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  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
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  Centres of Plant Diversity (2013) »

  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 provides spatial representation for the 234 “Data Sheet Sites” in the Centres of Plant Diversity (Davis et al. 1994-1997). In addition to the 234 priority sites selected for Data Sheet Site treatment, the Centres of Plant Diversity volumes recognize a number of additional sites in the Regional Summaries, but these are not included here. Theoretically, based on spatial information provided for some non-Data Sheet Sites in the CPD volumes (or even just the name of the sites in many cases), it would be possible to map many non-Data Sheet Sites. However, it would be difficult to do so consistently, and, furthermore, only the Data Sheet Sites are based on actual criteria. Specifically, to qualify for “Data Sheet” treatment in the volumes, mainland sites must have >1000 vascular plants, of which at least 100 are endemic to the site or to the phytogeographical region in which the site occurs; island floras must contain at least 50 endemic species or at least 10% of the flora must be endemic.

   

  Resource Type: Spatial Data / Maps
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  Arctic Flora and Fauna: Status and Conservation »

  Arctic Flora and Fauna: Status and Conservation is the first truly circumpolar overview of Arctic biodiversity written for the nonspecialist. It provides the reader with a clear understanding of the importance of the Earth's largest ecoregion and its status in the face of a rapidly changing world.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Arctic Report Card 2007 »

  An international team of research scientists has created a peer-reviewed website, http://www.arctic.noaa.gov/reportcard/, which tracks multiple changes in the Arctic environment (Fig. 1). While the 2007 loss of summertime sea ice is the most dramatic example, changes are also seen in the atmosphere, on land and in the ocean, and as shifts in location and abundance of Arctic species.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Global Mangroves USGS (2011) »

  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
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  Patterns of Biodiversity in Arctic Birds: WCMC Biodiversity Bulletin No. 3 (1998) »

  Arctic ecosystems are harsh and inhospitable, containing very low species diversity. However, although the habitats are relatively homogeneous throughout the circumpolar Arctic region, differences in species richness and areas of outstanding species richness can be recognised. Analysis of patterns in species diversity can be used to prioritise regions for conservation in the Arctic. Towards this goal, the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF) programme has been compiling information on the distribution and abundance of species and ecosystems in the Arctic. The work described in this report was designed to complement other ongoing projects and was included in the CAFF V work plan. It was carried out under an EU fellowship at UNEP-WCMC.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Global Distribution of Coral Reefs 1Km data (2003) »

  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 coral reefs dataset has been compiled by UNEP-WCMC to show the global distribution of warm water coral reefs. This dataset has been created from multiple sources and was used in the creation of the World Atlas of Coral Reefs (2001). This polygon feature dataset is an update of the data used in the Atlas but is based on a 1km raster version of the dataset to enable distribution of the data. This is due to restrictions placed by some data sources and suppliers.

  Resource Type: Spatial Data / Maps
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  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
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  Global congruence of carbon storage and biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems »

  Deforestation is a main driver of climate change and biodiversity loss. An incentive mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) is being negotiated under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Here we use the best available global data sets on terrestrial biodiversity and carbon storage to map and investigate potential synergies between carbon and biodiversity-oriented conservation.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  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