At Orbify, we take a rigorous, science-based approach to environmental monitoring. One of the most critical and often misunderstood aspects of this work is how we identify and label a location as having undergone deforestation. This determination is not made lightly—it must meet specific, well-defined criteria rooted in both scientific consensus and regulatory frameworks such as the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
To label a site as "deforestation detected," several strict conditions must be met:
Tree Cover Must Be Present: The area must have been classified as tree-covered prior to any change. We do not assess or label open land or grassland transitions as deforestation events.
It Must Not Be a Commodity Forest: We exclude areas designated as commodity forests—such as plantations for oil palm, rubber, or timber production—unless they meet further criteria established for natural forest classification.
It Must Qualify as a Forest According to EUDR: The site must meet the definition of a forest as outlined by the EUDR:
Canopy cover of more than 10%
Trees reaching a height of more than 5 meters
A minimum area of 0.5 hectares
Only when all three of these conditions are met do we classify an area as having experienced deforestation.
This level of precision ensures that our deforestation alerts are both meaningful and actionable. It also helps align our assessments with global environmental standards and regulatory expectations. Our methodology is transparent and rooted in peer-reviewed science, and our team is committed to ongoing validation and improvement of our detection systems.
If our results differ from those of other platforms, we welcome the opportunity to engage in a deeper analysis. We’re happy to explain any discrepancies based on the scientific principles and methods underpinning our work.