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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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The impact of global climate change on tropical forest biodiversity in Amazonia »
To maintain the greatest resilience of Amazonian biodiversity to climate change as modelled by HADCM2GSa1, highest priority should be given to strengthening and extending protected areas in western Amazonia that encompass lowland and montane forests.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
The Environmental Food Crisis: The Environment's Role in Averting Future Food Crises (2009) »
A new rapid response assessment report released by UNEP warns that up to 25% of the world's food production may become lost due to environmental breakdown by 2050 unless action is taken. Prepared by the Rapid Response Assessment Team at UNEP/GRID-Arendal and UNEP-WCMC, the report provides the first summary by the UN of how climate change, water stress, invasive pests and land degradation may impact world food security, food prices and life on the planet and how we may be able to feed the world in a more sustainable manner. The report concludes that we need to get smart and more creative about recycling food wastes and fish discards into animal feed. While major efforts have gone into increasing efficiency in the traditional energy sector, food energy efficiency has received too little attention.
Resource Type: Reports
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Extinction risk from climate change »
Climate change over the past ~30 years has produced numerous shifts in the distributions and abundances of species1,2 and has been implicated in one species-level extinction3. Using projections of species' distributions for future climate scenarios, we assess extinction risks for sample regions that cover some 20 of the Earth's terrestrial surface. Exploring three approaches in which the estimated probability of extinction shows a powerlaw relationship with geographical range size, we predict, on the basis of mid-range climate-warming scenarios for 2050, that 15-37% of species in our sample of regions and taxa will be 'committed to extinction'. When the average of the three methods and two dispersal scenarios is taken, minimal climate-warming scenarios produce lower projections of species committed to extinction (~18) than mid-range (~24) and maximumchange (~35) scenarios. These estimates show the importance of rapid implementation of technologies to decrease greenhouse gas emissions and strategies for carbon sequestration.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
Declining Ruff Philomachus pugnax populations: a response to global warming? »
Ruff breeding populations have declined widely and in all habitats across temperate Eurasia. Of an estimated population of 2.2-2.8 million birds, 98% are now confined to habitats in the Arctic tundra.
The emerging picture is that the population has shifted northwards and eastwards and has retreated from the wet grassland habitats formerly occupied along the southern edges of its range. It is suggested that the causes are probably of a global nature and may be linked with climate change. It is unclear whether the total population has declined or only shifted north and east. More co-ordinated and systematic monitoring of breeding and wintering populations will be necessary before a full understanding of these changes can be reached.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
Non-timber forest products in Uganda. Spatial tools supporting sustainable development »
This report describes a new map-based approach to defining areas best suited for NTFP commercialization. Uganda is used as a case study. As one of the most rapidly growing economies in Africa, its rich natural heritage highlights the conflict between national development efforts and the need for a globally responsible approach to biodiversity conservation.
Resource Type: Reports -
The Fall of the Water: Emerging Threats to the Water Resources and Biodiversity at the Roof of the World To Asia's Lowland From Land-Use Changes Associated With Large Scale Settlement And Piecemeal Development »
This report illustrates several of the cumulative environmental impacts of piecemeal infrastructure development, population growth, water shortage and climate change in the Greater Asian Mountain region. The scope of this report is the broad, regional scale land use change.
Resource Type: Reports -
Translating Scientific Results into Conservation Actions:New Roles, Challenges and Solutions for 21st Century Scientists »
In recognizing the challenge of producing relevant scientific solutions to current environmental problems, Earthwatch-sponsored scientists were invited to submit papers that contribute to this topic: Translating Scientific Results into Conservation Actions.
Resource Type: Reports
Six contributors were invited to participate in the 2007 Earthwatch Annual Principal Investigator Conference. The following compendium includes all submitted papers and summarizes the workshop discussion. -
Bamboo Biodiversity: Africa, Madagascar and the Americas »
The Bamboo Diversity Report represents the first step towards planning and implementing conservation and sustainable management of bamboos in the wild, in addition to making a significant contribution to the implementation of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation, which aims to halt the current and continuing loss of plant diversity. This study is the result of a collaboration between INBAR and UNEP-WCMC.
Resource Type: Reports -
Impacts of Climate Change on Biodiversity »
This review draws on recent research to summarise advances since the IPCC AR4 in our understanding of the impacts of climate change on biodiversity. The evidence for these impacts comes from three principal sources: direct observation; experimental studies; and modelling studies.
Resource Type: Reports -
Global Climate Change and Biodiversity »
The Earth's climate is changing and the impacts are already being felt by biodiversity and wildlife habitats across the planet. This summary report from the international conference Global Climate Change and Biodiversity presents some of the latest scientific research into how the natural world is being affected by climate change - and also how the natural world might respond in the future.
The conference, held at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK in April 2003, was organised jointly by the RSPB, WWF-UK, English Nature, UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
Resource Type: Reports
