Forest Canopy Loss Risk

This indicator measures forest canopy loss risk. 

Land- and sea-use change is the major human influence on habitats. Habitat loss is one of the biggest threats to biodiversity and is the number one reason species go extinct. Around half of the world's original forests have disappeared, and they are still being removed at a rate 10x higher than any possible level of regrowth. 
Hansen et al. (2013) examined global Landsat data at a 30-metre spatial resolution to characterize tree cover extent, loss and gain from 2000 to 2022. Tree cover loss was defined as a stand-replacement disturbance or the complete removal of tree cover at the Landsat pixel scale (30m). Recently harvested areas using clear cutting practices are thus included. For this indicator, only forest loss since 2000 was taken into account.

Areas of very high risk have experienced high rates of forest canopy loss (>20%).

See the documentation for more details.