Tropical forests are a vital part of our planet's life-support system. These forests support the air we breathe, our drinking water, and a diverse and healthy ecosystem for our agriculture, medicine and recreation. In fact, 40 percent of the earth’s oxygen comes from these forests, and half of all plants and animals on earth make their homes in tropical forests. Plus, about 1.6 billion people rely on these forests for their livelihoods.

But these precious resources are disappearing at an alarming rate of about 18,000 square miles (4.6 million hectares) per year, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. 

Now through the innovative collaboration between HP and Conservation International, HP Earth Insights, revolutionary technology is helping improve the accuracy and speed of analysis of data collection, providing scientists with more accurate and actionable environmental information.

Ecological data is collected in 16 tropical forests in Africa, Asia and Latin America, including Uganda, Tanzania, Malaysia, Brazil and Peru. Until now, scientists had to manually collect and analyze this data from tropical forests, often taking weeks, months or more to analyze information. That made it difficult to identify patterns of decline of species within these forests and to develop efforts to prevent further decline.  HP’s solutionsare analyzing the data 89 percent faster and transforming the field of environmental science.

This first of its kind, early warning system for conservation efforts, enables proactive responses to environmental threats. And it’s already yielding new information that indicates a decline in a significant percentage of species monitored. 

Most recent findings show that, of the 275 species being monitored by Conservation International’s TEAM Network, 60 of them—or 22 percent—are either significantly decreasing or likely decreasing compared to baseline levels. For example, the Western Gorilla, a Critically Endangered species that lives in the Republic of Congo (Nouabalé Ndoke), is likely declining—approximately 10 percent from the 2009 baseline. 

Data and analysis from HP Earth Insights will be shared with fellow scientists worldwide, as well as protected area managers to develop policies regarding hunting and other causes of species loss in these ecosystems.

Learnhow you can help protect vital tropic forest resources one acre at a time.