The WDPA-Marine is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive set of marine protected areas (MPAs) data available. The dataset focuses on MPAs and representation of the diverse species and habitats found in the marine environment. The tools itself features the attributes of each MPA, gives users an advanced search function, provides a viewer through Google Earth and links through to other detailed information such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Resource Type: Tools / ApplicationsThis atlas provides a comprehensive overview of what is currently known about all six species of great apes - chimpanzee, bonobo, Sumatran orangutan, Bornean orangutan, eastern gorilla, and western gorilla. It gives a thorough background on ape behaviour and ecology for each species, including detailed habitat requirements, the apes' ecological role, and the possible consequences of their decline.
Despite the dedicated efforts of many individuals and organizations, the great apes all fall into the Endangered or Critically Endangered category of the IUCN Red List. This atlas offers a full description of the threats, current conservation efforts, and additional protection needed for each species across its entire range.
•Covers all six species of great apes
•Provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive data available
•More than 150 full-colour photos
•More than 40 full-colour maps and diagrams
•References online
“If we are to make our future on this planet sustainable, a strong science-policy interface is critical. It is here that UNEP-WCMC is vital.”
Achim Steiner,
UNEP Executive Director and UN Under-Secretary-General
In 2008, the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted scientific criteria for identifying ecologically or biologically significant marine areas in need of protection on the open oceans and deep seas.
While much scientific discovery lies ahead, available information and current and emerging methodologies already allow us to begin identifying oceanic features that are likely of particular ecological or biological importance.
The areas of the ocean that lie beyond national jurisdiction limits, also called the high seas, are vulnerable to human activities and currently underrepresented when compared to terrestrial and nearshore1 marine environments under protection. Thus, there is a growing movement among the conservation community to increase measures, such as marine protected areas, that can ensure protection of the largely undiscovered but important biodiversity of the high seas.
Resource Type: ReportsThe Checklist of CITES species is produced by UNEP-WCMC following each meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, taking into account all changes agreed by the Parties.
The 2011 Checklist of CITES species, containing updates from CoP15, is the latest edition of this document.
This edition has been restructured, and now comprises:
Part 1: CITES Species Index (previously called the Checklist of CITES Species):
Part 2: History of CITES Listings (previously called the Annotated Appendices and Reservations):
The 2011 Checklist can be accessed here.
Resource Type: ReportsOur results show that any further infrastructure development will put the remaining European population of wild mountain reindeer at great risk, as further habitat fragmentation will make the remaining undisturbed patches too small for holding viable populations. We discuss the importance of controlling piecemeal development in infrastructure for conservation of wildlife and argue that minimizing infrastructure development is likely one of the largest challenges in wildlife conservation ahead.
Resource Type: Journal PapersThe Great Apes, including the chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan, are threatened with extinction. All species are rapidly declining in abundance, even within protected areas.The main factors responsible for this decline are loss and degradation of habitat, and hunting. Construction of roads in forest areas is particularly damaging, as such development facilitates hunting and other activities which lead to habitat destruction.
This report assesses the impact of infrastructural development on great ape populations, using the GLOBIO modelling approach. GLOBIO is a multivariable spatial model, which estimates the extent of land area with reduced abundance and diversity of living organisms, as a result of infrastructural development. The model can also be used to develop scenarios of possible future impacts, based on the current rates of infrastructural development.
Resource Type: ReportsNineteen different areas in south-west Saudi Arabia from which mountain gazelle Gazella gazella cora were reported between 1988 and 1992 were visited during a field survey conducted between August 1992 and February 1993. Evidence of the continued presence of gazelle was found at 11 of these locations. All populations were small: estimated population sizes ranged from 5 to 50. In the remaining eight areas it appeared that gazelle had become locally extinct since the last report. Thus gazelle populations appear to be becoming extinct at an alarming rate (eight out of 19, or 42, in five years). The major cause of extinctions and threat to existing populations is illegal hunting. Traditional conservation measures will take time to implement, and may be too late to save most gazelle populations. Instead, protection enforced by a system of auxiliary rangers, recruited from among the local population and working in cooperation with the forces of the local civilian administration, is recommended.
Resource Type: Journal PapersThe Last Stand of the Orangutan was prepared by a Rapid Response Team at UNEP/GRID-Arendal and UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre as a broad collaborative effort, involving contributors from the Ministry of Environment and Ministry of Forestry, Indonesia, and partners of the Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP).
Resource Type: Reports©2013 UNEP All rights reserved