We analyse and advise on the many challenges facing biodiversity and ecosystem services in marine and terrestrial environments
Together with our partners, we work on dozens of projects every year across the range of areas described in Our Expertise. The projects and partnerships featured here give a flavour of the best, newest and most innovative work from across UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre .
In 2020 a new global biodiversity framework will be agreed to replace the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets. UNEP-WCMC is well placed to support governments and other stakeholders throughout the process of developing and agreeing the new framework.
UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre is working with the Natural Capital Finance Alliance to enable financial institutions to better understand, assess, and integrate natural capital-related risks and opportunities into financial decision-making.
Ocean+ Library is an online library that identifies 183 ocean-related resources available globally.
Illegal harvest of timber is a global threat to forests and biodiversity, and has considerable impacts on livelihoods and development. UNEP-WCMC provides support to the European Commission in monitoring the implementation and enforcement of legislation that aims to reduce the devastating effects of illegal timber trade.
UNEP-WCMC is currently working on several global coral reef projects with UN Environment Coral Reef Unit and a number of other project partners to address the conservation challenges facing coral reefs.
The Development Corridors Partnership, led by UNEP-WCMC, is helping countries in East Africa to plan for a sustainable future.
UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) has been working closely with IUCN to provide technical support since the early days of the World Heritage Convention.
UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre has been working with a range of partners on a portfolio of projects aiming to advance our understanding of the environment-poverty relationships conceptually, empirically and methodologically.
Pollution is having a massive impact on our biodiversity, our ecosystems and our health. At UNEP-WCMC we recognise the impact pollution has on our environment and on our lives.
Many businesses have a complex relationship with natural resources. Companies often struggle to find relevant information on biodiversity and the latest trends and developments in environmental policy. Proteus aims to ensure that businesses plan their activities around the best available biodiversity data.
Find out how UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre works with national and international partners, through the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries
Science–policy interfaces are critical in shaping environmental governance. UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre has developed significant expertise and long-standing experience at the boundary between science and policy in the context of biodiversity governance, including with the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)
The Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool for Business is an authoritative website for companies seeking global biodiversity data. It is the result of a partnership among BirdLife International, Conservation International and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, together with UNEP-WCMC.
Working with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat and UN Environment to improve the policy coherence and coordinated implementation of the six major biodiversity-related conventions.
Exploring pressures and potential impacts of future commodity-driven scenarios of change taking into account plausible socio-economic trends and climate change in the Great Lakes of East Central Africa; the Greater Mekong and its Headwaters; and the Watersheds of the Andes.
In 2011 the UK National Ecosystem Assessment delivered a wealth of information on the state, value and possible future of ecosystems across the UK. It also identified a number of key uncertainties, some of which are being addressed by a two-year programme of follow-up research.
National governments, scientists, non-governmental organizations and the private sector depend on current and reliable data to inform their research, conservation and business activities.
In order to plan effectively, policymakers need to understand how ecosystems and biodiversity are likely to respond to human-induced changes in the future. UNEP-WCMC is working with partners to develop three computer models of ecosystems which are designed to provide this information.
The PARCC West Africa project assessed the vulnerability of biodiversity and protected area systems in West Africa to the impacts of climate change, and developed adaptation strategies and policy recommendations to enhance the resilience of protected areas and improve the effectiveness of their management.
In 2010, the 193 countries that are party to the Convention on Biological Diversity committed to updating and implementing their National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). With our programme of work on NBSAPs, we are supporting the development and implementation of these NBSAPs so that environmental policy, planning and investment integrate and support economic and development policies.
Species+, developed by UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Secretariat helps Parties to the Convention meet their international commitments. It provides them with easy access to the information they need to issue permits for trade on a daily basis, thereby facilitating the effective management of species and ensuring that trade in CITES-listed species is legal, traceable and sustainable.
Protected Planet is the online public interface for the World Database on Protected Areas, the most comprehensive global database on terrestrial and marine protected areas. Protected Planet allows users to discover the world's protected areas through maps, photos and descriptions.
UNEP-WCMC hosts the Secretariat of the Biodiversity Indicators Partnership, the global initiative to coordinate the development of indicators to track progress towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and other goals. The Partnership of more than 40 organizations works to provide comprehensive information on biodiversity and related trends.
We provide analysis, information and capacity building to national governments on the conservation status and levels of trade in protected species. This helps them to manage the legal trade in wildlife better.
Supporting land use related policy development using scenarios, modelling and mapping
Capacity development for the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES): undertaking National Ecosystem Assessments and developing Policy Support Tools for decision makers
Engaging stakeholders in using future scenarios to analyse the potential impacts of agricultural development in the Lake Victoria Basin
