Forest Landscape Integrity Index

The Forest Landscape Integrity Index (FLII) is an annual global index of forest condition measured by degree of anthropogenic modification.[1][2][3][4][5] Created by a team of 48 scientists, the FLII, in its measurement of 300m pixels of forest across the globe, finds that ~17.4 million km2 of forest has high landscape-level integrity (with a score from 9.6-10), compared to ~14.6 million with medium integrity (6-9.6) and ~12.2 million km2 with low integrity (0-6).

Forest Landscape Integrity Index 2019 map of the Earth. 0 = Most modification; 10= Least.

The FLII finds that most remaining high-integrity forest landscapes are found in Canada, Russia, Rocky Mountains, Alaska, the Amazon, the Guianas, southern Chile, Central Africa, and New Guinea. Low integrity forests, on the other hand, are found in Western and Central Europe, the American Southwest, South-East Asia west of New Guinea, the Andes, much of China and India, the Albertine Rift, West Africa, Mesoamerica, and the Atlantic Forests of Brazil.

The results are meant to help decisionmakers at all levels achieve their commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).[1]

Forest Integrity

An ecosystem is considered to have integrity when its structure, composition, and ecological processes are within their natural range.[6]

Country rankings

172 countries have been ranked by mean FLII:[7]

Forest Landscape Integrity 2019
CountryMean FLIILow integrity (km2)Medium integrity (km2)High integrity (km2)Total forest area (km2)Map
 Seychelles10006868
 Sudan9.8172495569
 Guyana9.58416240817147413192391
 South Sudan9.45508359389146218210691
 Suriname9.39679625031107954139781
 Mongolia9.36520119152740739841
 Central African Republic9.2830161139350379097548608
 Botswana9.1313187372572
 Gabon9.0711780118348120852250979
 Russian Federation9.02739484224528151370798121843
 Canada8.99480206102738629682684475860
 Congo8.8924512124215158184306911
 Kyrgyzstan8.86329281927615909
 Peru8.8685793190547509720786061
 Afghanistan8.859014759772542
 Bhutan8.851620167691014028529
 Papua New Guinea8.8437294183415216355437064
 Vanuatu8.827345322444810504
 Venezuela8.7864650170792351112586554
 Tajikistan8.6534137130301
 Bolivia8.4778745280532272007631284
 Namibia8.435131736
 Angola8.35105487284054315895705436
 Fiji8.35175310802359416148
 Colombia8.26150737272442428320851499
 Kazakhstan8.236068189261529440288
 Palau8.09453339387
 North Korea8.02837440156841056939
 Cameroon866191181336119263366789
 Equatorial Guinea7.99398217595500726585
 Georgia7.79698217803978434570
 Brunei Darussalam7.711102284214985442
 Comoros7.692841149821515
 Iran7.67336112930216218453
 Ecuador7.66488227758573492199900
 DRC7.565331189355087279832196608
 Micronesia7.55835043
 Brazil7.521374902135496123381015067963
 Zambia7.596969164376110822372167
 Macedonia7.42203470904599583
 Pakistan7.4220907859113911088
 Lesotho7.41405
 Chile7.37568494197193537192357
 Bahamas7.3574119353993075
   Nepal7.231378541992376059538
 Australia7.22117672239624103852461148
 Argentina7.219824918996672557360772
 Solomon Islands7.19687115310314925329
 Myanmar7.1812974522018896924446857
 Ethiopia7.16526528443044397181479
 Mali7.164519961401586
 Somalia7.163471384461777
 China7.145338009744313010511809282
 Tanzania7.13123997159712122812406521
 New Zealand7.12345034415535334113992
 Senegal7.1184724561623465
 Timor-Leste7.1117837008478838
 India7.0911799225479254428427211
 Cyprus7.063881026181432
 Norway6.98393436738316627123352
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines6.95912210312
 Mozambique6.93150665189362115379455406
 Mexico6.82193908280445121842596195
 Albania6.77242652561227805
 Uzbekistan6.77214227199640
 Morocco6.74226040764516787
 United States6.65132807911446936586453131417
 Sao Tome and Principe6.64311400171
 Trinidad and Tobago6.62147821764184072
 Greece6.61454827833107843459
 Indonesia6.65353705090184319731476361
 Azerbaijan6.5548207189153413543
 Montenegro6.4129494778827809
 Paraguay6.397853810262629877211041
 Turkey6.3943043682433516114801
 Taiwan6.38878614547145324786
 Cabo Verde6.372738065
 Panama6.3725420213101460561336
 Cambodia6.3130143319391634978431
 Turkmenistan6.31533037
 Zimbabwe6.31945014417164425511
 Nigeria6.2646216535524307154283
 Chad6.1852616016191013187
 Saint Lucia6.172353160551
 Belize6.1570047957274417705
 Bulgaria6.09188842632584746057
 South Korea6.02250603200988857956
 Thailand6862768932633612209214
 Bosnia and Herzegovina5.99133871703157430993
 Romania5.95383954839460787395
 Philippines5.91918201008318393201044
 Togo5.8850644522107610662
 Benin5.8647243698176910191
 Sri Lanka5.832054122390161344544
 Japan5.813578313348016005285268
 Malawi5.741251412167239627078
 Guinea-Bissau5.79274870285518831
 Laos5.59929868056419252192801
 Armenia5.461894168133577
 Mauritius5.4656747801045
 Bangladesh5.45100137251194719211
 Cuba5.42260518460163242697
 Sweden5.3517441510977923494307687
 Vietnam5.3582551753539588167492
 Serbia5.29175131411251632141
 Algeria5.22741860448113543
 Kosovo5.1926281775474450
 Tunisia5.14135498702340
 Finland5.08144310835729294237176
 Jamaica5.01536232491588770
 Malaysia5.011308259195721499244281
 South Africa4.944548934968319683653
 Croatia4.92157321052237926633
 Guinea4.981702548772895139475
 Libya4.85152017
 Liberia4.7951975311621102594163
 Antigua and Barbuda4.72114920206
 Costa Rica4.652716412838416444167
 Madagascar4.631203406658411922198846
 Gambia4.56181850266
 Saint Kitts and Nevis4.5595500145
 Ghana4.535751928901216088580
 France4.521619874949674121285604
 Burundi4.5688238414610769
 Liechtenstein4.559420101
 Honduras4.485789923802369285392
 Andorra4.45170490219
 Uganda4.3677303363817507121190
 Slovakia4.34176158165025781
 Spain4.238277046013133128916
 Grenada4.22221860308
 Eswatini4.2150542501147569
 Kenya4.22842713558470246686
 Dominican Republic4.1919890936451829772
 Israel4.14170850255
 El Salvador4.0588372947011784
 Haiti4.0171162831129959
 Guatemala3.855857218764559282928
 Rwanda3.85566521706198454
 Slovenia3.78110653791014856
 Lebanon3.765411150656
 Italy3.65794032685825106286
 Cote d'Ivoire3.64158010410057288206303
 Syria3.6484128201123
 Belarus3.6377870208479198808
 Nicaragua3.636535617646485887860
 Uruguay3.61117933998015791
 Iraq3.5910490113
 Austria3.5536666124222149109
  Switzerland3.531363644121018058
 Ukraine3.38954020183176109900
 Estonia3.052447348325229358
 Jordan2.79120012
 Sierra Leone2.76525121185864065010
 Germany2.28122168113070133475
 Hungary2.25187292047020776
 Poland2.2410188671030108989
 Moldova2.2311320203315
 Latvia2.09381642137040301
 Czechia1.71321611611033772
 United Kingdom1.652914929173532101
 Lithuania1.6224554930025484
 Belgium1.36880329709099
 Luxembourg1.121170001170
 Singapore1.1117020172
 Dominica1.0653120533
 Ireland0.9252839605378
 Portugal0.8225966553026519
 Netherlands0.652507205322
 Egypt0.564772218695059
 Denmark0.557563105787
 San Marino0.017007

Background

The index was authored by a global team of forest conservation experts, including:[1]

InstitutionAuthor(s)
Wildlife Conservation Society, The BronxH.S. Grantham; A. Duncan; T. D. Evans; K. R. Jones; J. Walston; J. G. Robinson; M. Callow; T. Clements; H. M. Costa; A. DeGemmis; P. R. Elsen; P. Franco; S. Jupiter; A. Kang; S. Lieberman; M. Linkie; M. Mendez; C. Samper; J. Silverman; T. Stevens; E. Stokes; T. Tear; R. Tizard; S. Wang; J. E. M. Watson
University of Queensland, BrisbaneH. L. Beyer; S. Maxwell; H. Possingham; J. E. M. Watson
Carleton University, OttawaR. Schuster
Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, TorontoJ. C. Ray
United Nations Development Program, ManhattanJ. Ervin
World Resources Institute, Washington, DCE. Goldman; R. Taylor
Northern Arizona University, FlagstaffS. Goetz; P. Jantz
Montana State University, BozemanA. Hansen
Rainforest Foundation Norway, OsloE. Hofsvang
Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TXP. Langhammer; R. Mittermeier
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZP. Langhammer
James Cook University, CairnsW. F. Laurance; N. J. Murray
University of Oxford, OxfordY. Malhi
The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VAH. Possingham
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CAS. Saatchi
World Wide Fund for Nature Germany, BerlinA. Shapiro
International Institute of Sustainability, Rio de JaneiroB. Strassburg
University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BCO. Venter
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, AustriaP. Visconti

See also

References

  1. Grantham, H. S.; Duncan, A.; Evans, T. D.; Jones, K. R.; Beyer, H. L.; Schuster, R.; Walston, J.; Ray, J. C.; Robinson, J. G.; Callow, M.; Clements, T.; Costa, H. M.; DeGemmis, A.; Elsen, P. R.; Ervin, J.; Franco, P.; Goldman, E.; Goetz, S.; Hansen, A.; Hofsvang, E.; Jantz, P.; Jupiter, S.; Kang, A.; Langhammer, P.; Laurance, W. F.; Lieberman, S.; Linkie, M.; Malhi, Y.; Maxwell, S.; Mendez, M.; Mittermeier, R.; Murray, N. J.; Possingham, H.; Radachowsky, J.; Saatchi, S.; Samper, C.; Silverman, J.; Shapiro, A.; Strassburg, B.; Stevens, T.; Stokes, E.; Taylor, R.; Tear, T.; Tizard, R.; Venter, O.; Visconti, P.; Wang, S.; Watson, J. E. M. (2020). "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity". Nature Communications. 11 (1). doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3. ISSN 2041-1723.
  2. Elcacho, Joaquim (2020-12-14). "Descubre con este mapa dónde están los mejores bosques de tu país y del mundo" [Discover with this map where are the best forests in your country and in the world]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Barcelona. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  3. "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity". Nature-based Solutions Initiative. University of Oxford. 2020-12-10. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  4. Попова, Марина (2020-12-09). "Прямое влияние человека обошло стороной 40 процентов современных лесов" [Direct human influence bypassed 40 percent of modern forests] (in Russian). Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  5. "New Forest Landscape Integrity Index Reveals that Only 40 Percent of World's Forests Have High Integrity". WCS Newsroom. Wildlife Conservation Society. 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  6. Parrish, Jeffrey D.; Braun, David P.; Unnasch, Robert S. (2003). "Are We Conserving What We Say We Are? Measuring Ecological Integrity within Protected Areas". BioScience. 53 (9): 851. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0851:AWCWWS]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0006-3568.
  7. Grantham, H. S.; Duncan, A.; Evans, T. D.; Jones, K. R.; Beyer, H. L.; Schuster, R.; Walston, J.; Ray, J. C.; Robinson, J. G.; Callow, M.; Clements, T.; Costa, H. M.; DeGemmis, A.; Elsen, P. R.; Ervin, J.; Franco, P.; Goldman, E.; Goetz, S.; Hansen, A.; Hofsvang, E.; Jantz, P.; Jupiter, S.; Kang, A.; Langhammer, P.; Laurance, W. F.; Lieberman, S.; Linkie, M.; Malhi, Y.; Maxwell, S.; Mendez, M.; Mittermeier, R.; Murray, N. J.; Possingham, H.; Radachowsky, J.; Saatchi, S.; Samper, C.; Silverman, J.; Shapiro, A.; Strassburg, B.; Stevens, T.; Stokes, E.; Taylor, R.; Tear, T.; Tizard, R.; Venter, O.; Visconti, P.; Wang, S.; Watson, J. E. M. (2020). "Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity - Supplementary Material". Nature Communications. 11 (1). doi:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3. ISSN 2041-1723.
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