Mapping and Monitoring the Forests of Central Africa

Forest landscape

A giant African mahogany over 4 meters (13 ft) in diameter

Central Africa has the second largest unfragmented block of tropical rain forest in the world; it is also one of the largest reservoirs for carbon and biodiversity. With nearly one-third of the forest currently allocated to logging, the region is poised to undergo extensive land use change. Through the mapping of the forests, our newly established Africa Program aims to monitor habitat alteration, support biodiversity conservation, and promote better land use planning and forest management in Central Africa.

The core of the Africa Program at the Woods Hole Research Center is the INFORMS project, an Integrated Forest Monitoring System for Central Africa. Designed as an interdisciplinary project, its goal is to integrate data acquired from satellites with field observations from forest inventories, wildlife surveys, and socioeconomic studies to map and monitor forest resources. This project also emphasizes collaboration and coordination with international, regional, national, and local partners from the non-profit, governmental, and commercial sectors. We believe that only through cooperation among all stakeholders can a long-term and sustainable system of forest conservation and management be effected. 

©Woods Hole Research Center, 2008