Tree Cover Based on Satellite Data (University of Maryland - 2018)

Source: The map is published on UNEP's South Sudan: First State of Environment and Outlook Report 2018 with a source identified as University of Maryland, 2018, no date indicated. The UNEP's report could be found <a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/report/south-sudan-first-state-environment-and-outlook-report-2018" target="_blank"> here </a> <br><br>There are no reliable data on the extent of forests in South Sudan, since a detailed forest survey and inventory has never been carried out. Analyses based on remote sensing exist, which provide different estimates, but they have not been verified on the ground, so the accuracy of such products is unknown. The map is a satellite image that suggests the total area of tree cover in South Sudan is almost 20,000,000 ha (19,166,700 ha or 191,667 km2), which represents about 30 per cent of the country’s total land area (<a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/world/ss/ss-nr-05-en.pdf" target="_blank"> MOE, 2015 </a>). This includes natural forests and woodlands, tropical moist forests on the hills, in the mountains and in the Nile-Congo watershed, and forests in National Parks and game reserves.