of local landscapes to participate without any prior knowledge of remote sensing. Image: World Resources Institute

Ethiopia's Sodo Guragie District: Tree cover change across land uses (2010-2015).

High forests are down 96% in dense woodland in Ethiopia's Sodo Guragie District. Image: World Resources Institute

A Collect Earth mapathon event in Gatsibo, Rwanda. Image: WRI

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