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Mapping a Better Future
05 November 2026

Mapping a Better Future

New Thinking for a New World

About
In 1960, less than 1% of the Amazon had been deforested. Today, the figure is more than 20% — and forests in Southeast Asia and the Congo Basin have also suffered heavy losses. The consequences reach far beyond the forest edge: a carbon sink shifting toward a carbon source, disrupted “flying rivers,” and swings between flood and drought that threaten agriculture. Brazilian scientist Tasso Azevedo has spent his career asking a deceptively simple question: how do we actually know what is happening to these forests? His answer is maps. In this conversation with the Tällberg Foundation, he explains how MapBiomas, the collaborative network of NGOs, universities, and tech startups he has built, is using modern technology to map the Amazon, Africa, and Asia — and why maps and information may be the superpowers that save the rainforests.