World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Encyclopedia
The United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) is an executive agency of the United Nations Environment Programme
, based in Cambridge
in the United Kingdom
. UNEP-WCMC has been part of UNEP since 2000, and has responsibility for biodiversity
assessment and support to policy development and implementation. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre was previously an independent organization jointly managed by IUCN, UNEP and WWF established in 1988, and prior to that the Centre was a part of the IUCN Secretariat.
(CBD) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), capacity building and management of both aspatial and spatial data on species and habitats of conservation concern. UNEP-WCMC has a mandate to facilitate the delivery of the global indicators under the CBD's 2010 Biodiversity Target
on the rate of loss of biological diversity, and works alongside the CITES Secretariat producing a range of reports and databases. It also manages the World Database of Protected Areas in collaboration with the IUCN
World Commission on Protected Areas. A series of world atlases on biodiversity topics have been published by UNEP-WCMC through University of California Press
. UNEP-WCMC itself is composed of multiple Programmes that are concerned with different conservation sectors: Biodiversity Informatics, Business and Biodiversity; Climate Change; Ecosystem Assessment; Food Security, Biomass and Biodiversity; Marine Decision and Support; Protected Areas; and Species.
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in June 1972 and has its...
, based in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. UNEP-WCMC has been part of UNEP since 2000, and has responsibility for biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
assessment and support to policy development and implementation. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre was previously an independent organization jointly managed by IUCN, UNEP and WWF established in 1988, and prior to that the Centre was a part of the IUCN Secretariat.
Areas of work
The activities of UNEP-WCMC include biodiversity assessment, support to international conventions such as the Convention on Biological DiversityConvention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity , known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty...
(CBD) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), capacity building and management of both aspatial and spatial data on species and habitats of conservation concern. UNEP-WCMC has a mandate to facilitate the delivery of the global indicators under the CBD's 2010 Biodiversity Target
2010 biodiversity target
The 2010 Biodiversity Target was an overall conservation target aiming to halt the decline of biodiversity by the end of 2010. The world largely failed to meet the target .-History of the 2010 Biodiversity Target:...
on the rate of loss of biological diversity, and works alongside the CITES Secretariat producing a range of reports and databases. It also manages the World Database of Protected Areas in collaboration with the IUCN
World Conservation Union
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is an international organization dedicated to finding "pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges." The organization publishes the IUCN Red List, compiling information from a network of...
World Commission on Protected Areas. A series of world atlases on biodiversity topics have been published by UNEP-WCMC through University of California Press
University of California Press
University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...
. UNEP-WCMC itself is composed of multiple Programmes that are concerned with different conservation sectors: Biodiversity Informatics, Business and Biodiversity; Climate Change; Ecosystem Assessment; Food Security, Biomass and Biodiversity; Marine Decision and Support; Protected Areas; and Species.