To provide a map of wild areas in geographic projection which can be used in wildlife conservation planning, natural resource management, and research on human-environment interactions.

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.

To provide data to gauge broad similarities and differences of national progress on sustainability of countries, over time and relative to other nations.

To provide a comparative index of national-level environmental sustainability based on lessons learned from the year 2000 pilot effort.

To provide data that address the key issues of sustainability by combining indicators of human wellbeing with those of environmental sustainability to generate a more comprehensive picture of the state of the world.

To test the feasibility of creating a comparative index of national-level environmental sustainability.

To provide information on the medium and long term plans for China's national economic and social development.