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Access to UNEP-WCMC datasets is provided on the understanding that you read and consent to be bound by the Terms and Conditions set out in the policies below.
Datasets, Tools & Reports
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Conservation data for smarter business decisions »
National Parks and other protected areas not only provide a safe haven for biodiversity, they provide benefits to local communities and preserve some of the most beautiful places on our planet. ‘Coverage of protected areas’ is also a specific indicator in the 2010 Target of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Resource Type: Journal Papers
Obtaining the data necessary to monitor trends in protected areas requires a massive effort by national authorities to compile, analyse and then distribute this data to the centralised depository of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). With a living and growing system of protected areas that now exceed 100,000 sites covering 19 million square kilometres, you can imagine that this is no small task! -
Biodiversity information on the Internet: cornucopia or confusion? »
The range of information on biodiversity currently available via the Internet is reviewed and its accessibility, usefulness and relevance to biodiversity research and to policy decision making assessed. Commercial and non-commercial databases are reviewed. The future of information via the net is also reviewed, in particular the role of the `Clearing House Mechanism' of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Biodiversity Conservation Information System.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
The Challenge of Measuring Global Change in Wild Nature: Are Things Getting Better or Worse? »
We briefly review recent global trends in habitat area in as many broadly-defined natural habitats as possible, and in indices of animal populations characteristic of those habitats. The information available indicates continuing declines in habitat area and species, but those data are extremely sparse.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
Uncertainty in predictions of extinction risk/Effects of changes in climate and land use/Climate change and extinction risk (reply) »
The number of environmental variables used during modelling could affect the outcome, but we found no correlation between these and our estimates of extinction risk in global samples. Although further investigation is needed, it is unlikely to result in substantially reduced estimates of extinction. Anthropogenic climate change seems set to generate very large numbers of species-level extinctions.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
Biodiversity offsets: voluntary and compliance regimes »
Written by UNEP-WCMC and UNEP-FI, this paper provides an overview of biodiversity offsets as a mitigation mechanism and examples of the different types of global regulatory and voluntary initiatives adopting this concept, as well as highlighting some existing challenges and opportunities.
Resource Type: Reports -
Are you a green leader? Business and biodiversity making the case for a lasting solution (2010) »
Produced jointly between UNEP-WCMC and UNEP’s Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, this document reviews the business case for biodiversity; provides an overview of impacts by sector and highlights existing and potential opportunities for companies. The document covers a wide range of sectors and complements existing and ongoing work on business and biodiversity.
Resource Type: Reports -
ECO-ED: rhetoric or progress? »
The World Congress for Education and Communication on Environment and Development (ECO-ED), which took place in Toronto, Canada, 17-21 October 1992, was multisectoral in scope, accommodating individuals and groups from business, aid agencies, the NGO community, government, the media, UN agencies (UNEP/UNESCO), educators and education associations.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
Knowledge for conservation-new technology, new players and a new approach »
How may we improve the quality, accessibility and usefulness of data about the living world? Three examples present themselves: use of new technology to build capacity for biodiversity knowledge management in the developing world; engagement of new sources of data; and harmonization of official data deriving from inter-governmental biodiversity-related treaties.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
La délimitation des montagnes européennes (Delineating Europe's mountains) »
As the importance of mountain spaces is more widely recogised, it seems necessary to establish a coherent definition of these spaces. The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) proposed the first global delineation in 2000. However, certain European countries have used national definitions of mountain spaces since the 1950s. Within the framework of social and economic integration policies at the heart of the European Union, an agreed delineation of European mountain spaces has been established, based on the definition proposed by UNEP-WCMC. The process of adaptation of the global definition to the European context is described, as well as the results for 29 European countries.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
Protecting the future: carbon, forest, protected areas and local livelihoods »
Protected areas can act as a case study for REDD: lessons can be learnt from their success or otherwise in reducing deforestation and supporting local livelihoods. Further research into the most effective management and governance frameworks for acheiving goals on carbon emissions, biodiversity and communities, and the extent to which protected areas reduce (or merely displace) deforestation within national boundaries would be useful in informing REDD implementation.
Resource Type: Journal Papers
