Google has released a map of the world's forests: Global Forest Watch

If trees are being cut down in a nearby forest, you can soon find out about it almost in real time, thanks to the new Global Forest Watch project developed by Google in collaboration with the World Resources Institute and 40 more organizations.

The site published photos from NASA satellites over the past 13 years. Moreover, image processing algorithms allow to calculate in detail the volume of lost and grown forests in each territory and in each country, by years. For example, here are the statistics for Russia for 2000-2013 : a loss of 36.5 million hectares, only 16.2 million hectares grew (1st place in the world for forest loss); Ukraine: -565 thousand hectares, +353 thousand hectares; Belarus: -416 thousand hectares, +375 thousand hectares

Deforestation is almost worldwide. A summary of all countries in the world shows only a few states where the green coverage has increased over the past 13 years. For example, Lesotho and Egypt.
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“By the time we learn about deforestation, it’s usually too late to do something,” writes Google in a press release. - Scientists have been studying the forest for centuries, pointing out the vital importance of this ecosystem for human society. But most of us still do not have timely and reliable information about where, when and why forests disappear. That should change with the launch of Global Forest Watch. ”

A project worth $ 25 million will provide operational information to environmentalists and activists about what is happening in their country and in the surrounding areas. Soon the site will receive an alert service that will notify you about deforestation in a given area.