My Role: Research | Data Visualization | Design |
2017 - Duration: 3 weeks
Index
Product Summary
Today the Amazon rain forest is threatened by fires that have increased in intensity, and that can destroy the livelihoods of those who live there. In our research, we uncovered that ranching expansion, combined with drier conditions as a result of deforestation, is the number one great contributor to the threat of fire.
“During the past 40 years, close to 20% of the Amazon rain forest has been cut down—
more than in all the previous 450 years since European colonization began.””
We learned that the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (IBAMA) had great success in combatting deforestation, but has gradually lost funding as a result of recession.
We created an ambient dashboard, which gathers the critical information and trends that can help inform policymakers' decisions regarding wildfires.
Product Walkthrough
Trends and Projections
A. Understanding Funding in combatting forest loss
A decreased funding for IBAMA, tampers with the organizations ability to effectively fight ranching in the Amazon rain forest.
B. Number of fires over the past ten years
Most fires in the Amazon rain forest are man-made. They peak seasonally.
Real-time Monitoring
a. Monitoring fire occurrences
Most fires break out near ranches.
b. Gaging fire intensity
Humidity and temperature as two of the main indicators of fire intensity.
Fire Hazard Warning
We have included an alert system that warns against the potential damage to human lives, when fires become a potential threat to inhabited areas.
Conclusion
With this prototype, we hoped to explore how data, when presented in a compelling way, can incite action. With wildfires raging across California in 2017, we hope that our project inspires further efforts to extract crucial data to preventing fires and present them in compelling ways.
