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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

Protected Areas posters 2010 »

These posters, about Mountain Protected Areas and Indigenous Community Conserved Areas, were created for the 10th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, October 2010.

Resource Type: Posters
Original Natural Habitats of the Indo-Malayan Realm (1997) »

General Data License (excluding WDPA)
Datasets Available from UNEP-WCMC: Excluding WDPA
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.
Read the data policy here

This dataset was created show the original habitat types as they were before man's influence in the Indo-Malayan realm; change over time can be seen when used alongside the remaining natural habitats dataset. These datasets were produced alongside the publication "Protected Areas Systems Review of the Indo-Malayan Realm, Mackinnon, J. ed. 1997" in collaboration with The Asian Bureau for Conservation (ABC). This was produced to document the growth and changing character of the protected areas systems of the region over the ten year period 1986-1996. This was in the hope of aiding conservationists and development practioners to conserve Asia's rich biological resources upon which so many depend.
Resource Type: Spatial Data / Maps
Udvardy's Biogeographical Provinces (1975) »

General Data License (excluding WDPA)
Datasets Available from UNEP-WCMC: Excluding WDPA
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.
Read the data policy here

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
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.
Resource Type: Spatial Data / Maps
Bailey's Ecoregions of the World (1989) »

General Data License (excluding WDPA)
Datasets Available from UNEP-WCMC: Excluding WDPA
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.
Read the data policy here

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
IBAT »

IBAT for business is an innovative tool designed to facilitate access to accurate and up-to-date biodiversity information to support critical business decisions. The tool is the result of a ground-breaking conservation partnership among BirdLife International, Conservation International (CI), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). Data are presented in spatial and tabular formats, and with simple mapping functionality. IBAT links to more detailed information and includes on-the-fly reports and outputs to support specific user needs.
Resource Type: Tools / Applications
Centres of Plant Diversity (1995) »
World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) »

The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the most comprehensive global spatial dataset on terrestrial and marine protected areas. Protected areas are internationally recognised as major tools in conserving species and ecosystems, and up to date information on protected areas is essential to fully enable conservation and development activities.
Resource Type: Spatial Data / Maps
The Critical Site Network (CSN) Tool »

The Critical Site Network (CSN) Tool is a new online resource for the conservation of 294 species of waterbirds and the important sites upon which they depend in Africa and Western Eurasia. Leading global conservation organisations working for the protection of waterbirds and their habitats have joined forces to develop this tool, strengthening the implementation of the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
Resource Type: Tools / Applications
Future scenarios for tropical montane and south temperate forest biodiversity in Latin America »

Chapter from Biodiversity Loss & Conservation in Fragmented Forest Landscapes. The Forests of Montane Mexico and South America.
Resource Type: Reports
Capacity building for biological diversity – a situation and needs analysis for the Environmental Management Group (EMG) »

The Environmental Management Group (EMG). in 2004, decided to focus its attention on environmental capacity building, following concerns of UN agencies and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) in this area. Consultants were asked to prepare draft studies for the further work of the EMG on capacity building in the areas of biological diversity and chemicals, respectively. The draft studies were further developed following discussions in the EMG and an Issue Management Group established by the EMG. This paper is the result of these discussions for the area of capacity building for biological diversity.
Resource Type: Reports