Filter by:
- Marine Assessment and Decision Support > High Seas
- Marine Assessment and Decision Support
- Informatics > Spatial analysis
- Protected Areas > Protected Area Categories > IABINProtected Areas > Protected Area Categories > IABIN
- Ecosystem Assessment > Regional and National Capacity Support
- Protected Areas > Protected Area Categories > ICCAs
- Ecosystem Assessment > Biodiversity Assessment > Biodiversity Atlases
- Marine Assessment and Decision Support > Mangroves
Add filters:
- Biodiversity, Biomass and Food Security
- Biodiversity Sciences
- Business, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
- Climate Change and Biodiversity
- Ecosystem Assessment
- Informatics
- International Policy and Strategy
- Marine Assessment and Decision Support
- Protected Areas
- Species
- 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
-
How protected are coral reefs? - response to Mora et al »
The threat posed to coral reefs by biological invasion is unlikely to diminish and should therefore be considered in analyses of the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
The Challenge of Measuring Global Change in Wild Nature: Are Things Getting Better or Worse? »
We briefly review recent global trends in habitat area in as many broadly-defined natural habitats as possible, and in indices of animal populations characteristic of those habitats. The information available indicates continuing declines in habitat area and species, but those data are extremely sparse.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
Uncertainty in predictions of extinction risk/Effects of changes in climate and land use/Climate change and extinction risk (reply) »
The number of environmental variables used during modelling could affect the outcome, but we found no correlation between these and our estimates of extinction risk in global samples. Although further investigation is needed, it is unlikely to result in substantially reduced estimates of extinction. Anthropogenic climate change seems set to generate very large numbers of species-level extinctions.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
New estimates of global and regional coral reef areas »
Global and regional coral reef area statistics are of considerable value in fields ranging from global environmental change to fisheries to conservation. Although widely quoted, Smith's 1978 figure of 600 000rkm2 is only an approximate calculation. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre has prepared a new estimate of reef coverage by mapping emergent reef crest and very shallow reef systems. These data were rasterised, using 1rkm grid squares, as a means of reducing errors arising from variation in scale. Global and regional reef coverages were calculated from the resultant grid. The total global area is estimated at 255 000rkm2, considerably lower than many previous estimates. Variation in reef area estimates is, in part, a function of variation in reef definition.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
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 -
La délimitation des montagnes européennes (Delineating Europe's mountains) »
As the importance of mountain spaces is more widely recogised, it seems necessary to establish a coherent definition of these spaces. The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) proposed the first global delineation in 2000. However, certain European countries have used national definitions of mountain spaces since the 1950s. Within the framework of social and economic integration policies at the heart of the European Union, an agreed delineation of European mountain spaces has been established, based on the definition proposed by UNEP-WCMC. The process of adaptation of the global definition to the European context is described, as well as the results for 29 European countries.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
Distribution and conservation status of forest bamboo biodiversity in the Asia-Pacific Region »
Although Asian bamboo species constitute a non-timber forest product of major cultural and economic importance, no detailed regional assessment of their distribution patterns has previously been made. To assess the potential of the existing bamboo species distribution data for production of regional mapping tools for planning the conservation of forest-based biodiversity, data on bamboo distribution and forest cover were combined. Over 1000 bamboo species from 60 genera of woody bamboos were incorporated, allowing the mapping of individual species or groups of species and genera, along with potential species richness and biodiversity hotspots. Over 6.3 million km2 of Asian forest potentially contains bamboo, with highest densities indicated from northeastern India through Burma to southern China, and through Sumatra to Borneo. The highest figures for potential species richness (144 spp per square km) were recorded in forests of south China, including Hainan Island. Despite substantial inadequacies and inconsistencies in knowledge of the taxonomy and distribution of bamboo species, this approach may provide a valuable tool for planning in situ conservation of forest biodiversity.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
Marine Ecoregions of the World: a bioregionalization of coast and shelf areas »
Here we report on a new global system for coastal and shelf areas: the Marine Ecoregions of the World, or MEOW, a nested system of 12 realms, 62 provinces, and 232 ecoregions. This system provides considerably better spatial resolution than earlier global systems, yet it pre serves many common elements and can be cross - referenced to many regional biogeographic classifications. The designation of terrestrial ecoregions has revolutionized priority setting and planning for terrestrial conservation; we anticipate similar benefits from the use of a coherent and credible marine system.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
Spatio-temporal patterns of fishing pressure on UK marine landscapes, and their implications for spatial planning and management »
The spatio-temporal distribution of fishing pressure on marine landscapes in offshore UK (England and Wales) waters is assessed, based on a time-series of fishing vessel monitoring system (VMS) data for UK and foreign fleets deploying beam and otter trawls, and scallop dredges. The results reveal that marine landscapes with coarse or mixed sediments and weak or moderate tide stress are heavily fished.
Resource Type: Journal Papers -
International trade in marine species: Is CITES a useful control mechanism? »
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was created to prevent species becoming threatened through international trade. It generally prohibits international commercial trade in seriously threatened species but permits trade in a regulated manner in species vulnerable to exploitation but not yet at risk of extinction. CITES covers comparatively few marine taxa, reflecting the fact that most marine species have much greater ranges and fecundity than terrestrial species and so are more resilient to exploitation. The structure of CITES limits its utility as a conservation tool for marine species, but where other mechanisms fail or are absent, it plays a useful role, and it is particularly valuable as an international trade monitoring mechanism.
Resource Type: Journal Papers
