An online tracking system developed by an international environmental group goes live today. It will enable the public to monitor where old growth is being logged and is designed to hold the province accountable for promises to reform forestry, said project lead Angeline Robertson, a senior investigative researcher with Stand.earth.
Forest Eye — an online mapping system and database developed by Stand.earth — employs satellite imagery, remote sensing technology and government data to detect and alert users to logging and road-building in the most at-risk old-growth forests in the province, Robertson said. The mapped logging alerts will pinpoint old-growth logging two to four weeks after it begins, identifying where, when and how much was cut and by which private forestry company, Robertson said. Most importantly, the Forest Eye will also determine if the destruction of old-growth forests occurred in areas considered for logging deferrals since 2020, when the B.C. government committed to transforming its approach to forestry and meeting the independent old-growth strategic review’s recommendations, she said.
