Tools & Resources

• This map tool displays a series of data layers that tell the story of the world’s ancient and endangered forests. It is the first in a series of tools that Canopy is developing that incorporate the best-available geospatial data from biodiversity conservation science to assist companies transitioning to more sustainable supply chains.
• ForestMapper was designed specifically for consumers of forest products, manufacturers of forest products and government decision makers. The user can explore the data layers by theme (Forests, Species, Carbon, Landscapes) to identify areas of high ecological value in an interactive way. The user can also zoom in and out and pan across regions to get a closer look at specific sourcing regions and data layers. Users can view several data layers at once – for example Ancient & Endangered (A&E), Intact Forest Landscapes (IFL), and Tree Loss – to better understand what is happening to forests in a particular region. The landscapes theme, focuses on ecologically important forests where Canopy has chosen to focus its work.
• This map is a tool that will assist corporate customers, brands, retailers, designers and forest product manufacturers to use best available information to identify risk and make informed purchasing decisions regarding fibre sourcing and forest products, with, best available information.
• This map identifies Ancient and Endangered forests globally, based on the document Endangered Forests: Priority High Conservation Value Forests For Protection Guidance For Corporate Commitments(known commonly as the Wye River Document), with an initial regional focus in two regions – Canada and Indonesia.
• This map is a ‘snapshot in time’. Data/science will continue to evolve and landscapes status will change over time as industrial activity, conservation decisions and other factors affect forested regions.

• Areas with documented and/or known social risk.
• Indigenous, First Nations and forest communities’ aspirations and/or territorial rights and territories.
• Areas proposed for protection or in the process of receiving protected status.
• A top down approach dictating what should happen on the land.
• A fixed or unchanging view of the state of forests. Data/science evolve and these maps will need to be updated over-time.
• A prioritization of relative importance between the areas that contain Ancient and Endangered forests globally.
• Boundaries or a description of logging concessions.
• A definition of limits of protected areas.

• The Intact Forest Landscape (IFL) is one of the data layers used as a foundation of this map. The global map of ancient and endangered forests encompasses all of the intact forests that remain on earth, with the addition of other data sets representing key ecological values such as areas with high levels of terrestrial carbon or the habitat of endangered species. The end result is a map that illustrates multiple ecological values. To see only the Intact Forest Landscapes, click just that icon on the interactive map.
• Although the term Ancient and Endangered forests could be misconstrued as meaning only old growth and natural forests, the reality is more complex. A plantation developed on high carbon stock forest soils, or a plantation developed within an area that was an endangered species forest habitat, for example, would fall under the category of Ancient and Endangered forests.
• For detailed information on this subject, go to the Ancient and Endangered forests section of ForestMapper and click on the information icon for a longer definition.

• Maps of High Conservation Value areas (HCVs), as defined by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), and of intact forest landscapes (IFLs), were paired with maps of other key ecological values such as the habitat range of endangered species, or forests containing high concentrations of terrestrial carbon and High Carbon Stocks (HCS). Mapping sources include the World Resources Institute and Global Forest Watch.
• ForestMapper also identifies key Ancient and Endangered forests globally such as the Canadian and Russian Boreal Forests; Coastal Temperate Rainforests of British Columbia, Alaska and Chile; Tropical forests and peat lands of Indonesia, South East Asia, the Amazon and West Africa.

It is a point-in-time identification of areas of special concern, high carbon values and endangered species habitat, for which data was readily available. More detailed data is provided for Canada and Indonesia, and more generalized data was presented at the global scale for other countries based on credible available global data layers.

• Intact forest landscapes;
• Remnant forests and restoration cores;
• Landscape connectivity;
• Rare forest types;
• Forests of high species richness;
• Forests containing high concentrations of rare and endangered species;
• Forests of high endemism;
• Core habitat for focal species;
• Forests exhibiting rare ecological and evolutionary phenomena.

As a starting point to geographically locate ancient and endangered forests, maps of High Conservation Values (HCVs), consistent with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) definitions (HCV1-3), and of intact forest landscapes (IFL), has been used and paired with maps of other key ecological values such as the habitat range of key endangered species and forests containing high concentrations of terrestrial carbon and high carbon stocks (HCS).

Canopy’s definition of ancient and endangered forest is taken from the Endangered Forests: Priority High Conservation Value Forests For Protection Guidance For Corporate Commitments, commonly called the Wye River document and the FSC Guidance for High Conservation Values number 1,2 and 3.

https://ic.fsc.org/en/what-is-fsc/what-we-do/strengthening-standards/high-conservation-values.

This is the first map, to our knowledge, to coalesce this comprehensive list of ecological components and values for identifying ancient and endangered forests.

The Ancient and Endangered Forest layer, as presented in the maps, does not represent the areas that comprise ALL of the ecological components and values listed above. It presents the areas that have at least ONE of the components or values. This gives us the certainty that all of the potential ecologically important forests are being covered and that none of the critical areas – from an ecological standpoint – are being overlooked.

Peter Lee, Former Executive Director at Global Forest Watch, with whom we collaborated to produce the maps, has stated that choosing this methodology was a bolder approach than previous global maps, which have illustrated either a singular or a small number of important ecological components. Canopy has invested many resources in identifying the multiple layers of ecological information that need to be incorporated because we believe it is essential to have a tool that provides an accurate reflection of the available science as an input to and driver of business adaptation to avoid deforestation and intense degradation of forest biodiversity and carbon sinks globally.

The ancient and endangered forest layer identifies a lot of “green”. With today’s ecological realities, we feel it is critical not to shy away from the scientific realities of our time, no matter how disturbing they may be. It is important to integrate this context into purchasing decisions and land-use planning, and to act intelligently to develop solutions and adapt our behaviour to avoid or reverse the negative trajectories that both our current and historical consumption decisions have resulted in. ForestMapper will also inform Canopy’s conservation priorities.

If the area is captured in the ancient and endangered forest layer, it means that at least one of the many ecological components or ecological values listed above is found in this region. The intact forests landscapes layer for example represents where large tracts of intact forests landscapes remained in 2013, the year when this data set was last updated at a global scale.

The first step will be to prioritize not sourcing from intact forest landscapes (IFL) if these areas are not protected and/or do not already benefit from a conservation plan. IFLs that are already included in a forest management plan, i.e. that are slated to be harvested within the next few years, will be a priority, given that there is a very high risk that the IFL will either disappear or be fragmented.

In other areas across the globe, priorities could be allocated according to their ecological components or values. For example, Indonesian peat lands, while not part of the IFL layer, hold critically important carbon stocks. Areas where there is high conservation potential will also be identified, and prioritized.

The maps show the best and most critical remaining areas that need conservation attention. A significant portion of the world’s forests have been degraded, and much of the remaining forests are at risk and in need of conservation or restoration. Despite decades of entreaties by experts and global governance science institutions, conservation levels have not met thresholds to maintain stability of forest biodiversity and carbon stores.