Version 2 of the Global Forest Registry launched

Until now, the system could only handle information at country level. With the second version in place, information  can be displayed at state, county or municipality level. This means that you can identify low-risk areas within a country, although the entire country does not show as low-risk.  


Map showing the risk of harvesting within globally significant High Conservation Value Forest. Only if the entire terriority of a country is deemed low-risk for this risk category, the country is shown in green color. However, users are now able to zoom in on a country and see if there are any low-risk areas identified at sub-country level, from where it is still safe to buy timber.

The benefits of the new features may not be very obvious at this stage, as we are still waiting for more detailed risk assessments", says member of the development team Hando Hain. "The new features can so far be seen by looking at countries with officially approved FSC controlled wood risk assessments, such as Chile or Australia, where the risk levels vary within the country. These variations are now visible on the maps". 


On the global map, Australia appears as 'unspecified risk' for conversion of natural forests, because not all of the country is low-risk for that issue. 

But if you zoom in on Australia and choose the risk category 'conversion', you will see that the country is actually Low Risk for conversion of natural forests in all of the green areas.

Check the site often

"Another new significant feature is the ability to upload custom map data on a separate map layer", explains Hando Hain. "This will enable users to see the precise location of endangered High Conservation Value Forest, areas where violation of civil rights is known to occur, etc."


Globally important High Conservation Value mappings for Russia and Scandinavia. The Global Forest Registry includes mappings carried out by well-recognized organizations such as WWF. E.g. Intact Forest Landscapes, Global 200 Ecoregions and Biodiversity Hotspots are included. 

"Data will be added as soon as it becomes available. We strongly recommend users to check the Forest Risk Registry regularly, as the site is sure to bring much more information as we upload additional data", urges Hando Hain.

A mind-boggling task

"I am truly pleased with this amazing achievement. With its new features, the Global Forest Registry has finally got the full technical framework to fulfill its purpose as a key tool in non-risk wood sourcing. It has been a mind-boggling task for the expert team to get this far", says Peter Feilberg, CEO of NEPCon and member of the development team.

"Our next actions will be to improve the site's user interface and to collect more data. Inputs from stakeholders are very welcome. Our key focus right now is on encouraging FSC National Initiatives to work on preparing controlled wood risk assessments for approval by FSC". 

NEPCon, Rainforest Alliance and Forest Stewardship Council are behind the Global Forest Registry.

Visit www.globalforestregistry.org and launch the Global Forest Registry Map to search for acceptable wood products! 

The programming and technical work was done by the Estonian company Positium LBS, who specializes on web-based GIS and positioning solutions. The Global Forest Registry is based on a variety of open source technologies enabling advanced solutions for processing large data volumes and applying complex algorithms to calculate risk relations.