Rachael Petersen

Impacts Manager, Global Forest Watch

Bio

Rachael is the Impacts Manager for Global Forest Watch (GFW), where she bridges the technical and engagement strategies of the GFW initiative to ensure delivery of transformational impacts on a global scale. Rachael also coordinates with technical research partners to stimulate the development of next-generation forest monitoring systems and transform cutting-edge forest data into policy-relevant insights.

Prior to joining the World Resources Institute, Rachael completed a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship, in which she travelled the world researching how remote indigenous communities harness digital technology to preserve their cultures. Previously, she focused on indigenous peoples’ participation in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) as a delegate to the COP15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen and as an intern with the Environmental Defense Fund. She has also worked as a research assistant for the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy, writing policy briefs on sustainability in the Arctic.

Rachael holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Public Policy from Rice University in Houston, T.X.

She is a podcast enthusiast, pianist, and intrepid traveler with a special interest in the Arctic. She speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and German, and is conversational in Penan.

Blog Posts

Forest Watcher Brings Data Straight to Environmental Defenders
by Rachael Petersen and Lilian Pintea - September 26, 2017
Frontlines work against deforestation doesn't always happen where there's good WiFi. So WRI developed a mobile app that works offline, bridging the gap between the eyes of satellites and enforcement by environmental defenders, forest rangers and civil society.
Protecting Forests with an Unexpected Legal Tool: Freedom of Information Laws
by Jessica Webb, Carole Excell and Rachael Petersen - March 22, 2017
A critical way to protect forests is to determine how well companies are complying with concessions agreements that allow them to work on forested government land. Finding this out can be a challenge. A new WRI study shows Freedom of Information laws can help.
INSIDER: Global Forest Watch and the Forest Resources Assessment, Explained in 5 Graphics
by Nancy Harris, Rachael Petersen, Crystal Davis and Octavia Payne - August 01, 2016
Today, we have more data about forests than ever before, but we still can’t seem to agree on where, when and why forests are changing around the world.

Even two prominent global data sources appear to disagree, at least on...
5 Images Explain Why the Alberta Forest Fires Are So Hard to Stop
by Rachael Petersen, Susan Minnemeyer and Wynet Smith - May 11, 2016
Satellites have detected more than 1,000 active fire points around Fort McMurray, Canada in the last week. Data from the Global Forest Watch platform provides context on what's happening in these northern forests.
Forest Loss Pushes Far Beyond Plantation Boundaries in South America, Africa
by Rachael Petersen, Elizabeth Dow Goldman, Mikaela Weisse and Dmitry Aksenov - January 25, 2016
New data on Global Forest Watch shows that in some of the world's most heavily forested nations, more than 90 percent of tree cover loss is happening in natural forests rather than plantations. That's a problem since natural forests, especially those in the tropics, provide much greater climate, biodiversity and water benefits over planted lands.
New GFW Maps Show Vast Logging, Oil Palm and Plantation Concessions in Sarawak
by Rachael Petersen, Samantha Gibbes and Mikaela Weisse - November 19, 2015
Satellite data reveals that concessions cover more than half the Malaysian state of Sarawak, often overlapping with sensitive intact forests that are being degraded at one of the highest rates in the world.
Brasil e Indonésia Têm Dificuldades para Diminuir Desmatamento
by Mikaela Weisse and Rachael Petersen - September 03, 2015
Brasil e Indonésia fizeram grandes esforços para diminuir o desflorestamento em anos recentes mas, em 2014, registraram aumento na perda de árvores, de acordo com novos dados divulgados pelo Global Forest Watch.
Brazil and Indonesia Struggling to Reduce Deforestation
by Mikaela Weisse and Rachael Petersen - September 03, 2015
Despite significant efforts to reduce deforestation in recent years, new satellite data shows that two of the world's largest forested nations, Brazil and Indonesia, both saw an uptick in tree cover loss in 2014.
Satellites Uncover 5 Surprising Hotspots for Tree Cover Loss
by Rachael Petersen, Nigel Sizer, Matt Hansen, Peter Potapov and David Thau - September 02, 2015
The world lost 18 million hectares (45 million acres) of trees in 2014, more than half of it in the tropics.
Datos Satelitales Recientes Resaltan 5 Áreas Soprendentes de Pérdida de Cobertura Arbórea
by Rachael Petersen, Nigel Sizer, Matt Hansen, Peter Potapov and David Thau - September 02, 2015
Los bosques tropicales del mundo están en problemas serios, así lo confirman los nuevos análisis satelitales de la Universidad de Maryland y Google, publicados hoy en Global Forest Watch.

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Rachael Petersen

Forest Watcher Brings Data Straight to Environmental Defenders

Protecting Forests with an Unexpected Legal Tool: Freedom of Information Laws

INSIDER: Global Forest Watch and the Forest Resources Assessment, Explained in 5 Graphics

5 Images Explain Why the Alberta Forest Fires Are So Hard to Stop

Forest Loss Pushes Far Beyond Plantation Boundaries in South America, Africa

New GFW Maps Show Vast Logging, Oil Palm and Plantation Concessions in Sarawak

Brasil e Indonésia Têm Dificuldades para Diminuir Desmatamento

Brazil and Indonesia Struggling to Reduce Deforestation

Satellites Uncover 5 Surprising Hotspots for Tree Cover Loss

Datos Satelitales Recientes Resaltan 5 Áreas Soprendentes de Pérdida de Cobertura Arbórea

Logging, Mining, And Agricultural Concessions Data Transparency: A Survey Of 14 Forested Countries

Mapping Tree Plantations with Multispectral Imagery: Preliminary Results for Seven Tropical Countries

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