A practical guide for coastal resource managers to reduce damage from Catchment areas based on best practice case studies
Resource Type: Tools / ApplicationsSeagrasses are unique as they are the only marine flowering plants. Seagrass beds form complex physical structures and are a highly productive ecosystem. This enables them to support a considerable biomass and diversity of associated species. For the first time the World Atlas of Seagrasses summarises the opinion and science of the world's leading experts on the global status of the ecosystem.
The Atlas is a collaboration of more than 50 authors from 25 nations. Fully illustrated, the Atlas contains the first global and regional maps of seagrass distribution and a wealth of information on key issues concerning this 'forgotten' ecosystem.
Resource Type: Books One third of the world’s population lives in coastal areas and rapid development of these areas has meant increased construction of coastal infrastruc- ture (e.g. ports, navigation channels, coastal de- fence) and related activities (e.g. land reclamation, beach nourishment), which has inevitably led to conflicting priorities between coral reef conservation and economic growth. The key impacts of these ac- tivities, if not managed, include:
• Direct loss of coral reef caused by the removal or burial of reefs
• Lethal or sub-lethal stress to corals caused by elevated turbidity and sedimentation rates
Dredging and port construction activities potentially affect not only the site itself, but also surrounding ar- eas, through a large number of impact vectors (e.g. turbid plumes, sedimentation, release of contami- nants, bathymetric changes). Effects may be imme- diate or develop over a longer timeframe and may be temporary or permanent in nature, depending on a large number of factors.
The WDPA-Marine is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive set of marine protected areas (MPAs) data available. The dataset focuses on MPAs and representation of the diverse species and habitats found in the marine environment. The tools itself features the attributes of each MPA, gives users an advanced search function, provides a viewer through Google Earth and links through to other detailed information such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Resource Type: Tools / ApplicationsThe Protected Areas Thematic Network brings together the main governmental and non-governmental organisations working on PA data management in the region in order to promote the more effective sharing of information on protected areas within and between the countries of the Americas Hemisphere, building on and contributing to existing global experience in this area through close collaboration with the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
Resource Type: Tools / ApplicationsThe World Mangrove Atlas is the first significant attempt to provide an overview of the distribution of mangroves worldwide. Mapped data were gathered from a wide range of sources and synthesised into a series of regional maps. Related texts describe the species, areal extent and other summary information on the currently known status of mangroves in each country. Produced in association with the International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME) and the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO), The World Mangrove Atlas presents a baseline inventory of mangroves at the end of the twentieth century.
Resource Type: BooksDatasets 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.
The seagrass dataset has been compiled by UNEP-WCMC in collaboration with Dr Frederick T. Short, University of New Hampshire, USA to show the global distribution of seagrass species. This dataset has been created from multiple sources and was used in the creation of the "World Atlas of Seagrasses" (2003). This polygon feature dataset is an update of the data used in the Atlas and is a unique data holding about the state of the world's seagrasses. For a complete overview of global seagrass distribution this dataset should be displayed together with the associated point dataset.
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.
This dataset shows the distribution of mangroves for the coast of East Africa. This is an update to the 1997 Mangrove layer, updated by UNEP-WCMC for the publication Taylor, M., Ravilious, C. and Green, E.P. (2003) "Mangroves of East Africa" UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series No. 13. Banson, Cambridge.
Resource Type: Spatial Data / MapsDatasets 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.
This dataset shows the distribution of mangroves for the coast of East Africa. This is an update to the 1997 Mangrove layer, updated by UNEP-WCMC for the publication Taylor, M., Ravilious, C. and Green, E.P. (2003) "Mangroves of East Africa" UNEP-WCMC Biodiversity Series No. 13. Banson, Cambridge.
Resource Type: Spatial Data / MapsDatasets 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.
This global dataset shows the distribution of mangroves and was compiled by UNEP-WCMC in collaboration with the International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems (ISME). These data were published in: Spalding, M.D., Blasco, F. and Field, C.D. (Eds). 1997. "World Mangrove Atlas". The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, Japan. 178 pp.
Resource Type: Spatial Data / Maps©2013 UNEP All rights reserved