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Heard Island and McDonald Island

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Hungary

Civil Society Organizations operating in and around forested areas are some of the most effective champions of forest conservation and management. However, they frequently lack the resources or knowledge of how to incorporate the latest forest-monitoring technology into their research, advocacy, and field work. The Small Grants Fund provides financial and technical support to organizations around the world to use Global Forest Watch’s tools and data to turn forest monitoring information into action. Working in close partnership with local organizations also helps GFW to understand how we can best adapt our tools to meet the unique needs of this user group.

<ul>
<li>Grant awards between $10K &#8211; $40K.</li>
<li>Individualized training and support.</li>
<li>Form part of the GFW partnership.</li>
</ul>

Small Grants Fund projects have used GFW to strengthen community land rights, by providing evidence of the benefits of community-monitored forests; alert authorities to illegal deforestation, resulting in fines for the perpetrators; and create campaigns, to raise awareness of deforestation drivers and hold those responsible to account.

102 projects from 30 countries

Over 840 million hectares of forests monitored using GFW

Over 6,000 people trained in using GFW

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Small Grants Fund

The Global Forest Watch Technology Fellowship aims to recruit and train the best and brightest forest managers, protectors and advocates in facing growing threats to forests through use of pioneering technology solutions and big data, and support others in their networks to do so as well. The objective of the fellowship program is to scale impact by developing a community of GFW power users and champions to support the use of the platform in priority countries, and develop a shared vision on how GFW tools and other forest monitoring technology can be used to protect forests in priority regions around the world. Fellows may be indigenous leaders, investigative journalists, public interest lawyers, foresters, environmental law enforcers, conservationists, or open data experts who have the passion to provide training and ongoing support to governments and local activists to use forest data and monitoring technology effectively within their work and to enhance their ability to participate in monitoring of illegal deforestation.

<ul>
<li>A monthly stipend, and access to additional discretionary funds for feld visits, equipment purchases, professional development, or workshop costs.</li>
<li>All expenses paid (airfare, visa costs, meals and accommodation) to participate in tech camp and the GFW User Summit in Washington, DC.</li>
<li>Training by experts in forest monitoring, land use planning, advocacy and enforcement, and project design and implementation.</li>
<li>Participation in the GFW partnership and SGF/Fellowship alumni community.</li>
<li>Communications coverage in WRI’s newsletters, blogs and social media.</li>
</ul>

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Tech Fellowship

If you would like to contribute to supporting communities, civil society, organizations, and individuals in using GFW to protect and sustainably manage the world’s forests, please contact us at <a class="text -paragraph -color-4 -light" href="mailto:gfwfund@wri.org">gfwfund@wri.org</a>.

Support the Small Grants Fund and Fellowship

The Global Forest Watch Small Grants Fund seeks to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations to reduce illegal or unplanned deforestation and sustainably manage forests by incorporating GFW into forest monitoring strategies. Successful projects translate data into action, applying GFW to overcome challenges in protecting the world’s forests.

The 2025 Small Grants Fund call for applications is closed.

You can prepare for the next cycle by reviewing the below resources:
<ul>
<li>Read the 2025 Guidelines for Applicants
<ul>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y1Za3bVA-rht-FMR_NcZm8o9dmlpArn2/view?usp=sharing">Available in English here</a></li>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tLksYQA_d4C2Ee-3GU5iM7LRi16IdpiB/view?usp=sharing">Disponible en español aquí</a></li>
<li><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1R7Gl63sKlU1sPA9Nv88DuX31b-vFtTk6/view?usp=sharing">Disponible en français ici</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Review the Small Grants Fund <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/help/faqs/grants-fellowships/">Frequently Asked Questions</a></li>
</ul>
For important additional information on eligibility requirements and proposal expectations, you can watch the 2025 <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/help/map/webinars/2025-small-grants-fund-applicant-webinar/">Applicant Webinar recording</a>, available in English, French, and Spanish. You can also access the<a href="https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/2025-small-grants-fund-applicant-webinar/278760937"> slides presented here</a>.

If you would like to be notified of the next call for proposals, please <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/subscribe/">subscribe here</a>, being sure to select &#8220;Small Grants Fund and Tech Fellowship&#8221; as interests.

We are not currently accepting applications for the GFW Tech Fellowship. For more information about the Tech Fellowship, see our <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/help/faqs/grants-fellowships/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Frequently Asked Questions</a>.

For questions about the Small Grants Fund or Tech Fellowship program, or to be notifed when the next call opens, please write to us at <a href="mailto:gfwfund@wri.org">gfwfund@wri.org</a>

The Small Grants Fund and Tech Fellowship support civil society organizations and individuals around the world to use Global Forest Watch in their advocacy, research, and field work.

With financial and technical support from GFW, organizations and individuals around the world are using Global Forest Watch to monitor large-scale land-use projects, enforce community land rights, defend critical habitat, and influence forest policy.

MEET THE GRANTEES AND FELLOWS

Grants & Fellowships

Global Forest Watch Content

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Curious about what may be causing deforestation alerts? Check out the new <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/map/?map=eyJkYXRhc2V0cyI6W3siZGF0YXNldCI6ImRyaXZlcnMtb2YtZGVmb3Jlc3RhdGlvbi1hbGVydCIsIm9wYWNpdHkiOjEsInZpc2liaWxpdHkiOnRydWUsImxheWVycyI6WyJkcml2ZXJzLW9mLWRlZm9yZXN0YXRpb24tYWxlcnQiXX0seyJkYXRhc2V0IjoicG9saXRpY2FsLWJvdW5kYXJpZXMiLCJsYXllcnMiOlsiZGlzcHV0ZWQtcG9saXRpY2FsLWJvdW5kYXJpZXMiLCJwb2xpdGljYWwtYm91bmRhcmllcyJdLCJvcGFjaXR5IjoxLCJ2aXNpYmlsaXR5Ijp0cnVlfV19">&#8220;Drivers of deforestation alerts&#8221; layer on the map</a>, which offers classification of drivers for three alert types (GLAD-L, GLAD-S2, RADD) at 10m resolution. Read our <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/data-and-tools/drivers-deforestation-alerts/">blog</a> to learn more.

New drivers of deforestation alerts now available!

<a href="https://yiari.or.id/">Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI)</a>, also a 2024 grantee, will continue to build on their Integrated Forest Crime Alert System (IFCAS) that was developed in last year’s project to expand forest monitoring and enforcement in protected forests across Lampung and West Kalimantan provinces in Indonesia.  
The IFCAS will help address forest crime in areas that experience some of the highest deforestation rates globally and are home to critically endangered species like the Sumatran tiger, pangolin, tapirs and siamangs. The approach will include a customized near-real-time integrated monitoring method, which combines GFW tools, SMART patrols, camera traps, drones and on-the-ground verifications. This project will work to strategically expand IFCAS by advancing efforts with Forest Management Units, who received training last year and can now implement the approach to improve detection accuracy, streamline ground verification and patrol coordination and reinforce stronger enforcement for forest crimes.

Yayasan Inisiasi Alam Rehabilitasi Indonesia (YIARI), also a 2024 grantee, will continue to build on their Integrated Forest Crime Alert System (IFCAS) that was developed in last year’s project to expand forest monitoring and enforcement in protected forests across Lampung and West Kalimantan provinces in Indonesia. 

<a href="https://womenresearchinstitute.org/">The Women Research Institute</a> will work to empower local women to lead data-driven forest advocacy in the Sambelia Subdistrict, East Lombok, Indonesia. Forests in this region are the lifeblood of communities, providing water, food and livelihoods, especially for women. However, they continue to be degraded by the expansion of industrial timber plantations — which are displacing community-managed lands — and causing fires, which burned dozens of hectares around the customary and village lands, part of which are recognized under Indonesia’s Social Forestry scheme, in 2019 and 2024. 
The project will form “Forest Watch” groups of women from affected villages who will be trained on using satellite data and the Forest Watcher mobile app to identify deforestation hotspots in near-real-time, as well as in participatory mapping, field observation, photography and basic data analysis. The project’s approach honors the unique ecological knowledge that women possess and blends this with scientific data to strengthen community-based advocacy.

The Women Research Institute will work to empower local women to lead data-driven forest advocacy in the Sambelia Subdistrict, East Lombok, Indonesia. Forests in this region are the lifeblood of communities, providing water, food and livelihoods, especially for women.

<a href="https://trfgh.org/">The Resource Foundation Ghana (TRFG)</a> will train forest-fringe community members, Forestry Commissions officials, Community-based Organizations (CBOs), Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) committees and law enforcement officers on using the Forest Watcher app to track forest disturbances and compile official reports on illegal activities for submission to the Ghana Forest Commission. 
The project will address current gaps in access to timely information, training and resources necessary for effective monitoring and response to deforestation. TRFGH will train community monitors and develop and operationalize community-level response protocols to illegal activities. They will also conduct community meetings and radio talk show programs to raise awareness about forest laws, forest protection and sustainable land use practices.

The Resource Foundation Ghana (TRFG) will train forest-fringe community members, Forestry Commissions officials, Community-based Organizations (CBOs), Community Resource Management Area (CREMA) committees and law enforcement officers on using the Forest Watcher app to track forest disturbances and compile official reports on illegal activities for submission to the Ghana Forest Commission. 

<a href="https://www.shipiboconibo.org/">The Shipibo Conibo Center, Inc.</a> will work with sister organization Bakish Mai Multiversity, COSHIKOX, the representative body of the Shipibo Conibo Nation, the Guardia Indigena (Indigenous Land and Water Defenders) of the Shipibo Organization, and the Institute of Legal Defense to empower Shipibo land-defenders with the tools and technology to expand their capacity to protect their territory, which spans 8.1 million hectares along the Ucayali River in Peru.  
Shipibo communities are facing escalating threats from illegal logging, illicit crop production, palm oil expansion, road construction, oil concessions, commercial fishing and large-scale deforestation linked to Mennonite settlements, all of which have made Ucayali a deforestation hotspot. The project will deliver a series of in-person trainings targeting key participants from the Guardia Indigena, a decentralized network of forest guardians who protect their lands through ancestral knowledge, legal action and modern tools. By integrating modern forest monitoring tools into an Indigenous-led model of governance and protection, the project aims to strengthen Indigenous sovereignty and legal defense mechanisms.

The Shipibo Conibo Center, Inc. will work with sister organization Bakish Mai Multiversity, COSHIKOX, the representative body of the Shipibo Conibo Nation, the Guardia Indigena (Indigenous Land and Water Defenders) of the Shipibo Organization, and the Institute of Legal Defense to empower Shipibo land-defenders with the tools and technology to expand their capacity to protect their territory, which spans 8.1 million hectares along the Ucayali River in Peru.  

<a href="https://sekakoh.org/">Sekakoh</a> will work to expand community-led forest surveillance by equipping community forest watchers with the Forest Watcher app and drones to document and verify illegal activities in the Ebo Forest in Cameroon, a Key Biodiversity Area that spans over 200,000 hectares and is the ancestral homeland of the Banen people. This forest shelters endangered fauna species such as chimpanzees, elephants and rare flora.  
The project will contribute to achieving legal protection of the Ebo Forest by empowering communities to be active guardians through expanding real-time monitoring and improving the quality and flow of evidence to law enforcement agencies. It will strengthen community-led, evidence-based forest monitoring and advocacy, establish legal pathways for enforcement, and amplify the voices of local communities in decision-making processes. The data captured will be compiled and shared with authorities to enhance the ability to identify and seize illegally logged timber.

Sekakoh will work to expand community-led forest surveillance by equipping community forest watchers with the Forest Watcher app and drones to document and verify illegal activities in the Ebo Forest in Cameroon, a Key Biodiversity Area that spans over 200,000 hectares and is the ancestral homeland of the Banen people.

<a href="https://radioworkshop.org/">Radio Workshop&#8217;s</a> project will leverage youth-led, community-centered and data-powered storytelling to amplify local and national actions to protect forests and uphold Indigenous rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 
Équateur Province, DRC, in the heart of the Congo Basin, holds some of the world’s most intact tropical forests, essential for climate regulation and biodiversity. Yet, this region faces mounting illegal deforestation due to agricultural expansion, charcoal production and unsustainable logging — trends driven by growing rural populations and limited economic opportunities. Forest governance remains weak, and community voices, especially those of Indigenous Peoples and youth, are largely excluded from decision-making and the media. 
Radio Workshop will train a gender-balanced cohort of Batwa and Bantu youth to produce compelling radio journalism and storytelling. This will increase public awareness of illegal deforestation. Radio Workshop will leverage this raised awareness to strengthen local commitment to forest protection and help establish community-based deforestation monitoring systems that successfully combine GFW tools with Indigenous Ecological Knowledge.

Radio Workshop’s project will leverage youth-led, community-centered and data-powered storytelling to amplify local and national actions to protect forests and uphold Indigenous rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). 

The Wampís Autonomous Territorial Government (GTANW) will work with fiscal sponsor <a href="https://equidad.pe/">Peru Equidad</a>, to strengthen Wampís GIS technicians’ capacity to use GFW to monitor 1.3 million hectares in their territory in Peru. The Wampís Nation currently faces two main threats: illegal alluvial gold mining, which threatens river ecosystems; and illegal logging, which destroys seed trees and generates division within communities and among authorities. 
The project will train Wampís monitors to work with Wampís Nation communities to generate maps on MapBuilder, which are informed by data from community fieldwork and by instances of illegal deforestation the monitors capture using Forest Watcher, with the long-term goal of equipping GTANW with their own monitoring system using GFW’s weekly deforestation alerts. The reports of deforestation on Wampis territory will be used for public advocacy before state and regional authorities and UN agencies to reduce the infringements by mining and logging.

The Wampís Autonomous Territorial Government (GTANW) will work with fiscal sponsor Peru Equidad, to strengthen Wampís GIS technicians’ capacity to use GFW to monitor 1.3 million hectares in their territory in Peru.

<a href="https://opendevelopmentcambodia.net/">Open Development Cambodia (ODC)</a> will work to address deforestation threats like illegal logging and agricultural encroachment in northeastern Cambodia by training communities, Indigenous groups and journalists to use GFW tools for monitoring and advocacy.  
Despite legal forest protections, the lack of technical knowledge and accessible, timely data hinders community response and government accountability. At the same time, journalists struggle to access and interpret forest data for investigative reporting. 
ODC will train Cambodian journalists on evidence-based storytelling using GFW data and will regularly update on the ODC website with findings. They will work to build a bilingual interface for greater accessibility and will automatically notify community users about forest disturbances, alongside a social media campaign to raise awareness of these issues. Through this approach, the project empowers frontline defenders and the media to detect and respond to forest disturbances, strengthening environmental governance, supporting forest rights and increasing public awareness through data-driven storytelling.

Open Development Cambodia (ODC) will work to address deforestation threats like illegal logging and agricultural encroachment in northeastern Cambodia by training communities, Indigenous groups and journalists to use GFW tools for monitoring and advocacy. 

<a href="https://environmentalwomen.org/">Environmental Women Org</a> will work to strengthen the forest monitoring, fire prevention and land stewardship capacities of 300 Indigenous Narakajmanta women, girls and LGTBI individuals in the Colombian Andean mountains. Widespread fires in the Narakajmanta Indigenous territory caused by climate change and slash and burn agriculture disproportionately affect women, girls and LGTBI individuals, who are traditionally responsible for water collection. The fire outbreaks force them to walk longer distances, increasing risks of violence and health problems. 
Currently, no local system uses global geospatial data or tools like GFW for rapid detection or response. This project will build the technical and digital leadership capacities of these women and girls and implement a community-based monitoring and enforcement system. Through trainings, accompanied by the distribution of wildfire response kits, the project supports gender equity and mitigating climate change by reducing deforestation-driven carbon emissions across 14,400 hectares.

Environmental Women Org will work to strengthen the forest monitoring, fire prevention and land stewardship capacities of 300 Indigenous Narakajmanta women, girls and LGTBI individuals in the Colombian Andean mountains.

Through the support of fiscal sponsor <a href="https://procesoservicioseducativos.com.bo/">PROCESO Educational Services</a>, National Confederation of Indigenous Women of Bolivia (CNAMIB) is leading a project to strengthen technical capacities of Indigenous women brigades in the Lomerío Territories, Multiethnic Indigenous Territory (TIM) in Beni, and the Multiethnic Indigenous Territory and Ignacio (TIMI) of Bolivia in the use of early warning systems, accessed via GFW and Forest Watcher, with the goal of developing rapid response protocols to deforestation, fires or illegal mining.
Illegal burning and the expansion of mining activities continue to threaten forests and Indigenous territories in Bolivia, with limited participation of Indigenous women in existing monitoring brigades. In addition to supporting Indigenous women brigades, the project will promote spaces for coordination between communities and state entities to facilitate more effective responses to illegal activities in the Indigenous territories.

Through the support of fiscal sponsor PROCESO Educational Services, National Confederation of Indigenous Women of Bolivia (CNAMIB) is leading a project to strengthen technical capacities of Indigenous women brigades in the Lomerío Territories, Multiethnic Indigenous Territory (TIM) in Beni, and the Multiethnic Indigenous Territory and Ignacio (TIMI) of Bolivia in the use of early warning systems, accessed via GFW and Forest Watcher, with the goal of developing rapid response protocols to deforestation, fires or illegal mining. 

<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/alphome-community-farms/">Alphome Community Farms</a> will use GFW tools to fill critical gaps in data about threats to approximately 3.4 million hectares across Watsa, Faradje, and the Garamba National Park buffer zone in Haut-Uele, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Deforestation is escalating in this region due to uncontrolled industrial and artisanal mining, agricultural expansion and widespread charcoal production. Forests are being cleared without regulation. Meanwhile, national authorities remain unaware of these threats due to poor data visibility, and smallholder farmers face high post-harvest losses and soil degradation without sustainable alternatives.  
This project will train local stakeholders, including community members, youth and leaders, to use GFW monitoring tools, and launch a public awareness campaign to reach community members engaged in forest protection. It will establish a multi-stakeholder forum to encourage transparency and collaborative response to deforestation incidents. In the long term, the project will result in civil society incorporating technology and monitoring tools, strengthening the forest governance ecosystem in Haut-Uele.

Alphome Community Farms will use GFW tools to fill critical gaps in data about threats to approximately 3.4 million hectares across Watsa, Faradje, and the Garamba National Park buffer zone in Haut-Uele, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

2023 SGF grantee <a href="https://www.asd.contact/">Action for Sustainable Development (ASD)</a> will build on the <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/users-in-action/data-protect-cameroon-mengame-gorilla-sanctuary/">success from their last SGF project </a>to replicate and scale community-led forest monitoring efforts in a new landscape: Boumba Bek National Park, a vast area in Cameroon of over 230,000 hectares that is facing an alarming increase in deforestation. 
They will adopt a hybrid approach that combines technological tools with community field observations to address a current gap in monitoring, where there are few eco-guards and limited access to the necessary technologies or skills. The project will train current and additional eco-guards and community representatives, resulting in an operational local monitoring network. They will also develop a georeferenced database of threats, verified alerts and field actions to enhance data for enforcement. Through this, the project will also strengthen trust between authorities, communities and conservation stakeholders.

Action for Sustainable Development (ASD) will build on the success from their last SGF project to replicate and scale community-led forest monitoring efforts in a new landscape: Boumba Bek National Park, a vast area in Cameroon of over 230,000 hectares that is facing an alarming increase in deforestation. 

<a href="https://www.forestfund.or.id/">Yayasan Pemantau Independen Kehutanan Indonesia or Independent Forest Monitoring Fund (YPIKI-IFMF)</a> will work to build the capacity of government-managed Forest Management Units (FMUs) and civil society-led Independent Monitors (IMs), made up of both individuals working for NGOs with legal status and communities living in proximity of the forests, to strengthen the Timber Legality Assurance System, a mandatory system developed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry designed to ensure that timber and timber products produced and exported from Indonesia meet legality standards and that forestry laws and regulations are enforced. To improve IMs’ capacity and knowledge on laws related to harvesting forest products, YPIKI-IFMF will engage with Indigenous youth to train them and help them disseminate knowledge among other local IMs. YPIKI-IFMF will also work to foster collaboration among FMUs and IMs around using GFW tools and data for improved forest monitoring.

YPIKI-IFMF will work to build the capacity of Forest Monitoring Unit and civil society-led Independent Monitors to strengthen the Timber Legality Assurance System.

<a href="https://internationalanimalrescue.or.id/">Yayasan IAR Indonesia (YIARI)</a> will work to enhance forest protection in Lampung, Sumatra, and West Kalimantan, Borneo, by developing a near real-time Integrated Forest Crime Alert System (IFCAS). The project will pilot this system in the Batutegi Protected Forest, an area that holds significant ecological value and harbors numerous threatened and flagship species such as Sumatran tigers, pangolins and tapirs, with the goal of expanding use of the system to other protected areas in Indonesia. By incorporating GFW near real-time deforestation alerts into IFCAS while concurrently working with Forest Management Units — governmental management units that manage each provincial forestry service area to improve law enforcement — the project hopes to reduce deforestation and other threats in Indonesia’s protected areas.

Yayasan IAR Indonesia (YIARI) will work to enhance forest protection in Lampung, Sumatra, and West Kalimantan, Borneo, by developing a near real-time Integrated Forest Crime Alert System (IFCAS). 

<a href="https://infonile.org/en/">InfoNile</a> is a geojournalism media platform and cross-border network of more than 800 environmental journalists working in the 10 Nile Basin countries and is an arm of Water Journalists Africa (WJA), a Uganda-based NGO whose network of environment and water journalists spreads across Africa. Their project will train and support journalists from the InfoNile/WJA network on GFW tools and data to report investigative stories on deforestation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and cross-border timber trafficking from DRC into transit and destination countries for illegal timber. The project will provide broad-reaching journalistic training targeting data journalists using GFW, followed by focused support of 10 selected journalists in DRC, South Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and Kenya to identify, investigate and pitch cross-border stories to publish in InfoNile and other major media houses. InfoNile will also organize community screening and exhibition events in DRC close to where the stories were reported to encourage awareness and action around the story findings.

Water Journalists Africa - InfoNile will train and support journalists from the InfoNile/WJA network on GFW tools and data to report investigative stories on deforestation in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and cross-border timber trafficking from DRC into transit and destination countries for illegal timber. 

Two-time SGF grant recipient <a href="https://www.botanicomedellin.org/">Medellin Botanical Garden </a>will continue working to address deforestation in Colombia’s Antioquia region, this time leveraging new technologies to automate monitoring and communication. Working with the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM), Medellin Botanical Garden will implement a robust reporting system that automatically generates deforestation alerts with information from IDEAM and GFW and disseminates this information to relevant environmental authorities, police, army and media. Using the<a href="https://observatoriobosquesantioquia.org/curso-virtual-explorando-los-bosques-deforestacion/"> free online course</a> they created during their 2023 SGF project, they will also provide specialized training for relevant authorities and organizations to use the reporting system and GFW tools to enhance their deforestation response.

Medellin Botanical Garden will continue working to address deforestation in Colombia’s Antioquia region, leveraging new technologies to automate monitoring and communication.  

<a href="https://kwcgh.org/">Knowledge for World Conservation (KWC)</a> will work to improve capacity of forest and community guards in the Offinso Forest District of Ghana in a multi-stakeholder approach to reducing illegal forest activities and improving response to ongoing or new forest crimes. Their project will train forest rangers and community guards on the use of tech-based spatial monitoring systems equipped with geolocation features such as the GFW platform and Forest Watcher, including how to upload, analyze and incorporate field reports into their monitoring activities. They will equip forest guards with smartphones to use near real-time deforestation alerts on GFW for forest monitoring. Additionally, KWC will engage at community durbars (traditional community meetings) to raise awareness of the importance of forest protection and work with the community and other stakeholders on joint efforts using geospatial technology to safeguard forest resources.

Knowledge for World Conservation (KWC) will work to improve capacity of forest and community guards in the Offinso Forest District of Ghana in a multi-stakeholder approach to reducing illegal forest activities and improving response to ongoing or new forest crimes.  

<a href="https://ibcperu.org/">Instituto del Bien Comun (IBC)</a> will work with two Indigenous Federations in Peru, the National Federation of Kakataibo Communities and Federation of Native Communities of Puerto Inca and Tributaries, to develop and implement a surveillance system of Indigenous territories in the Kakataibo and Pachitea landscapes using digital technology.  The Indigenous territories in this region are under threat from land invasion and exploitation, but currently the affected communities do not have the tools and resources to provide adequate and timely information to the state agencies responsible for dealing with offenders. IBC will work with a pilot focus group that includes leaders and security guards of the two Indigenous Federations to train them on using GFW tools for forest monitoring and develop the surveillance system. Community patrols will then be able to develop reports using Forest Watcher and community mapping so state entities can take preventative actions.

In Peru, Instituto del Bien Comun (IBC) will work with two Indigenous Federations, National Federation of Kakataibo Communities and Federation of Native Communities of Puerto Inca and Tributaries, to develop and implement a surveillance system of Indigenous territories in the Kakataibo and Pachitea landscapes using digital technology.  

<a href="https://ibifbolivia.org.bo/">Instituto Boliviano de Investigacion Forestal (IBIF)</a> will work with the Guarayo Indigenous Forestry Association (AFIG) to help consolidate a Territorial Monitoring Unit (UTT). The AFIG oversees all forest management plans for the territory of the Gwarayu Indigenous Nation, which covers approximately 1.3 million hectares of forest in eastern Bolivia. The UTT will be responsible for monitoring threats such as illegal deforestation and wildfires. IBIF will train the territorial monitoring unit team in the use of integrated deforestation alerts and VIIRS fire alerts in GFW, as well as implement a Monitoring Center with its own monitoring system for managing their territory. IBIF will also assist AFIG in developing agreements with the Bolivian Forestry Authority so that the monitoring system is legitimately recognized and validated to report violations in their territory. 
&nbsp;

Instituto Boliviano de Investigacion Forestal  (IBIF) will work with the Guarayo Indigenous Forestry Association to help improve their Territorial Monitoring Unit.

In Myanmar, <a href="https://www.forest-trends.org/">Forest Trends</a> will work with Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC) forest managers and administrators under the National Unity Government to use GFW tools to monitor, document and mitigate forest pressures resulting from political crisis. Myanmar has experienced political turmoil since a military coup in 2021, which has created challenges for forest conservation. Forest Trends will train the team of forest managers in monitoring deforestation hotspots using GFW, and in using Forest Watcher to conduct verifications. The forest managers will share quarterly reports of findings and the status of deforestation in two target areas with MONREC officials and work towards improving forest management practices and governance based on the findings.

Forest Trends with work with Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation (MONREC) managers in Myanmar to monitor, document and mitigate forest pressure.

Deforestation is persistent in the Chocó region of Ecuador, even within federally protected areas such as the Mache-Chindul Ecological Reserve, which suffers the highest deforestation rates of any reserve nationwide in part due to limited capacity for monitoring and enforcement. <a href="https://fcat-ecuador.org/">Fundación para la Conservación de los Andes Tropicales (FCAT)</a> aims to revolutionize deforestation monitoring in the Ecuadorian Chocó region by integrating AI-powered insights with GFW data, combined with intensive local capacity building. FCAT will develop Chocó Forest Watch, a novel application that uses satellite and high-resolution drone imagery and applies a deep learning model to predict forest loss and degradation, with the aim of increasing detection accuracy by 25%. Chocó Forest Watch will be hosted on <a href="https://mapbuilder.wri.org/">WRI&#8217;s MapBuilder platform</a>, creating semi-automated continuous updates to local forest cover maps for accurate and timely deforestation tracking.

Fundación para la Conservación de los Andes Tropicales  (FCAT) aims to revolutionize deforestation monitoring in the Ecuadorian Chocó region by integrating AI-powered insights with GFW data, combined with intensive local capacity building.

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