Virtual Map Editor – Logging Roads Initiative

 As part of a global effort to monitor and combat deforestation, I participated in the Logging Roads Initiative, a collaborative project between the World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch and Moabi. The initiative focused on mapping and tracking the expansion of logging roads in the Congo Basin, a region where such roads often signal the onset of large-scale deforestation. Using satellite imagery from 2000 to 2014, I digitized logging roads, identified their first appearance, and tagged them accordingly. The project utilized OpenStreetMap (OSM) tools, including a customized version of the iD editor and the OSM Tasking Manager, enabling a global network of volunteers to contribute to a shared geospatial database. My responsibilities included tracing and digitizing logging roads, tagging them by year, verifying and editing data submitted by other contributors, and using Mapbox for visualization enhancements. This project not only deepened insight into deforestation trends in the Congo Basin but also showcased the effectiveness of crowdsourced mapping and citizen science in advancing environmental transparency and accountability.