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- About UNEP-WCMC
Policies
UNEP-WCMC does not assert any intellectual property rights in the data made available to it by data providers.
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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Synergies and cooperation between conventions - links »
A number of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) have created mechanisms for, or host information on websites relating to, increasing synergies and cooperation between MEAs. This section provides links to more information on these mechanisms.
Resource Type: Tools / Applications -
Downloads »
UNEP-WCMC provides access to data, information documents and analytical tools relevant to the CITES community and other biodiversity related Conventions.
Resource Type: Tools / Applications -
PIANC Dredging and port construction around coral reefs (2010) »
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:
Resource Type: Tools / Applications
• 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. -
Udvardy's Biogeographical Provinces (1975) »
General Data License (excluding WDPA)Datasets Available from UNEP-WCMC: Excluding WDPA
Read the data policy here
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.This dataset was prepared by IUCN as a contribution to the UNESCO MAB Programme.
The main purpose of the work was to devise a satisfactory classification of the world's biotic areas for purposes of conservation. It is the fourth attempt in a series of revisions, updating the previous three works written by Dasmann.
The logic behind the system was that the plant and animal world occurs within
the biosphere of the Earth in the form of an intertwined network of individuals,
populations and interacting systems. To be able to view them in a systematic way, the biologist may use the following approaches:
Taxonomic order, Ecological order, Phylogenetic order (origins and history).
Biogeographic order - grouping the above entities on a geographic basis.To define geographic units for conservation purposes the following were considered:
(a) the distribution of species and (b) the distribution of ecosystem units. The
result was a system serving both aims, a hierarchical system of geographical areas which would give a framework for conserving species as well as ecologic areas.
These hierarchical Biogeographical entities were named Realms, Biomes and Provinces.The first subdivision, the Realm, used the phylogenetic subdivisions of the world, unifying those for flora and fauna. It is a continent or sub-continent-sized area
Resource Type: Spatial Data / Maps
with unifying features of geography and flora/fauna/vegetation. Eight Realms were distinguished. The second division is the Biome. These were not the same as the
major vegetation formations of the world (see UNESCO, 1973), but combine the features of a major vegetation type with climate. There are 14 of these. These
were largely based on the work of Dasmann. The third, most detailed, subdivision was the Province, delimited on a faunal, floral and ecological basis. There are
186 of these. -
Management Effectiveness Evaluation in Protected Areas - a global study (1st edition) »
The Global Study into management effectiveness evaluation was conducted between late 2005 and 2007. In cooperation with many people across the world, we aimed to strengthen the management of protected areas by compiling the existing work on management effectiveness evaluation, reviewing methodologies, finding patterns and common themes in evaluation results, and investigating the most important factors leading to effective management. The project was supported by WWF International, the Nature Conservancy and the University of Queensland, and worked under the auspices of IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.
Resource Type: Tools / Applications -
Bailey's Ecoregions of the World (1989) »
General Data License (excluding WDPA)Datasets Available from UNEP-WCMC: Excluding WDPA
Read the data policy here
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 purpose of the work, which began in 1976, was to show how the national forests of the United States fit within the global ecoregional scheme. In this system an ecoregion is defined as any large portion of the Earth's surface over which the ecosystems have characteristics in common. There are three levels in this classification system, the Domains, the Divisions and the Provinces.
Ecoregions of the continents are based on macroclimate (i.e., the climate that lies just beyond the local modifying irregularities of landform and vegetation). The theory behind the approach is that macroclimates are among the most significant factors affecting the distribution of life on Earth. As the macroclimate changes, the other components of the ecosystem change in response. Macroclimates influence soil formation and help shape surface topography, as well as affecting the suitability for human habitation.
Four Domains were defined: Polar, Humid temperate, Humid tropical and Dry. The combination of temperature and rainfall to indicate major climatic zones was based on Köppen and Trewartha's work, where dry climates were treated as a separate entity from Tropical humid and Temperate humid. However, the Köppen system defines an addtional "Subtropical" division at this level.
The next level in the Bailey system is the Divisions, and these are also climate - based, for example in the Humid temperate Domain there is Hot continental, Warm continental, Subtropical, Marine, Prairie and Mediterranean, all with Mountain variants (i.e., a total of 12 Divisions in this Domain). There are a total of 30 of these.
The third and last level are the Provinces, which are based on physiognomy of vegetation, modified by climate. For example, the Forest-Meadow of Eastern Oceanic (Monsoon climate). There are a total of 98 of these subdivisions.
The global map has been digitised and converted to a geographic (lat/long) projection by the WCMC, Cambridge, UK. It is also available on CD from NOAAs National Geophysical Data Center in Boulder, Colorado as part of their Global Ecosystem Database Project. http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/Store/.
Resource Type: Spatial Data / Maps -
Online Reporting System »
The Online Reporting System (ORS) is a new state-of-the-art electronic platform to revolutionize reporting under Multilateral Environment Agreements (MEAs).
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A.P.E.S. Portal »
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ICCA Registry »
The ICCA Registry website is a pilot online database for Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas, offering information, maps, statistics and analysis on featured ICCAs to indigenous communities, researchers, conservation practitioners, policy and decision-makers and general public who want to understand and obtain information on ICCAs characteristics and geographical extent.
Resource Type: Tools / Applications -
GRAMED Database »
The Global and Regional Assessments of the Marine Environment Database (GRAMED) has been developed at the request of UNEP and IOC/UNESCO, as the lead agencies responsible for taking forward the "Assessment of Assessments" through the implementation of UNGA Resolution 60/30. It was first developed to support the preparation of the 2007 report, Global Marine Assessments: A survey of global and regional assessments and related scientific activities of the marine environment and builds on the 2003 UNEP-WCMC/UNEP/ IOC-UNESCO report "Global Marine Assessments: A survey of global and regional marine environmental assessments and related scientific activities".
Resource Type: Tools / Applications
