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

Country	Mean FLII	Low integrity (km^2)	Medium integrity (km^2)	High integrity (km^2)	Total forest area (km^2)	Map
Seychelles	10	0	0	68	68
Sudan	9.8	1	72	495	569
Guyana	9.58	4162	40817	147413	192391
South Sudan	9.45	5083	59389	146218	210691
Suriname	9.39	6796	25031	107954	139781
Mongolia	9.36	520	11915	27407	39841
Central African Republic	9.28	30161	139350	379097	548608
Botswana	9.13	13	187	372	572
Gabon	9.07	11780	118348	120852	250979
Russian Federation	9.02	739484	2245281	5137079	8121843
Canada	8.99	480206	1027386	2968268	4475860
Congo	8.89	24512	124215	158184	306911
Kyrgyzstan	8.86	329	2819	2761	5909
Peru	8.86	85793	190547	509720	786061
Afghanistan	8.85	90	1475	977	2542
Bhutan	8.85	1620	16769	10140	28529
Papua New Guinea	8.84	37294	183415	216355	437064
Vanuatu	8.82	734	5322	4448	10504
Venezuela	8.78	64650	170792	351112	586554
Tajikistan	8.65	34	137	130	301
Bolivia	8.47	78745	280532	272007	631284
Namibia	8.43	5	13	17	36
Angola	8.35	105487	284054	315895	705436
Fiji	8.35	1753	10802	3594	16148
Colombia	8.26	150737	272442	428320	851499
Kazakhstan	8.23	6068	18926	15294	40288
Palau	8.09	45	333	9	387
North Korea	8.02	8374	40156	8410	56939
Cameroon	8	66191	181336	119263	366789
Equatorial Guinea	7.99	3982	17595	5007	26585
Georgia	7.79	6982	17803	9784	34570
Brunei Darussalam	7.71	1102	2842	1498	5442
Comoros	7.69	284	1149	82	1515
Iran	7.67	3361	12930	2162	18453
Ecuador	7.66	48822	77585	73492	199900
DRC	7.56	533118	935508	727983	2196608
Micronesia	7.55	8	35	0	43
Brazil	7.52	1374902	1354961	2338101	5067963
Zambia	7.5	96969	164376	110822	372167
Macedonia	7.42	2034	7090	459	9583
Pakistan	7.42	2090	7859	1139	11088
Lesotho	7.4	1	4	0	5
Chile	7.37	56849	41971	93537	192357
Bahamas	7.35	741	1935	399	3075
Nepal	7.23	13785	41992	3760	59538
Australia	7.22	117672	239624	103852	461148
Argentina	7.21	98249	189966	72557	360772
Solomon Islands	7.19	6871	15310	3149	25329
Myanmar	7.18	129745	220188	96924	446857
Ethiopia	7.16	52652	84430	44397	181479
Mali	7.16	451	996	140	1586
Somalia	7.16	347	1384	46	1777
China	7.14	533800	974431	301051	1809282
Tanzania	7.13	123997	159712	122812	406521
New Zealand	7.12	34503	44155	35334	113992
Senegal	7.11	847	2456	162	3465
Timor-Leste	7.11	1783	7008	47	8838
India	7.09	117992	254792	54428	427211
Cyprus	7.06	388	1026	18	1432
Norway	6.98	39343	67383	16627	123352
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	6.95	91	221	0	312
Mozambique	6.93	150665	189362	115379	455406
Mexico	6.82	193908	280445	121842	596195
Albania	6.77	2426	5256	122	7805
Uzbekistan	6.77	214	227	199	640
Morocco	6.74	2260	4076	451	6787
United States	6.65	1328079	1144693	658645	3131417
Sao Tome and Principe	6.64	31	140	0	171
Trinidad and Tobago	6.62	1478	2176	418	4072
Greece	6.6	14548	27833	1078	43459
Indonesia	6.6	535370	509018	431973	1476361
Azerbaijan	6.55	4820	7189	1534	13543
Montenegro	6.41	2949	4778	82	7809
Paraguay	6.39	78538	102626	29877	211041
Turkey	6.39	43043	68243	3516	114801
Taiwan	6.38	8786	14547	1453	24786
Cabo Verde	6.37	27	38	0	65
Panama	6.37	25420	21310	14605	61336
Cambodia	6.31	30143	31939	16349	78431
Turkmenistan	6.31	5	33	0	37
Zimbabwe	6.31	9450	14417	1644	25511
Nigeria	6.2	64621	65355	24307	154283
Chad	6.18	5261	6016	1910	13187
Saint Lucia	6.17	235	316	0	551
Belize	6.15	7004	7957	2744	17705
Bulgaria	6.09	18884	26325	847	46057
South Korea	6.02	25060	32009	888	57956
Thailand	6	86276	89326	33612	209214
Bosnia and Herzegovina	5.99	13387	17031	574	30993
Romania	5.95	38395	48394	607	87395
Philippines	5.91	91820	100831	8393	201044
Togo	5.88	5064	4522	1076	10662
Benin	5.86	4724	3698	1769	10191
Sri Lanka	5.83	20541	22390	1613	44544
Japan	5.8	135783	133480	16005	285268
Malawi	5.74	12514	12167	2396	27078
Guinea-Bissau	5.7	9274	8702	855	18831
Laos	5.59	92986	80564	19252	192801
Armenia	5.46	1894	1681	3	3577
Mauritius	5.46	567	478	0	1045
Bangladesh	5.45	10013	7251	1947	19211
Cuba	5.4	22605	18460	1632	42697
Sweden	5.35	174415	109779	23494	307687
Vietnam	5.35	82551	75353	9588	167492
Serbia	5.29	17513	14112	516	32141
Algeria	5.22	7418	6044	81	13543
Kosovo	5.19	2628	1775	47	4450
Tunisia	5.14	1354	987	0	2340
Finland	5.08	144310	83572	9294	237176
Jamaica	5.01	5362	3249	158	8770
Malaysia	5.01	130825	91957	21499	244281
South Africa	4.94	45489	34968	3196	83653
Croatia	4.92	15732	10522	379	26633
Guinea	4.9	81702	54877	2895	139475
Libya	4.85	15	2	0	17
Liberia	4.79	51975	31162	11025	94163
Antigua and Barbuda	4.72	114	92	0	206
Costa Rica	4.65	27164	12838	4164	44167
Madagascar	4.63	120340	66584	11922	198846
Gambia	4.56	181	85	0	266
Saint Kitts and Nevis	4.55	95	50	0	145
Ghana	4.53	57519	28901	2160	88580
France	4.52	161987	49496	74121	285604
Burundi	4.5	6882	3841	46	10769
Liechtenstein	4.5	59	42	0	101
Honduras	4.48	57899	23802	3692	85392
Andorra	4.45	170	49	0	219
Uganda	4.36	77303	36381	7507	121190
Slovakia	4.34	17615	8165	0	25781
Spain	4.23	82770	46013	133	128916
Grenada	4.22	221	86	0	308
Eswatini	4.21	5054	2501	14	7569
Kenya	4.2	28427	13558	4702	46686
Dominican Republic	4.19	19890	9364	518	29772
Israel	4.14	170	85	0	255
El Salvador	4.05	8837	2947	0	11784
Haiti	4.01	7116	2831	12	9959
Guatemala	3.85	58572	18764	5592	82928
Rwanda	3.85	5665	2170	619	8454
Slovenia	3.78	11065	3791	0	14856
Lebanon	3.76	541	115	0	656
Italy	3.65	79403	26858	25	106286
Cote d'Ivoire	3.64	158010	41005	7288	206303
Syria	3.64	841	282	0	1123
Belarus	3.63	77870	20847	91	98808
Nicaragua	3.63	65356	17646	4858	87860
Uruguay	3.61	11793	3998	0	15791
Iraq	3.59	104	9	0	113
Austria	3.55	36666	12422	21	49109
Switzerland	3.53	13636	4412	10	18058
Ukraine	3.3	89540	20183	176	109900
Estonia	3.05	24473	4832	52	29358
Jordan	2.79	12	0	0	12
Sierra Leone	2.76	52512	11858	640	65010
Germany	2.28	122168	11307	0	133475
Hungary	2.25	18729	2047	0	20776
Poland	2.24	101886	7103	0	108989
Moldova	2.2	3113	202	0	3315
Latvia	2.09	38164	2137	0	40301
Czechia	1.71	32161	1611	0	33772
United Kingdom	1.65	29149	2917	35	32101
Lithuania	1.62	24554	930	0	25484
Belgium	1.36	8803	297	0	9099
Luxembourg	1.12	1170	0	0	1170
Singapore	1.11	170	2	0	172
Dominica	1.06	531	2	0	533
Ireland	0.92	5283	96	0	5378
Portugal	0.82	25966	553	0	26519
Netherlands	0.6	5250	72	0	5322
Egypt	0.56	4772	218	69	5059
Denmark	0.5	5756	31	0	5787
San Marino	0.01	7	0	0	7

Background

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

Institution	Author(s)
Wildlife Conservation Society, The Bronx	H.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, Brisbane	H. L. Beyer; S. Maxwell; H. Possingham; J. E. M. Watson
Carleton University, Ottawa	R. Schuster
Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Toronto	J. C. Ray
United Nations Development Program, Manhattan	J. Ervin
World Resources Institute, Washington, DC	E. Goldman; R. Taylor
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff	S. Goetz; P. Jantz
Montana State University, Bozeman	A. Hansen
Rainforest Foundation Norway, Oslo	E. Hofsvang
Global Wildlife Conservation, Austin, TX	P. Langhammer; R. Mittermeier
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ	P. Langhammer
James Cook University, Cairns	W. F. Laurance; N. J. Murray
University of Oxford, Oxford	Y. Malhi
The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA	H. Possingham
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA	S. Saatchi
World Wide Fund for Nature Germany, Berlin	A. Shapiro
International Institute of Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro	B. Strassburg
University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC	O. Venter
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Laxenburg, Austria	P. Visconti

See also

• Intact forest landscape
• List of countries by forest area

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.

External links

• Official site & map