System --JICA-JAXA Forest Early Warning System in the Tropics--

The JJ-FAST system

Monitor global tropical forests with ALOS-2

JICA and JAXA launched the JJ-FAST in November 2016 as their commitment under the Forest Governance Initiative, which was announced at UNFCCC COP 21 in Paris in 2015.

JJ-FAST is a web-based system using JAXA’s ALOS-2 to monitor tropical forests in 78 countries every 1.5 months and release deforestation data, even in the rainy season. Users can easily access the data for deforested areas from PCs and mobile devices and download the data.

Land observing satellite

The Advanced Land Observing Satellite-2 (ALOS-2) is a follow-on mission after the “DAICHI”, which contributed to cartography, regional observation, disaster monitoring and resource surveys. ALOS-2 will continue this mission with enhanced capabilities.

The PALSAR-2 aboard the ALOS-2 is a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), which emits microwaves and uses the reflections from the ground to obtain information.

Advantage of PALSAR-2 of ALOS-2

The state-of-the-art L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar-2 (PALSAR-2) aboard ALOS-2, which is active microwave radar using the 1.2 GHz frequency range, will, in responding to society’s needs, have enhanced performance compared to the DAICHI/PALSAR. The PALSAR-2 can observe day and night in all weather conditions. (See the information about the L-band history)

Any time of day or night

Since other sources of light such as the sun are unnecessary, SAR presents the advantage of providing satellite images around the clock.

All-weather

The L-band frequency for transmitting and receiving microwaves is less affected by cloud cover and rain.

Observation of land surface

L-band microwaves can reach the ground, partially penetrating through vegetation to obtain information about the current vegetation and ground surface.

South America

Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela

Central America

Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago

Sub-Saharan Africa

Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Madagascar, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Sao Tome and Principe, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Asia

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam

Oceania

Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands

Free access from anywhere

The system is web-based and allows free access from PCs and mobile devices from anywhere in the world.

JAXA leads the world in development and applications of L-band SAR.

JICA is one of the key development partners to support the efforts of developing countries to address their development challenges. JICA and JAXA jointly seek to contribute to the global efforts to conserve tropical forests and to fight against climate change through the use of Japanese technology.