Datasets, Tools & Reports

Search

• 

  Measuring the extent and effectiveness of protected areas as an indicator for meeting global biodiversity targets »

  This paper reviews the current global extent of protected areas in terms of geopolitical and habitat coverage, and considers their value as a global indicator of conservation action or response. The paper discusses the role of the World Database on Protected Areas and collection and quality control issues, and identifies areas for improvement, including how conservation effectiveness indicators may be included in the database to improve the value of protected areas data as an indicator for meeting global biodiversity targets.

  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
• 

  Meeting Aichi Target 11: What does success look like for protected area systems? »

  The Convention on Biological Diversity Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 was adopted at the 10th Conference of the Parties in Nagoya, Japan. The plan outlines 20 Aichi Targets to achieve global biodiversity conservation. A fundamental global approach to biodiversity conservation is the use of protected areas. Arguably all 20 Aichi Targets have implications for the establishment and management of protected areas, but only Target 11 addresses them directly. This paper carries out a clause by clause analysis of Target 11 and makes recommendations to countries on interpreting each clause in order to best achieve biodiversity conservation using protected areas. Despite containing only 61 words, Target 11 is surprisingly dense. It applies to both marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and sets goals for spatial planning (representativeness, ecological connectivity and areas of importance for biodiversity); protected areas management (including management effectiveness and social equity); and criteria about what counts toward being a protected area under Target 11. The authors argue for a holistic interpretation of Target 11 as a way for the global community to use protected areas to change the current unacceptable trends in global biodiversity loss.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
• 

  Mountains and Tree Cover in Mountain Regions (2002) »

  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

  To provide a global context for a discussion of mountain forests, it is first necessary to define the locations and types of mountain forests, and this in turn requires a definition of mountains or mountain areas. Altitude and slope and the environmental gradients they generate are key components of such a definition, but their combination is problematic. Simple altitude thresholds both exclude older and lower mountain systems and include areas of relatively high elevation that have little topographic relief and few environmental gradients. Using slope as a criterion on its own or in combination with altitude can resolve the latter problem, but not the former. The mountains dataset shows the location of mountain land estimated from a digital elevation model using criteria based on elevation alone (the upper three classes: > 2 500 metres) and at lower elevation, on a combination of elevation, slope and local elevation range. This is an update of the Mountain's of the World 2000 and was produced for the UNEP-WCMC publication Mountain Watch, 2002.

  The mountains dataset has been overlayed with a global data set on percent tree cover taken from MODIS 1-km resolution percent tree cover data, courtesy of University of Maryland Global Land Cover Facility. Species richness, density and forest height tend to reduce with increasing altitude; the boundary between forest vegetation and more open ground cover at higher elevation 'the treeline' is an ecological marker signifying the transition to more extreme climatic conditions.

  Resource Type: Spatial Data / Maps
• 

  The ecological representativeness of the global protected areas estate in 2009: progress towards the CBD 2010 target »

  The Convention on Biological Diversity has established a global target for the protection of 10% of each of the world’s ecological regions by 2010. This report uses the WWF Terrestrial Ecoregions of the World and the 2009 version of the World Database of Protected Areas to analyse progress towards achieving this politically established conservation goal across the world.

  Resource Type: Reports
• 

  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
• 

  Monitoring international wildlife trade with coded species data: response to Gerson et al »

  We suggest that well-targeted instruments that consider contextual information, such as conservation status, are the most effective and efficient approach to monitoring international wildlife trade for conservation purposes. Where relevant, such instruments could be expanded to include additional species not currently protected, or new instruments could be developed to monitor certain groups as appropriate.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
• 

  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
• 

  Conservation data for smarter business decisions »

  National Parks and other protected areas not only provide a safe haven for biodiversity, they provide benefits to local communities and preserve some of the most beautiful places on our planet. ‘Coverage of protected areas’ is also a specific indicator in the 2010 Target of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
  Obtaining the data necessary to monitor trends in protected areas requires a massive effort by national authorities to compile, analyse and then distribute this data to the centralised depository of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). With a living and growing system of protected areas that now exceed 100,000 sites covering 19 million square kilometres, you can imagine that this is no small task!

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
• 

  Dead planet, living planet: Biodiversity and ecosystem restoration for sustainable development »

  This report is a contribution to the UN’s International Year of Biodiversity and is a complement to the UNEP-hosted Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) which is bringing visibility to the wealth of the world’s natural capital. It documents over 30 successful case studies referencing thousands of restoration projects ranging from deserts and rainforests to rivers and coasts. The report confirms that restoration is not only possible but can prove highly proftable in terms of public savings; returns and the broad objectives of overcoming poverty and achieving sustainability. It also provides important recommendations on how to avoid pitfalls and how to minimize risks to ensure successful restoration.

  Resource Type: Reports