Why do we need the Global Ecosystems Atlas?
There is significant momentum worldwide for new systems to help address existential threats from climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation.
Understanding the world's ecosystems is an essential part of driving effective action to address these challenges. But we lack fundamental knowledge of the majority of ecosystems at the global scale.
The Global Ecosystems Atlas will fill this gap by combining existing high-quality ecosystem maps with new maps created using the latest Earth observation technology, artificial intelligence, field data, and local expertise.
Who is the Global Ecosystems Atlas for?
Policy makers
Policymakers will have access to high-quality data on ecosystem extent, condition and risks, enabling informed decision-making and effective policy development for conservation, restoration and environmental management.
National focal points for international conventions
Focal points and signatories will have access to robust tools and datasets to streamline and enhance reporting processes, ensuring accurate, coherent and consistent compliance with international environmental frameworks.
Private sector
Companies will be able to integrate the Atlas into business strategies to manage environmental risks, support sustainability goals, and enhance corporate social responsibility practices and reporting. For auditors, the Atlas will be an essential tool to verify and validate a company’s environmental claims and sustainability practices.
Development banks and lending institutions
Development banks and lending institutions will be able to use the Atlas to assess environmental risks and guide sustainable investments, ensuring projects align with conservation goals.
Local and indigenous communities
Local and indigenous communities will be able to use the Atlas to inform actions to conserve and manage their land by accessing detailed data on local ecosystems, combining traditional knowledge with scientific insights.
Civil society
Civil society groups will be able to use reliable data and visual tools to support efforts to advocate for environmental protection and sustainable development.
Academics and researchers
Researchers will be able to use the Atlas and its underlying open access data products as a comprehensive resource to support the study of ecosystems, contributing to advancement in global ecological knowledge.
Individuals
Anyone will be able to use the Atlas to explore and learn more about ecosystems that interest them. An informed public will be empowered to contribute to conservation efforts and join the global movement to protect nature.
Policy makers
Policymakers will have access to high-quality data on ecosystem extent, condition and risks, enabling informed decision-making and effective policy development for conservation, restoration and environmental management.
National focal points for international conventions
Focal points and signatories will have access to robust tools and datasets to streamline and enhance reporting processes, ensuring accurate, coherent and consistent compliance with international environmental frameworks.
Private sector
Companies will be able to integrate the Atlas into business strategies to manage environmental risks, support sustainability goals, and enhance corporate social responsibility practices and reporting. For auditors, the Atlas will be an essential tool to verify and validate a company’s environmental claims and sustainability practices.
Development banks and lending institutions
Development banks and lending institutions will be able to use the Atlas to assess environmental risks and guide sustainable investments, ensuring projects align with conservation goals.
Local and indigenous communities
Local and indigenous communities will be able to use the Atlas to inform actions to conserve and manage their land by accessing detailed data on local ecosystems, combining traditional knowledge with scientific insights.
Civil society
Civil society groups will be able to use reliable data and visual tools to support efforts to advocate for environmental protection and sustainable development.
Academics and researchers
Researchers will be able to use the Atlas and its underlying open access data products as a comprehensive resource to support the study of ecosystems, contributing to advancement in global ecological knowledge.
Individuals
Anyone will be able to use the Atlas to explore and learn more about ecosystems that interest them. An informed public will be empowered to contribute to conservation efforts and join the global movement to protect nature.
What can you do with the Global Ecosystems Atlas?
The Global Ecosystems Atlas will be a versatile platform for identifying distribution of different ecosystem types, supporting conservation and restoration efforts, informing environmental management decisions, conducting research, and aiding in environmental and corporate reporting.
Track progress on the Global Biodiversity Framework
The Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) includes targets to achieve the mission of halting and reversing biodiversity loss. Countries can use the Atlas to access measurements and derive insights that support stock-taking, monitoring and reporting on indicators of progress toward achieving the ecosystem-focused GBF goals and targets.
Develop national ecosystem maps where they don’t yet exist
For countries that don’t yet have a national ecosystem classification and map, the Atlas will offer guidelines, resources, examples, map standards to assist countries in developing new maps to use for policy, planning, decision-making and action related to ecosystems and biodiversity.
Contribute to Nature-based Solutions
Knowledge about ecosystem distributions will help support a better understanding of nature-based climate solutions and help improve our knowledge of the essential ecosystem services provided by ecosystems around the world.
Support natural capital accounting
The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) is an internationally agreed statistical framework that measures stocks and flows of natural resources, including ecosystems. The Atlas will provide up-to-date data to support generation of SEEA ecosystem accounts.
Inform financial disclosures
Under some laws and voluntary frameworks, companies and financial institutions are required to make financial disclosures that describe risks and opportunities related to the climate and nature. The Atlas will offer consistent data to support the effective operation of laws and frameworks.
Enhance financial structuring and risk insurance
An increasing number of countries and communities invest in risk insurance to protect against climate- and nature-related loss and damage. New ecosystems knowledge can lead to new opportunities in financial structuring based on the underlying value of ecosystem services.
Track progress on the Global Biodiversity Framework
The Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) includes targets to achieve the mission of halting and reversing biodiversity loss. Countries can use the Atlas to access measurements and derive insights that support stock-taking, monitoring and reporting on indicators of progress toward achieving the ecosystem-focused GBF goals and targets.
Where our data comes from?
The Global Ecosystems Atlas was created by compiling existing spatial data products developed to represent ecosystems. These maps come from high-quality national, regional, and global repositories. Each dataset has been subjected to a rigorous evaluation process, including validation and harmonization with the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology - an internationally recognized system for classifying ecosystems across terrestrial, freshwater and marine realms.
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