United Nations Environment Program-Global Resource Information Database
United Nations Environment Program / Global Resource Information Database ( UNEP-GRID ) is a worldwide network of search engines and environmental data catalogs . The UN Environment Program (UNEP) makes global environmental information available to political decision-makers and development organizations. GRID centers on all continents evaluate data on biodiversity and land and resource use .
Locations: In addition to the headquarters of UNEP in Nairobi and the headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva , the network is mainly organized from Arendal , Budapest , Christchurch , Sioux Falls and Warsaw . At the respective nodes, there is usually close cooperation with the national environmental authorities and environmental sciences . In Geneva there is traditionally close cooperation with the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the university .
history
GRID was founded in 1985, GRID-Arendal in 1989. GRID-Arendal goes back to the initiative of the Brundtland Commission , UNEP and the Norwegian government. USA (since 1991): Not only has there been good cooperation since 1998 with the US EPA , the development of space technology through satellite monitoring has new opportunities for GRID for both NASA and the United States Forest Service (USFS) enables early warning of environmental pollution and environmental damage with the Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA).
aims
The tasks of the GRID are:
- The data base to provide for decisions
- Management and administration of an environmental information system
- Capacity Building Services
- Public relations , awareness-raising and teaching methodological skills
In addition to the traditional focus on the polar regions , the GRID has in recent years also focused more on the sustainable development of seas and coasts worldwide. Preserving biodiversity in the rainforests is becoming increasingly important at the network nodes in Africa, the Pacific and Latin America .
According to its own statements, the GRID follows the following values: integrity , professional work, respect for diversity and an obligation to the environment.
Programs
UNEP / GRID-Arendal : One focus area is global polar research . The chairman of the board of directors in 2012 is Olav Orheim. It is appointed by the Ministry of Environment for 3 years. GRID-Arendal is currently working with the three priority programs:
- Capacity Building and Assessment Program
- Marine programs
- Polar programs
Another task is to bring together global maps ( maps ) and graphs. For example, environmental information is available on the limits of permafrost and the potential of hydropower in Europe . An overview of the University of the Arctic , In addition to the polar regions, there are also global interactive maps and graphics in the catalog of UNEP / GRID-Arendal. Topics are water scarcity in Africa , the threat to biodiversity in megadiversity countries such as South Africa, or bird migration routes and the routes of tropical wood smuggling , a country atlas with statistics on sustainable development ( globalis ).
GRID centers worldwide
The Global Resource Information Database (GRID) consists of a network of many centers around the world:
- Arendal (Norway) UNEP / GRID-Arendal
- Bangkok (Thailand) - UNEP Environment Assessment Program for Asia and the Pacific (EAPAP)
- Budapest (Hungary) - Department for Environment Information Systems
- Christchurch (New Zealand) - University of Canterbury
- Geneva (Switzerland), UNEP / DEWA / GRID-Geneva
- ICIMOD at UNEP
- Kathmandu (Nepal) - International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)
- Moscow, Russia)
- Nairobi (Kenya) UNEP-DEWA / GRID-Nairobi
- Ottawa (Canada) - Canada Center for Remote Sensing
- San Jose dos Campos (Brazil) - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espacias (INPE)
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota (USA) - Earth Resources Observation and Science Data Center United States Geological Survey (USGS)
- Tbilisi (Georgia)
- Warsaw (Poland) - Environmental Information Center
Related articles and related projects
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA)
- Clearing house mechanism
- PortalU