Update July 2024: How to View, Add and Update Polygons

On July 9th 2024, we made an important update to TerraMatch to enable better polygon validation, storage and analysis on the platform. This article summarizes that change, how it affects users, and how to use the new feature.

We will continue to improve how this feature works overtime as we seek to make the polygon creation and analysis process as seamless and enriching as possible. We will keep this page up to date as updates are made.

If you have any questions, issues or ideas on how to make this feature better for you and your needs, please send them to [e-mail].  

What has changed?

While there were some slight style updates to the platform to improve readability site-wide, the major update we released on July 7th is to improve how users can upload, view and update polygons on TerraMatch.

The major changes are summarized below and outlined in more detail at the end of this article:

1. Polygon upload/editing occurs within the map component on the site pages
2. There are statuses associated with each polygon
3. There is a new status (Restoration in Progress) associated with sites 
4. There are validation scripts available for each polygon
5. Audit logs are available for project, sites, and polygons

How does this affect my work on TerraMatch for my specific program?

Please refer to the specific guidance for your program for more detailed information about how this change affects your workflow:

• Priceless Planet Coalition (coming soon!)
• TerraFund Top 100 (coming soon!)
• TerraFund Landscapes (coming soon!)
• Harit Bharat Fund (coming soon!)

More Information on Updates

1. Polygon upload/editing occurs within the map component on the site pages

Previously, you were asked to upload a site polygon in the site establishment form. We have realized that often the basic details about a site are known before final polygons have been created. To account for that insight, we have separated out the two flows and you will now upload, edit or draw polygons within the map component on the site pages.

You will find the map view on the bottom of your site profile where you can view, upload, draw, submit and edit polygon geometries and information.

The video below guides you on polygon uploading, editing within the map components. 

2. There are statuses associated with each polygon

Now that polygons are more separated from sites, we have added four statuses associated with a polygon that gives transparency on where each polygon is its validation process. The status are outlined below and you and visually see the status of all polygons when you look at your new map component.

Status	Description
Draft	You have uploaded a polygon, but have not submitted for review yet
Submitted	You have submitted a polygon for review, and you are waiting to hear back if the polygon has been approved or needs more information. All polygons submitted within and outside TerraMatch will have this status initially.
Needs More Info	Your polygon is missing some key information or requires an edit that our polygon team is not able to do without your input.
Approved	Your polygon has been reviewed and is ready for monitoring.

3. There is a new status (Restoration in Progress) associated with sites

Now that polygons are more separated from sites, we have an additional site status so we can differentiate when basic site information has been approved and when all site polygons have been submitted and approved. The site statuses are outline below:

Status	Description
Started	You have started creating a site, but have not submitted for review yet
Awaiting Review	You have submitted a site for review and you are waiting to hear back if it has been approved or needs more information.
Restoration In Progress	Your site has been approved, but you have either not submitted all your polygons yet, or they have not all been approved. N.B: Your project will be in this status until all your planting has been completed and all your polygons have been approved.  All sites approved before the release will have this status as we approve submitted polygons.
More info requested	Your site is missing some key information or requires an update.
Approved	Your site and all its polygons have been reviewed and are ready for monitoring.

 

4. There are validation scripts available for each polygon

To give more transparency about what our polygon teams look for when they are QA’ing polygons, we have added in some basic validation scripts to look for common errors. We will add more information about these scripts later, but below you can find a quick video about how to access these scripts and what they mean.

5. Audit logs are available for project, sites, and polygons

As we are bringing polygon QA into the platform, we wanted to enable more transparent communication between users and admins so we can stay organized as we build and approve polygons. To enable this, we have added an audit log tab to your project and site landing pages where you can see all previous status updated and comments regarding your project, site and polygons and the status of each entity.

The video below provides more details on validation scripts available for each polygon and shows you how to view audit log and fixing errors on polygon.