GFW

Full explainer

GFW — Global Forest Watch — is the open-data platform operated by the World Resources Institute (WRI) that aggregates near-real-time satellite forest-monitoring layers and ancillary datasets. Its alert layers (RADD, GLAD-S2, GLAD-L, DIST-ALERT, VIIRS fire detections) are the de facto reference for forest-loss monitoring across the Indonesian forest estate.

KarbonLens uses the GFW Integrated Alerts API on a weekly cron, pulling new alerts intersected with each project's polygon buffer. The alert volume drives the reversal-risk sub-score in the integrity methodology (35% of the composite). API access is free for registered users at globalforestwatch.org/help/developers/; KarbonLens stores the key as GFW_API_KEY and respects the 1 req/sec rate limit. Layer-specific licensing varies: RADD is Wageningen-licensed; GLAD layers are Maryland-licensed; both permit derivative use with attribution.

Authoritative source

Related terms

• RADD
• GLAD
• MRV