This publication presents the results of an analysis on the economic impact and the potential of five of goods and services provisioned by conservation units for the Brazilian economy and society: forest products, public use, carbon, water and sharing of tax revenue.
Resource Type: Tools / ApplicationsThe World Atlas of Coral Reefs is an invaluable resource to be enjoyed and used by a broad audience ranging from global travellers to scientists, including all those with an interest in the natural history of coral reefs, resource managers, travel organisations and university students. The book also caters to the needs of amateur divers and boat owners as a key information resource.
Resource Type: BooksThis collaborative project, sponsored by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and others, developed biodiversity indicators to support planning and decision-making at the national level in four participating countries. In each country national partners developed and tested several indicators for a single focal ecosystem, using an iterative process of consultation, inventory and synthesis of existing data.
The BINU project has launched this 20-page booklet on its experience and lessons learned in developing biodiversity indicators for national use.
Resource Type: ReportsA practical guide for coastal resource managers to reduce damage from Catchment areas based on best practice case studies
Resource Type: Tools / ApplicationsThe CBD-mandated Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP) is a global initiative that has operated since 2007, promoting and coordinating development and delivery of biodiversity indicators in support of the CBD and related Conventions, national and regional governments and a range of other sectors. UNEP-WCMC is the official Secretariat of the BIP.
Resource Type: Tools / ApplicationsThe National Biodiversity Indicators Portal is the leading resource for information on national biodiversity indicators. This portal is a companion website to the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP), which provides indicator information at the global level.
This website provides guidance and examples to support the development and effective use of biodiversity indicators. These capacity building resources are the product of more than five years of experience by UNEP-WCMC and the BIP. It is designed principally to support biodiversity indicators at the national level, but it is relevant for working from the local to global scales.
Datasets Available from UNEP-WCMC: Excluding WDPA
Access to UNEP-WCMC datasets is provided on the understanding that you read and consent to be bound by the Terms and Conditions attached. For the purposes of this Agreement the “Data” comprise any of the spatial data and associated attribute data downloadable from the UNEP-WCMC website, excluding the World Database on Protected Areas.
The dataset contained in this map represents the global distribution of warm water coral reefs. It has been created from multiple sources and supercedes the dataset used in the World Atlas of Coral Reefs (2001), although some aspects of this product still originate from that datasource. This global coral reef dataset should be seen an 'interim' global product. It has been compiled from a number of data sources which have been merged together by UNEP-WCMC. The Approximate % coverage of data sources are as follows - Millennium Coral Reefs (Unvalidated) 50% - Millennium Coral Reefs (Validated) 30 % - Other sources 20%.
Resource Type: Spatial Data / MapsDiseases affecting coral reefs have increased in frequency and severity in recent decades. These diseases combine with existing human induced impacts on coral reefs to compromise their health and sustainability. Up to date information on the global abundance and distribution of diseases is critical in order to predict these impacts, to understand how current reef management practices and human impacts affect the spread and severity of diseases, and to inform policy and management decision making.
Resource Type: Tools / Applications One third of the world’s population lives in coastal areas and rapid development of these areas has meant increased construction of coastal infrastruc- ture (e.g. ports, navigation channels, coastal de- fence) and related activities (e.g. land reclamation, beach nourishment), which has inevitably led to conflicting priorities between coral reef conservation and economic growth. The key impacts of these ac- tivities, if not managed, include:
• Direct loss of coral reef caused by the removal or burial of reefs
• Lethal or sub-lethal stress to corals caused by elevated turbidity and sedimentation rates
Dredging and port construction activities potentially affect not only the site itself, but also surrounding ar- eas, through a large number of impact vectors (e.g. turbid plumes, sedimentation, release of contami- nants, bathymetric changes). Effects may be imme- diate or develop over a longer timeframe and may be temporary or permanent in nature, depending on a large number of factors.
Coral reefs are a critical global resource, both biologically, and in socio-economic terms. Coral reefs are also highly sensitive to climatic influences and appear to number among the most sensitive of all ecosystems to temperature changes, exhibiting the phenomenon known as coral bleaching when stressed by higher than normal sea temperatures.
Resource Type: Reports©2013 UNEP All rights reserved