These handbooks were prepared by the members of the Biodiversity Conservation Information System (BCIS) consortium to support BCIS Members and others making decisions on the conservation and sustainable use of living resources. The handbooks form part of a comprehensive set of supporting materials designed to build information management capacity and improve decision-making.
Resource Type: ReportsWith a view to the future, the book points the reader to the Mountain Biodiversity Portal (http://www.mountainbiodiversity.org) that has just been launched by the GMBA and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). This tool has the potential to greatly facilitate access to mountain biodiversity data because it allows users to find GBIF data for specific elevational and thermal belts within their region of interest. A very similar tool already allows users of the World Database on Protected Areas (http://www.wdpa.org) to find GBIF data for a protected area of interest. Thanks to these collaborative efforts, researchers will increasingly get the data they require without the need to carry out time-consuming overlays of species and other data sets for their region of interest. The GMBA/GBIF Mountain Biodiversity Portal is a fine example for the technical possibilities of our time and will certainly help to further stimulate the creative use of georeferenced biodiversity data promoted by this book.
Resource Type: Journal PapersThis eight volume series, developed for use by decision-makers, mid-career professionals, and interested parties, reviews the issues and processes involved in the management of biodiversity information to support the conservation and sustainable use of living resources. They also provide a framework for the development of national plans and strategies and for meeting reporting obligations of international programmes and conventions.
Resource Type: ReportsThe Atlas begins with contributions from experts in many geographical fields, providing detailed information on the key issues facing the world today - climate change, environmental threats, global communications, biodiversity and energy resources - with supporting maps, images, photographs and graphics to illustrate the physical world today and man's interaction with it.
For this new edition, all the maps and detailed thematic information are updated with the latest geographical and geo-political changes - these include an estimated 20,000 updates with 3,500 changes to place names and are illustrated with the latest satellite imagery.
This paper provides an overview of the issues surrounding and opportunities for achieving ‘multiple benefits’ from Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in developing countries (REDD). The UN‐REDD Programme understands the term ‘multiple benefits’ to include both the ecosystem and social benefits of REDD.
It is an output of the International Support Functions component of the UN‐REDD Programme, relating specifically to the development of output 3.2: ‘Tools to encourage the capture of ecosystem service co‐benefits developed’,focussing on the ecosystem aspects of multiple benefits.
Resource Type: ReportsThe study reviews the situation regarding Protected Area extent, legal status and management constraints in each country and territory of East Asia, using a regional review and gap analysis by applying a simple GIS overlay approach. The WDPA has available a near complete GIS cover of PAs in the region and most large PAs are represented by polygons (boundary information). A few large PAs and many very small PAs are represented by circles of correct area around known centre points of the PAs held in the database.
Deforestation and degradation account for around 20% of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, widely believed to drive climate change. Growing concerns about the impacts of climate change have fuelled international interest in developing mechanisms to slow deforestation and degradation rates, such as the ‘Reduce Emissions for Deforestation and Degradation’ (REDD) Programme. Its potential contribution to rural poverty reduction could be immense, but REDD mechanisms may also entail new risks. This paper presents a framework for understanding the linkages between REDD and poverty, and conducts an initial analysis of the poverty implications of REDD.
Resource Type: ReportsThe conservation of world forests is an important measure in order to address the ever-worsening consequences of climate change. Tanzania has over 34 million hectares of forests and woodland habitats (more than 30% of the whole country). This report concludes that REDD strategies in Tanzania should be integrated with, and improve upon, current conservation strategies.
Resource Type: ReportsThere are several things environmental managers need to know for a practical understanding. For instance:
What exactly does the information from a particular satellite sensor represent?
How can this information be translated into a useful indicator?
What are the common indicators associated with each major biome?
What range of accuracy might one expect from a particular remotely sensed indicator, and what
conditions affect this accuracy?
We address these and other questions while presenting the overall role that remote sensing can play for developing and monitoring biodiversity indicators relevant to various strategic components of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Resource Type: ReportsThis report considers the measures that have been and might be undertaken to promote environmental co-benefits from REDD. Such measures may be linked to decisions on financing. The report surveys the measures that are found in existing REDD initiatives, including in the proposed UNFCCC REDD mechanism itself. It considers the options and opportunities for how these measures might be amended and developed in the future.
Resource Type: Reports©2013 UNEP All rights reserved