Editorial standards & corrections

Last updated September 2026

Palawan Watch publishes satellite detections and short descriptions of documented mining and land-cover change sites. Because those descriptions name real companies and real places, this page sets out how we source them, how we word them, what the data can and cannot show, and how to get something changed.

What we are

An independent, open project. We are not affiliated with any government agency, company, or campaign, and we do not act for any party in any dispute. We take no money from the industries we monitor.

What the satellite data can and cannot show

We read alert systems that other institutions already run — NASA FIRMS for thermal detections, Global Forest Watch's integrated alerts for forest loss, Copernicus Sentinel-1 for radar flood extent. We do not process raw imagery ourselves and we do not train our own detector.

That has a hard limit worth stating plainly. These systems show where land cover changed. They do not show who changed it, why, or whether it was lawful. A thermal detection is a hot pixel, not proof of a fire, let alone of who lit it. Forest loss inside a permit boundary may be entirely authorised. Nothing on this site is, by itself, a finding of illegality or non-compliance against anyone, and it should not be read or reported as one.

Detections also carry a confidence level from the source system, which we pass through rather than hide, and coordinates are approximate.

How we source site descriptions

Descriptions are compiled from public sources: operator filings and disclosures, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, EJAtlas, and satellite imagery. Where a figure was first taken from a general reference such as Wikipedia we treat it as indicative and say so, rather than presenting it as verified.

How we word things

We describe what imagery shows, not what we think it proves.
Where a concern has been raised by others, we say who raised it, and we do not attribute it to a named operator unless the source does.
Where several operators work in one area, we do not imply that any particular one caused an observed change.
Where a site is a region, coastline or mountain range rather than a single operation, we say so, and we do not attach it to a company.

Corrections

We would rather be corrected than be wrong. If anything here is inaccurate — a figure, an operator name, a boundary, a date, a characterisation — write to [email protected].

We aim to acknowledge within 5 working days.
Where a correction is warranted we make it promptly and note that the entry was amended.
Where we disagree, we will say so and explain why, and you are entitled to have your position recorded alongside the entry.
You do not have to be the subject to report an error. Anyone can.

Right of reply

Any operator named on this site may send a statement in response to what is published about them. We will publish it alongside the entry, unedited except for length, at the same prominence as the description it answers.

Reuse

The underlying satellite data belongs to the agencies that produce it and carries their terms and attribution. Our descriptions may be quoted with attribution. If you reuse them, please carry the qualification in this page with them — the limitation is part of the claim, not a footnote to it.

Privacy

What we record about subscribers and visitors is set out separately in the privacy notice.