The Pacific Network for Environmental Assessment (PNEA) Portal is an initiative of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to support government officials from Pacific Island countries and territories who work with environmental impact assessment (EIA), strategic environmental assessment (SEA) as well as Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS).
The portal complements SPREP’s current capacity building program for EIA and SEA - including the recently launched Regional EIA Guidelines, the Coastal Tourism EIA guidelines, and SEA guidelines.
GEBCO’s gridded bathymetric data sets are global terrain models for ocean and land. The grids are available to download or access through Web Map Services.
Imagery reproduced from the GEBCO_2019 Grid, www.gebco.net
https://www.gebco.net/data_and_products/gridded_bathymetry_data/
This dataset shows the global distribution of coral reefs in tropical and subtropical regions. It is the most comprehensive global dataset of warm-water coral reefs to date, acting as a foundation baseline map for future, more detailed, work. This dataset was compiled from a number of sources by UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the WorldFish Centre, in collaboration with WRI (World Resources Institute) and TNC (The Nature Conservancy).
This dataset shows the global distribution of cold-water corals. Occurrence records are given for 86 Families under the subclass Octocorallia (octocorals; also known as Alcyonaria) and four Orders (in Class Anthozoa): Scleractinia (reef-forming corals), Antipatharia (black corals), Zoanthidae (encrusting or button polyps), and Pennatulacea (sea pens). Occurrence records are also available for the order sub-Order Filifera (lace corals) in Class Hydrozoa.
This dataset shows the global distribution of coral reefs in tropical and subtropical regions. It is the most comprehensive global dataset of warm-water coral reefs to date, acting as a foundation baseline map for future, more detailed, work. This dataset was compiled from a number of sources by UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the WorldFish Centre, in collaboration with WRI (World Resources Institute) and TNC (The Nature Conservancy).
This dataset shows the modelled global patterns of above-ground biomass of mangrove forests. The dataset was developed by the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, with support from The Nature Conservancy. The work is based on a review of 95 field studies on carbon storage and fluxes in mangroves world-wide. A climate-based model for potential mangrove above-ground biomass was developed, with almost four times the explanatory power of the only previous published model.
This is a MaxEnt model map of the global distribution of the seagrass biome. Species occurrence records were extracted from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) Ocean Data Viewer and Ocean biogeographic information system (OBIS). This map shows the suitable habitats for the seagrass distribution at global scale.
"Comparison of the average hard coral cover between the three five-year periods comprising the last 15 years (2005-09, 2010-14, 2015-19, Tab. 9.3) indicated that there was a high degree of confidence (93%) in the long-term decline, despite the uncertainty in individual yearly estimates. Further, the vast majority (90%) of this decline occurred between 2010-14 and 2015-19, suggesting that the rate of decline in hard coral cover has accelerated during the last five years"
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the most comprehensive global database of marine and terrestrial protected areas, updated on a monthly basis, and is one of the key global biodiversity data sets being widely used by scientists, businesses, governments, International secretariats and others to inform planning, policy decisions and management. The WDPA is a joint project between UN Environment and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The full global assessment can be downloaded from the GCRMN website.
The GEBCO_2019 Grid is a global grid of elevation data at 15 arc-second intervals. This layer displays the GEBCO_2019 Grid as a shaded relief image showing the shape of the global seafloor. The imagery extends from -180 to 360 in longitude. Please note that the GEBCO_2019, is also available as 2D, flat image in layer GEBCO_2019_Grid_2.
This is a link to the website to download the UNEP-WCMC distribution of cold-water corals dataset.
This dataset shows the global distribution of cold-water corals. Occurrence records are given for 86 Families under the subclass Octocorallia (octocorals; also known as Alcyonaria) and four Orders (in Class Anthozoa): Scleractinia (reef-forming corals), Antipatharia (black corals), Zoanthidae (encrusting or button polyps), and Pennatulacea (sea pens). Occurrence records are also available for the order sub-Order Filifera (lace corals) in Class Hydrozoa.
This is a link to the website to download the UNEP-WCMC distribution of corals dataset.
This is a link to the website to download the UNEP-WCMC global patterns of above-ground biomass of mangrove forests.
This is a link to the website to download the distribution of seagrass biome dataset.
This is a MaxEnt model map of the global distribution of the seagrass biome. Species occurrence records were extracted from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) Ocean Data Viewer and Ocean biogeographic information system (OBIS). This map shows the suitable habitats for the seagrass distribution at global scale.
The WDPA User Manual provides information and guidance about the data held within the WDPA, including its history, how it is collected, managed and distributed, and how it should be interpreted and used for analyses and research. The Manual has been prepared for WDPA data providers and users. It is structured in 4 sections and includes 6 appendices.
The Protected Areas Working Group (PAWG) of the Pacific Islands Round Table for Nature Conservation recommended a forum to better connect a diverse range of people and their work relating to protected and conserved areas. To increase efficacy with respect to gaining momentum with communications and conservation work, the Pacific Islands Protected Area Portal (PIPAP) was launched.
Map of the protected areas for Cook Islands with country-level summary statistics on the amount of area under protection, count for each type of protected area (terrestrial or marine), and the count of their designation.