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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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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. -
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 -
Mountain watch: map-based overview of environmental change in mountains »
Chapter from STATUS AND TRENDS OF, AND THREATS TO, MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY, MARINE, COASTAL AND INLAND WATER ECOSYSTEMS: abstracts of poster presentations at the eighth meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Resource Type: Reports -
Biodiversity Data Sourcebook (1994) »
140 pages of tabular data with supporting text and graphics, on global biodiversity. Topics are covered in a concise way, using tables supported by minimal text and graphics. They include country species diversity, threatened species, national Red Data Books, major food crops, domestic livestock, marine resources, tropical forests, protected areas and systematics collections.
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 -
The Biodiversity Information Clearing House - Concept and Challenges »
The Convention on Biological Diversity anticipates the establishment of a clearing house mechanism to promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation in the field of conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. This paper was prepared by WCMC at the request of the Interim Secretariat, as an input to discussion on the form the clearing house for biodiversity information would take, and the manner in which it would operate. The research was supported by the UK Department of Trade and Industry.
Resource Type: Reports -
BCIS Framework for Information Sharing (2000) »
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: Reports -
Handbooks on Biodiversity Information Management »
This 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: Reports -
Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World - 12th Edition »
The 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.
Resource Type: Reports
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.
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GIS Assessment of the Status of Protected Areas in East Asia »
The 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.
Resource Type: Reports
