The Future is Collective Case Studies of Collective Social Innovation 2025

MapBiomas Producing free, open and interactive land use maps for tropical forests worldwide Background Tropical forests are critical to maintaining climate equilibrium, biodiversity and food security for the planet. When performed in an unsustainable way, land use activities in these regions, such as agriculture, logging and mining, contribute to deforestation and vegetation loss, which leads to increases in global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and loss of biodiversity. Land use changes also affect water cycles, impacting rainfall and the risk of soil erosion and desertification, which can harm agriculture and local livelihoods. Obtaining quick, precise and frequent data on land use changes is critical to making decisions and monitoring and enforcing land use goals and policies. Timely data is also crucial for identifying illegal activities and tracking key indicators of land health, such as fire scars, carbon stock, and degradation and regeneration of native vegetation. However, traditional centralized methods of mapping are expensive and slow, preventing the creation and updating of multiple maps that reveal land use changes over time. MapBiomas was founded in 2015 as a collaborative initiative in Brazil to use advanced technology and data to monitor land use and cover changes across the country. By integrating satellite imagery, machine learning (ML), cloud computing and contributions from universities, civil society and technology start- ups, MapBiomas initiatives provide detailed, annual reports on deforestation, agricultural expansion and other transformations in natural landscapes. Its comprehensive datasets are crucial for understanding the impacts of human activities on ecosystems and provide an essential tool for policy-makers, researchers and environmental advocates. Headquartered: MapBiomas is fully distributed with no central headquarters. The Executive Secretariat of the network is coordinated by the Brazilian branch.Year founded Regions represented Entity typeGroups assembled Organizations involved Constituents represented20+ geographic and thematic initiatives comprised of independent local organizations. Budget rangeNumber of employees 500+ people involved in the network. MapBiomas has no employees; rather, its work is conducted by a network of more than 400 co-creators at network-affiliated institutions. $12-16 millionMapBiomas is organized as a network with no official central legal entity.2015 16 countries Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela) and territories (Amazonia, Bosque Atlantico, Chaco, Pampa)04 100+ organizations are members of the MapBiomas network. 500,000+ users access MapBiomas annually, including from governments, financial institutions, agricultural companies and NGOs.COLLECTIVE ACTION CASE STUDY The Future is Collective: Case Studies of Collective Social Innovation 27