Hidden Highways: Unveiling the Impact of Ghost Roads on Asia-Pacific Forests

The study investigates the rampant proliferation of uncharted roads, termed "ghost roads," in the Asia-Pacific tropics. These roads, often unrecorded in official datasets, accelerate forest destruction, posing significant threats to biodiversity. By utilizing around 7,000 hours of meticulous mapping by volunteers, the researchers revealed that actual road coverage in the area is substantially higher than indicated in global records, by a factor of 3.0 to 6.6 times.