Sustainability Thematic Portal: News
Updated Data, Improved Methodology for 2009 NRMI Release
Date: October 20, 2009The NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) operated by CIESIN has released the 2009 National Resource Management Index (NRMI). This version of the NRMI has updated data and improved methodology for the eco-region protection indicator, one of the four indicators that make up the NRMI. The improvements included the exclusion of international protected areas, many of which lack effective protection (the ones that do already have a national designation), and improved coastal boundary matching between biomes and national boundaries using the highest resolution coastal data available.
The NRMI is a composite index of four measures. In addition to the eco-region protection indicator, the indicators include: access to improved sanitation, access to improved water, and child mortality. In response to the search for a natural resources management indicator initiated by the the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the NRMI was first developed in May 2005 by a consortium led by CIESIN and including the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP), the University of New Hampshire Water Systems Analysis Group, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Columbia University Tropical Agriculture Program. The MCC uses the NRMI as as one of its performance indicators to help determine country eligibility for its foreign aid programs.
Human Biomes Defined, Data Available, on New Web Site
Date: October 1, 2009Anthropogenic biomes, also known as “anthromes” or “human biomes,” describe the terrestrial biosphere in its contemporary, human-altered form using global ecosystem units defined by patterns of sustained direct human interaction. In a paper presented in the journal, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Ellis and Ramankutty (2008) delineate 21 anthropogenic biomes based on population density, land use, biota, climate, terrain and geology. The anthropogenic biomes are further grouped into six major categories: dense settlements, villages, croplands, rangeland, forested, and wildlands. A new Web site, “Anthropogenic Biomes (version one),” provides access to the spatial data sets described in the paper. Available in raster GeoTiff and GRID formats, the data may be downloaded as one global grid or a grid for each of the six populated continents. The methodology involves a multi-stage procedure where “anthropogenic” cells are first separated from “wild” cells based on presence of population, crops, or pastures. A detailed description of the methods utilized to produce the data, as well as research results, may be downloaded from the Web site.
Atlas of Livestock Production and Health Statistics Now Released
Date: June 25, 2009GLiPHA, the Global Livestock Production and Health Atlas, has been publically released. GLiPHA is an interactive, electronic atlas containing global animal production and health statistics. Sub-national statistics relating to the livestock sector can be viewed cartographically, against a back-drop of selected maps, such as livestock densities, land-use, and topography. Data may also be displayed and exported as tables and charts. The objectives of GLiPHA are to facilitate access to livestock sector information for analysis and informed decision making, and to increase awareness of sector-related social, health and environmental issues. GLiPHA draws on data managed within the Global Livestock Impact Mapping (GLIMS), a global, sub-national data warehouse containing a multitude of livestock-sector related information.
New Report Says Climate Change May Cause Human Population Migrations
Date: June 10, 2009
The map depicts glaciers (white with blue border) in the Himalayas and the major rivers that flow from them. The rivers that drain these mountains move through some of the most populous areas in the world, yet the glaciers that feed the rivers are in retreat.
A new report says climate change may cause vast human migrations on an order not previously experienced. The report, In Search of Shelter: Mapping the Effects of Climate Change on Displacement and Migration, was written by researchers at CIESIN, the United Nations University, and CARE International. Drawing on empirical evidence from a new survey of every continent, with original maps created by CIESIN that pinpoint potential locations of critical displacements, the report explores how climate change is already causing people to leave their homes, and details some of the specific ways displacement may occur over the next decades. For example, the report says, melting glaciers will negatively affect agricultural systems throughout Asia and contribute to the risk of flooding. Natural disasters will continue to cause short-term migration, while the breakdown of eco-system-dependent livelihoods—such as subsistence herding, farming, and fishing—will cause long-term migration. Developing countries will be most vulnerable to migration and displacement, with less capacity to implement adaptation measures. A potential downward spiral from resulting ecological degradation and breakdown of social structures could ensue, leading to political instability which would further exacerbate population displacement.
The report calls for seeing climate-related migration and displacement as global in nature, not simply isolated local crises. It aims to inform critical policy making by presenting a comprehensive discussion of the linkages between environmental change, displacement, and migration.
New Global Digital Soil Map to Address Critical Gap in Knowledge for Improved Crop Production
Date: February 17, 2009A major initiative for developing and disseminating accurate digital information about soils in countries throughout the world was announced today. CIESIN’s role in this initiative will be to work with international partners to integrate and deliver soils data for the global database using state-of-the-art information and data management technologies.
The global digital soil map, GlobalSoilMap.net, aims to provide farmers, policy makers, and scientists with critical information on how to address declining soil fertility and improve soil management for better crop productivity. By expanding a spatial database of soil properties, GlobalSoilMap.net will leverage work begun recently by the Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS) on the first-ever, detailed digital map of soil in 42 countries of sub-Saharan Africa. GlobalSoilMap.net is being funded in part by the $18 million grant to create AfSIS, which was awarded to International Centre for Tropical Agriculture-Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute (CIAT-TSBF) by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). An international consortium led by ISRIC-World Soil Information, based in the Netherlands, and including the Earth Institute of Columbia University will raise further funds and enhance the methodology for the map.
Unlike the existing global soil map, based on outdated data and difficult for non-soil scientists to interpret , GlobalSoilMap.net will leverage contemporary technological advances to more accurately collect soil data, predict soil conditions, and provide usable information for applied users. It will be made freely available online and through cost-effective media, and will utilize innovative new sources of soil information.
Progress Toward Environmental Performance Index for China Reviewed at Beijing Meeting
Date: February 8, 2009
Attendees of experts meeting in Beijing to review progress toward an environmental performance index for China. Front row, left to right: Xiaoshi Xing, Wang Jinnan, Christine Kim, Alex de Sherbinin, Cao Dong. Back row: Staff of CAEP, YCELP, and City University of Hong Kong, with CIESIN’s Marc Levy (sixth from left).
CIESIN deputy director Marc Levy, senior research associate Alex de Sherbinin, and information scientist Xiaoshi Xing participated in an experts meeting in Beijing February 5, the purpose of which was to review data and indicators for the China Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The meeting was co-organized with the Chinese Academy for Environmental Planning (CAEP) and the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP). CIESIN and YCELP were responsible for leading development of the 2008 EPI, a global environmental performance assessment which ranked 149 countries on 25 indicators tracked across six established policy categories. The China EPI is expected to be released in September 2009.
New Digital Soil Map Will Offer Insights Critical to Boosting Africa Food Production
Date: January 29, 2009A new initiative to produce the first ever detailed digital map of soil in 42 countries of the Sub-Saharan region of Africa will be funded by a four-year award of US$18 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Led by African soil scientists and CIAT’s Nairobi-based Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF) Institute, the Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS) project will draw on an international partnership that includes the Earth Institute and CIESIN, the World Soil Information (ISRIC) at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) in Nairobi. The new digital soil map will ultimately be developed as part of a global soil mapping initiative, called GlobalSoilMap.net.
Information on the condition of soils is considered critical to boosting yields of historically underperforming small farms in this region of Africa. The new project will combine the latest soil science and technology with remote satellite imagery and on-the-ground efforts to analyze thousands of soil samples. The aim is to inform decision making related to the supplementation needed to improve agricultural production, and to target the most appropriate crop varieties for a particular area.
CIESIN will work with African partners to build the data systems required to collect, analyze, and disseminate this information to a wide range of end users.
PBL Launches Global Roads Database (GRIP)
Date: January 28, 2009The Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) has launched a global roads database, the Global Roads Inventory Project (GRIP). GRIP version 1 is the first attempt by PBL to create a new (public domain) global roads database classified along the UNSDI-T datamodel domain of UNJLC. The data is aimed at a 250k-1M scale and will be used in PBL's global environmental assessment models. Commercial data was mainly used for Western Europe and India, the rest was collected from other publicly available sources.
PBL is investigating the option to make this part available under a BY-SA Creative Commons license to anyone who contributes to the GRIP database.
High-Resolution Global Wind Map of the World Released
Date: January 5, 2009A 5 km-resolution global wind map based upon a data set of global wind resources and their spatial and temporal variability has been released by 3TIER, a large independent provider of global renewable energy assessment and forecasting. The map is intended to contribute to wind energy development by quantifying the value of the wind resource at any location around the world. According to 3TIER, the data set the map is based upon is the most accurate, consistent, and comprehensive wind data set available at the global scale.
The wind map and the underlying data set are based upon an innovative physical-statistical modeling approach. Unlike traditional models that merely interpolate observed wind speeds between widely dispersed points, this system integrates statistical methods with the power of physical-based models. It simulates the interaction between the atmosphere and the earth’s surface, creating a more robust and accurate wind climatology. Thus accounted for are the myriad processes responsible for wind—from jet level dynamics to surface level processes. The models are able to create realistic wind fields throughout the world, with results that are especially enlightening in regions where observations are not available.
New Characterization of Biomes Includes Human Interaction
Date: August 18, 2008Existing systems of ecological research have traditionally omitted any representation of human interaction, or have simplified it. Now a recently-released data set, “Anthropogenic Biomes of the World,” authored by Erle C. Ellis and Navin Ramankutty, presents the first description of biomes that includes the element of human interaction with ecosystems. This data set identifies 18 so-called “anthropogenic biomes,” acknowledging that human residence and agriculture have significantly altered ecosystems. This integrated approach to ecological classification suggests new possibilities for exploring and understanding patterns within the terrestrial biosphere.
Now Released: First-Ever Global Map of Total Human Effect on Oceans
Date: April 1, 2008The world’s oceans are significantly impacted by human activities, with no unaffected areas remaining, according to the first global-scale study of human influence on marine ecosystems. However, there are still large areas that are relatively unaffected by humans, particularly near the poles.
Researchers overlaid maps of 17 different activities such as fishing, climate change, and pollution, to produce a composite map of human influence on the oceans of the world.
The report, “A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems,” was published in the February 15 issue of Science. Data is available from the Web site. The project had its genesis in a working group at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) in Santa Barbara, California.
Updated Human Footprint Data Now Available
Date: March 17, 2008CIESIN has released an updated version of The Human Footprint, a data set that aims to measure the extent of human influence on the Earth’s surface. First produced in 2002 by CIESIN with the Wildlife Conservation Society, this new version of The Human Footprint uses updated data on human population density, land transformation, human access, electrical power infrastructure, and settlements. Urban boundaries are drawn from CIESIN’s urban population data (Global Rural-Urban Mapping Project (GRUMP)), which is more recent (circa 2000) and is also a better representation of urban boundaries than what was used in the first version. The population density data (Global Population of the World (GPWv3)), produced by the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC) operated by CIESIN, also have a number of improvements over the data used in the earlier version. The roads data are more complete, particularly concerning roads in Africa and Latin America; a greater number of navigable rivers is included; and more extensive land cover data are used.
Data available for download include the Human Influence Index, Human Footprint, and the Last of the Wild data sets.
2008 Environmental Performance Index Released
Date: January 23, 2008The Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland was the venue for the release today of the 2008 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), co-authored by CIESIN and Yale University’s Center for Environmental Law and Policy. Last released in 2006, the EPI ranks 149 countries on 25 indicators across six policy categories: Environmental Health, Air Pollution, Water Resources, Biodiversity and Habitat, Productive Natural Resources, and Climate Change. Each indicator in the EPI measures how close each country comes to broadly-accepted targets, on a 0–100 scale. As a quantitative gauge of environmental outcomes, the Index is meant to provide a powerful tool for improving policymaking by shifting environmental decisionmaking onto firmer analytic foundations.
The 2008 EPI ranks Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Costa Rica as the top five overall countries. Mali, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Angola, and Niger occupy the bottom five positions. The U.S. is ranked 39th, lower than most industrial countries.
The Index also provides “peer group” rankings for each country, comparing performance of countries facing similar environmental challenges. These benchmarks allow easy tracking of leaders and laggards on an issue-by-issue and aggregate basis. The data also support efforts to identify “best practices” in the environmental realm.
2006 National Footprint Accounts Added to Compendium of Sustainability Indicators
Date: December 11, 2007The 2006 Ecological Footprint and Biocapacity indicators from the 2006 National Footprint Accounts produced by the Global Footprint Network have been added to the SEDAC Compendium of Environmental Sustainability Indicators Collection (v.1.1). The complete compendium of 426 indicators and 38 ancillary variables is available for download in comma-separated values (CSV), SPSS and Stata formats.
Data for CSD Coastal Population Indicator Released
Date: August 6, 2007The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) maintains a list of a core set of indicators of sustainable development. CIESIN is the lead agency for the indicator, entitled Percentage of Total Population Living in Coastal Areas. As a service to the community, CIESIN, through its SEDAC program, is providing pre-calculated national-level data for this indicator and one alternative: Percentage of Total Population Living in the Low Elevation Coastal Zone (<10 meters elevation).
SEDAC Releases New Data Set on Human Appropriation of Net Primary Productivity (HANPP)
Date: February 2, 2007SEDAC, in partnership with scientists at Goddard Space Flight Center, has released data sets describing the global spatial distribution of net primary productivity (NPP), the global spatial distribution of the human appropriation of NPP (HANPP), and HANPP as a percentage of NPP. The data were originally published in the journal Nature (2004) and Journal of Geophysical Research (2006).
Experts Review CSD List of Indicators
Date: October 6, 2006UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) sponsored an expert group meeting (EGM) from October 3–4, 2006 to review indicators included on the Commission for Sustainable Development’s list. The main objectives of the meeting is to finalize the 2001 set of CSD Sustainable Development Indicators (CSD-ISD) following a December 2005 EGM which substantially revised the list. That EGM worked within the adopted thematic framework and attempted to maintain the size of the CSD-ISD by cutting some indicators while adding others. The meeting sought commitment from lead agencies to provide updated and revised methodology sheets, where necessary.
ICSU's SCOPE Issues Policy Brief on Sustainability Indicators
Date: May 6, 2006ICSU's SCOPE has issued a six-page policy brief on sustainability indicators. The report, “Indicators of Sustainability: Reliable Tools for Decision-Making,” describes the utility of synthetic indicators in a variety of policy contexts.
Night-Time Lights Unveiled as Promising Data Source for Sustainability Studies
Date: April 10, 2006A recent article in Ecological Economics describes a potentially valuable new data source for studying the spatial patterns of economic activity that may have an impact on regional sustainability. Using night-time lights remote sensing data, which correlates closely with gross regional product, Christopher Doll and colleagues utilize this data set to map a surrogate of economic activity at 5-km resolution. These results provide the first detailed examination of night-time light characteristics with respect to local economic activity and highlight issues, which should be considered when undertaking such analysis.
