Case Study: Amnesty International tackles deforestation in Cambodia with Planet satellite imagery

Tackling Deforestation in Cambodia

Amnesty International, a global human rights organization, faced the significant challenge of stopping illegal logging and deforestation within Cambodia's vast Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary. The sanctuary's large size, high cloud coverage, and the illegal nature of the activity made traditional ground patrols and annual satellite monitoring ineffective for preventing irreversible ecological damage. To address this, they turned to Planet, leveraging its daily PlanetScope satellite monitoring service to identify changes in near real-time.

Planet provided a solution using a "tip and cue" strategy. Amnesty used Planet's frequent, medium-resolution PlanetScope imagery to broadly scan the sanctuary and detect areas of concern, such as new roads or clearings. These "tips" were then used to task Planet's high-resolution SkySat satellites to capture detailed imagery of the targeted areas, confirming illegal activity like log piles and trucks. This approach enabled Amnesty to move from retrospective documentation to proactive intervention, working to prevent deforestation before significant harm is done and providing an objective source of truth for greater transparency.

Amnesty International

Micah Farfour

Special Advisor