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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

MA Ecosystem Services Guide for Decisionmakers »

Evidence is accumulating that taking an Ecosystems Services Approach can make development more sustainable by sustaining nature’s capacity to provide needed goods and services.This guide assembles that evidence for use by a decision maker. It details the processes that they can use, beginning with a conceptual framework that links development and ecosystem services and ending with guidance for choosing policies to sustain ecosystem services.
By offering decision makers the conceptual and practical guidance for choosing policies that better attend to ecosystem services, this guide aims to help unite nature and development. Instead of solely working to protect natur from development, we may also begin to invest in nature for development.
Resource Type: Reports
Developing and Mainstreaming Ecosystem Service Indicators Workshop »

UNEP-WCMC In collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Commission for Ecosystem Management (IUCN -CEM) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) organised and hosted an international workshop on Ecosystem Service Indicators from September 22nd - 23rd 2009. Funded by the Swedish International Biodiversity Programme (SwedBio), the workshop brought together 16 experts from all over the world in the fields of indicators and ecosystem services. The aim of the workshop was to identify a suite of ecosystem service indicators of policy relevance, and the datasets available/necessary to underpin them, that could be applied within assessments and monitoring at different scales.
Resource Type: Reports
Scoping the potential benefits of undertaking an MA-style assessment for England »

The aim of this study was to identify and examine potential benefits of undertaking an ecosystem assessment for England. The need for such a study has arisen largely as a result of the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) which not only demonstrated the importance of ecosystem services to human wellbeing, but also showed that at global scales, many key services are being degraded and lost.
Resource Type: Reports
Options for harmonizing national reporting to biodiversity-related agreements »

Harmonizing biodiversity information management and national reporting requires additional efforts in the short-term. In the long-term, however, it is expected to lead to substantial benefits from avoiding duplication of efforts and providing synergies.
Resource Type: Reports
Preliminary Inventory of Nature Conservation Instruments, Obligations and Questions »

Technical study of the reporting requirements for high level treaties or biodiversity-related conventions, and related questions.
Resource Type: Reports
UNEP-WCMC Transition Plan 2006 »

A comprehensive project to transform UNEP-WCMC into a Centre of Excellence that evaluates and highlights the many values of biodiversity and puts authoritative biodiversity knowledge at the centre of decision-making.
Resource Type: Reports
Land use change modelling for three scenarios for the MAR region »

Technical report on the collection of geographic data, the regression analysis of explanatory factors of land use patterns, the development of a set of three alternative scenarios, and the modelling of land use changes using the CLUES model. This work was carried out as part of the ICRAN-MAR project's sub-result 1.2, "Trends in land use integrated with spatial, hydrological and oceanographic models for use in modelling".
Resource Type: Reports
Biodiversity Scenarios: Projections of 21st century change in biodiversity and associated ecosystem services »

This synthesis focuses on estimates of biodiversity change as projected for the 21st century by models or extrapolations based on experiments and observed trends. The term “biodiversity” is used in a broad sense as it is defined in the Convention on Biological Diversity to mean the abundance and distributions of and interactions between genotypes, species, communities, ecosystems and biomes. This synthesis pays particular attention to the interactions between biodiversity and ecosystem services and to critical “tipping points” that could lead to large, rapid and potentially irreversible changes. Comparisons between models are used to estimate the range of projections and to identify sources of uncertainty. Experiments and observed trends are used to check the plausibility of these projections. In addition we have identified possible actions at the local, national and international levels that can be taken to conserve biodiversity. We have called on a wide range of scientists to participate in this synthesis, with the objective to provide decision makers with messages that reflect the consensus of the scientific community and that will aid in the development of policy and management strategies that are ambitious, forward looking and proactive.
Resource Type: Reports
Ecosystems and Human Wellbeing: A Manual for Assessment Practitioners »

This Manual makes the methods of the MA and associated sub-global (local and regional) assessments widely accessible. While the MA is the most comprehensive assessment of ecosystems carried out to date, there are other related assessment processes such as Global Environment Outlook (GEO), Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA), Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Land Degradation Assessment in Drylands (LADA), International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) and World Water Assessment. Lessons learned from these assessments supplement the best practice of ecosystem assessment identified through the MA. The publication of this Manual aims to encourage more assessments at scales which are relevant to policy and decision makers.

Resource Type: Reports
Global Ecological Forest Classification and Forest Protected Area Gap Analysis: Analyses and Recommendations in view of the 10% target for forest protection under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) »

This study assesses the global gaps in forest conservation with reference to the target of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which calls for the effective conservation of "at least 10% of the world's forest types" by 2010 (decision VIII/15). The results are expected to guide forest conservation policies and planning at national and international levels.
Resource Type: Reports