To permit cartographic display of countries and territories that exactly match the GRUMPv1 population surfaces

To provide populated place (point) data with consistent population estimates.

To permit cartographic display of coastlines that exactly match the GRUMPv1 population surfaces.

To permit the summation of population values by country/territory and, in combination with other data layers, the summation of population values by irregular areas represented in the other data layers and country/territory.

To assist in the country selection process for the Millennium Challenge Account by providing indicators of natural resource management that complement the governance, social, and economic indicators.

To provide quantitative metrics for evaluating a country's environmental performance in different policy categories relative to clearly defined targets.

To provide tabular data on the trends of chlorophyll-a concentration on a pixel by pixel basis for identifying areas with improving, declining, and stable coastal water quality that can provide guidance for decision making in the context of coastal management.

To provide an assessment of potential climate change impacts on world crop production.

To provide quantitative metrics for evaluating a country's environmental performance in different policy categories relative to clearly defined targets.

To provide tabular data on environmental conditions (elevations, climate, coastal) in which people reside.

To provide estimates of urban and rural populations and land areas in the low elevation coastal zone.

To provide geographical portraits of vulnerability designed to incorporate both exposure to climate change and national capacities to adapt.

To provide quantitative metrics for evaluating a country's environmental performance in different policy categories relative to clearly defined targets.

To make the acquisition, comparison and analysis of sustainability indicators easier by compiling them in a single database, incorporating multiple country codes, and condensing the indicator descriptions into short methodological summaries in an accompanying data dictionary.

To help assess a country's demand on and supply of biological capital.

To provide population estimates, gross domestic product, and surface area data to be used in conjunction with the sustainability indicators included in the compendium.

To create a comparative index of national-level environmental sustainability and to provide a mechanism for making environmental management more quantitative, empirically grounded and systematic.

To provide tabular data on human appropriation of net primary productivity by country.

To provide tabular data on environmental conditions (elevations, climate, coastal) in which people reside.

To provide a comparative index of national-level environmental sustainability covering a number of sustainability dimensions.