About the Service
The CopPhil Forest Mapping Service supports Filipino authorities in monitoring and managing the country’s forest resources through a suite of regularly updated, satellite-derived products. Developed in close collaboration with PhilSA and NAMRIA, the service delivers Forest Area and Type maps and Tree Cover Density maps, product, providing a consistent and reliable basis for tracking deforestation, urban encroachment, and land conversion over time. These outputs strengthen sustainable land use planning, support afforestation and agroforestry initiatives, and help decision-makers respond to the growing pressures facing the Philippines’ forest ecosystems.
Forest Area and Type
The Forest Area and Type product maps the annual extent of three forest classes across the Philippines: Mangrove Forest, Open Forest, and Closed Forest. Generated from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery at a resolution of 10 metres and produced using a machine learning approach, the product provides a detailed and regularly updated picture of where forests exist and what type they are.
Developed in collaboration with PhilSA, NAMRIA, the Forest Management Bureau (FMB), and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), it supports environmental monitoring, land management, and evidence-based policymaking.
Tree Cover Density
The Tree Cover Density (TCD) product measures the percentage of tree cover within each mapped unit across the Philippines, ranging from 0 to 100%, and is updated annually at a spatial resolution of 50 metres using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. By quantifying how densely an area is covered by trees, rather than simply whether forest is present, the product provides a more nuanced picture of forest condition and change over time.
The TCD is particularly useful for assessing the immediate impact of wildfires, tracking forest recovery, and monitoring areas affected by disease or pest outbreaks, supporting restoration strategies and the long-term management of forest ecosystems.