Global Forest Visualization: From Green Marbles to Storyworlds

This book project examines global forest monitoring as a means to understand the promises and problems of global visualization for climate management. It focuses on Global Forest Watch, the most developed and widely available forest-monitoring platform, and takes a critical humanistic approach to the problem of disempowering global views of forests. It relies on biopolitical and rhetorical theories of panopticism to explain the historical process by which forests came to be classified, quantified, and mapped on a global scale and provides rhetorical solutions to articulate global and local views of forests without reducing one view to the other.

Format: Hardback
Length: 106 pages
Publication date: 20 February 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive book project delves into the realm of global forest monitoring, exploring its potential as a tool for understanding the promises and challenges of global visualization in climate management. With a specific focus on Global Forest Watch, the most advanced and widely accessible forest-monitoring platform developed by the World Resource Institute in 1997, the book examines the intricate relationship between forest maps and power dynamics, shedding light on the political nature of forest visualization.

The dislocation of the forest concept from its literal roots in the ground has posed significant challenges for forest visualization efforts aimed at empowering local communities. To address this critical issue, the book adopts a critical humanistic approach, drawing upon methods from rhetoric and media studies to propose solutions for designers and users of platforms like Global Forest Watch.

In order to elucidate why global perspectives on forests can be disempowering, the book relies on biopolitical and rhetorical theories of panopticism, shedding light on how these views perpetuate different forms of violence across different regions of the Earth in relation to colonial history. By employing this theoretical framework, the book delves into the historical processes that have led to the classification, quantification, and mapping of forests on a global scale.

Through in-depth interviews with end-users of global forest visualization platforms, the book seeks to uncover whether and how these platforms facilitate local action. Furthermore, the book offers rhetorical solutions to articulate global and local perspectives on forests without compromising one view over the other. These solutions involve seeking insights from forests themselves, leveraging their inherent characteristics to generate more effective and resilient visualizations.

This book is a valuable resource for students and scholars engaged in forest studies, climate change, science communication, and visualization studies. It provides a comprehensive examination of the complex dynamics surrounding global forest monitoring and visualization, offering insightful perspectives and practical solutions for a more inclusive and sustainable future.

Weight: 370g
Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032454009