Our Work

Blue Raster helps you tell your story through interactive
mapping technology. Make your message clear, exciting,
and user-friendly for both mobile and web platforms.

Wildlife Conservation Society

Trillion Trees: An Interactive Look at Forest Regeneration

Trillion Trees organizations

Trillion Trees is a joint venture between three of the world's largest conservation organizations - BirdLife International, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and WWF - to end deforestation and restore tree cover. The organization aims to protect and restore forests to achieve one trillion trees by 2050, for the benefit of people, nature, and a stable climate. To do so, they:

      • Implement work on the ground to protect and restore forests,
      • Influence global policy and private sector practices, and
      • Inspire us all to value, protect and restore forests.

Key to these efforts is telling the story of where their work has made a difference and where the need is the greatest. Being able to do so in an interactive and compelling way can lead to more support both financially and politically.

Trillion Trees StoryMap

Trillion Trees looked to Blue Raster to tell their story via an ArcGIS StoryMap. Using data sets from a variety of research, the Trillion Trees story map shows how nearly 59 million hectares of forests – an area larger than mainland France– has regrown since 2000. This research informs forest restoration plans worldwide, giving a picture of the areas where focusing restoration efforts could be most beneficial.

Trillion Trees StoryMap

With the StoryMap application, Trillion Trees was able to outline the story they needed to tell, select the data to use, develop content to provide context to the data, and create graphics. Much of this work is automated in the platform, allowing non-developers to build an incredibly interactive page that reads like an in-depth magazine article in a mainstream media source.

The Trillion Trees story map includes:

      • An overview of the challenge
      • A definition of regeneration
      • The impact of discovered regeneration
      • An interactive map showing viewers the areas of high regeneration along with descriptions of why/how that regeneration happened.
      • In depth analysis of two areas’ regeneration

The content provided shows the impact policy changes regarding forestation, environmental protection, and agricultural regulation can have on tree growth.

Saving Wilderness Areas with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

African elephants

At the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), staff are using the Global Forest Watch MapBuilder platform to show their global impact. WCS works to conserve the world’s largest wild places in 16 priority regions. Their new MapBuilder platform is a powerful mapping tool for analyzing data in priority conservation areas.

WCS’ platform combines the use of remote sensing and GIS to visualize and monitor top priority regions for conservation. Through a combination of interactive mapping, data visualizations, and analytical reports, the platform provides staff with access to information on the current state of WCS protected areas around the world.

WCS' goal is to conserve the world's largest wild places in 16 priority regions, home to more than 50% of the world's biodiversity.

The platform incorporates a breadth of data on priority landscapes and sea- and coastal- scapes (known as “scapes”). In addition, it visualizes key project areas where WCS is working to have a conservation impact on species. By centralizing this data all on one platform, users can visualize overlap and patterns. For example, staff can overlay forest fragmentation, infrastructure development, and conservation areas to quickly see if wildlife movement is blocked between and within protected areas. This is especially important in Africa, where species like elephants, giraffes, and zebras travel long distances between wet and dry seasons to survive.

WCS Mapbuilder Platform

In addition to the data on the platform, the site also contains powerful analytics powered by MapBuilder’s custom functionality. Through a unique workflow built by our two teams, WCS can connect their API with the Global Forest Watch API to return time-series statistics within the application. This enables users to run specialized analyses to answer questions such as:

  • Which protected areas have experienced the greatest forest disturbance in recent years?
  • How have species population trends changed over time?
  • Where are the last unbroken swaths of intact forest?
Visualizing Results

WCS can also visualize their impact. For example, thanks to conservation efforts, Nouabalé Ndoki National Park is free from logging and contains no roads within its borders. The park covers more than 4,000 square kilometers of contiguous rainforest and is a stronghold for iconic species including forest elephants, western lowland gorillas, and chimpanzees.

 

 

WCS’ platform is built with the ArcGIS API for JavaScript, ArcGIS Enterprise, the Global Forest Watch API, and Google Earth Engine.

Check out the WCS MapBuilder platform today!