Transparency

Scientific Data
Disclosures

This page describes what ecological data Forest First collects, how it is verified, and how it is made available to contributors, researchers, and the public.

Principles

Our Data Commitment

Forest First operates on a principle of ecological honesty: we disclose what we measure, how we measure it, and where our data has gaps. We do not publish unverified claims. Where baselines are incomplete or monitoring is in early stages, we say so.

All quantitative claims on this website (hectares targeted, species counts, watershed metrics) are drawn from internal field assessments or published secondary literature. Sources are cited in our annual field reports.

Data Types

What We Measure

Biodiversity
Flora & Fauna Surveys
Annual transect surveys for woody flora, ground-layer species, and vertebrate fauna on acquired and restored parcels.
Hydrology
Stream Flow & Soil Moisture
Seasonal stream flow monitoring and soil moisture indices in restored grassland and shola edge zones.
Restoration
Native Canopy Recovery
Crown cover progression, native seedling establishment rates, and exotic species suppression across active restoration sites.
Land
GIS Parcel Mapping
Georeferenced boundary audits, land-use history mapping, and ecological sensitivity scoring for acquired parcels.
Carbon
Above-Ground Biomass
Biomass estimation using allometric equations for native species. Carbon sequestration figures are indicative, not certified.
Wildlife
Camera Trap Records
Deployed across active sites to monitor corridor usage by mammals. Data shared with academic partners.
Monitoring Status

Current Programme Status

Programme Status Data Availability
Forest Department MOU Sites (60 acres) Active Annual reports to contributors; summary data public
Invasive Species Removal (Acacia / Eucalyptus) Ongoing Clearance maps available on request
Native Grassland Recovery Baseline Ongoing Baseline being established; report expected 2026
Wildlife Corridor Camera Traps Planned Deployment Q3 2026; data from Q4 2026
Soil Carbon Measurement Planned Academic collaboration pending
Access

Requesting Data

Contributors to the Forest First Land Acquisition Pool receive annual field reports automatically. Researchers, journalists, and institutional partners may request access to specific datasets by writing to us with a brief description of purpose.

We share data freely where it does not compromise the security of sensitive wildlife locations (e.g., specific coordinates of rare species sightings or nesting sites).

Contact: dilip@the-heritage.org

Limitations

What We Do Not Claim

Forest First does not issue verified carbon credits or certified biodiversity units. Our monitoring is rigorous but not yet third-party certified. We do not use satellite-derived carbon estimates without ground-truth validation. Any figures described as "targeted" on this site are programme goals, not achieved outcomes, unless explicitly stated otherwise.

We will update this page as programme status changes and as new data becomes available.