Cambodia has experienced substantial forest loss over the past two decades due to land-use change, agricultural expansion, illegal logging, and other human activities. Although satellite technology has made it possible to monitor forest change at national and regional scales, many local stakeholders—including civil society organizations (CSOs), community-based organizations (CBOs), community forestry groups (CFs), community protected areas (CPAs), Indigenous Peoples (IPs), researchers, and local authorities—face challenges in accessing and interpreting complex geospatial data promptly.

To address this gap, Open Development Cambodia (ODC) developed the Forest Disturbance Alert Platform, a user-friendly system that transforms technical satellite data into accessible information and near-real-time notifications. The platform aims to strengthen forest monitoring, support evidence-based advocacy, and enable more informed environmental decision-making.

 

 

Data sources

The platform integrates forest disturbance alerts from multiple internationally recognized sources, including:

  • Global Forest Watch (GFW) – The Global Forest Watch integrated disturbance alerts dataset combines five satellite-based systems (GLAD-L, GLAD-S2, RADD, DIST-ALERT, and Integrated Disturbance Alerts) into a single layer to detect forest loss faster and more consistently. It assigns confidence levels based on repeated detections or agreement across multiple systems, with higher confidence indicating more reliable alerts. This platform uses only the highest-confidence alerts from the Global Forest Watch integrated disturbance dataset.
  • SERVIR-Southeast Asia – The forest alert layer leverages the University of Maryland (UMD) GLAD Alert product, defining “forest” as areas with trees over 5 meters tall and a canopy closure above 30%. Alerts are triggered when canopy loss exceeds 50% per Landsat pixel. This system complements the annual global forest cover loss product, first developed using Landsat-7 data (2000–2019) and updated annually.
  • JICA-JAXA Forest Early Warning System – Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has developed a tool to watch deforestation called the JICA-JAXA Forest Early Warning System in the Tropics (JJ-FAST) under the Forest Governance Initiative (FGI). JJ-FAST uses Synthetic Aperture Radar PALSAR-2 onboard ALOS-2 with 50m resolution data. Its detection frequency is 45 days, with reliable monitoring features not affected by cloud cover, and it can detect deforestation with more than 2 hectares.

Each dataset has different strengths in terms of satellite sensors, detection methods, revisit frequency, and environment conditions. By combining these datasets, the platform offers a more comprehensive view of potential forest disturbances across Cambodia.

How the platform works

The Forest Disturbance Alert Platform aggregates and processes forest alert data from multiple sources and overlays detected changes onto selected forest classes from the 2021 Land Cover dataset, including evergreen, semi-evergreen, deciduous, flooded, and mangrove forests. The system also links alerts to administrative boundaries, protected areas, and user-defined Areas of Interest (AOIs).

When a forest disturbance is detected within a subscribed AOI, the platform automatically generates bilingual notifications and delivers them through dedicated Telegram channels. This enables users to receive timely updates and respond more effectively to potential changes in the forest.

Key features
  • Near-real-time forest disturbance alerts from multiple satellite-based data providers.
  • Interactive map of detected forest changes.
  • Custom monitoring through user-defined Areas of Interest (AOIs).
  • Automated bilingual notifications via Telegram.
  • Open and accessible information to support monitoring, research, advocacy, and decision-making.
Intended users

The platform is designed to support a wide range of stakeholders, including:

  • Civil society organizations (CSOs)
  • Community-based organizations (CBOs)
  • Community Forestry (CF) groups
  • Community Protected Areas (CPAs)
  • Indigenous communities
  • Government institutions
  • Researchers and academic institutions
  • Journalists and environmental practitioners
  • Development partners and the general public
Access to the platform

The Forest Disturbance Alert Platform is publicly accessible through the Open Development Cambodia website. Users can explore forest disturbance information through an interactive web map online and subscribe to Telegram notifications for approved Areas of Interest to receive timely updates on potential forest changes.

These alerts indicate potential disturbances and should be verified in the field before enforcement or management decisions.