SpatialNews Press Release
United Nations Launches UNEP.Net on ESRI’s Geography Network
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Redlands, California-Using ESRI’s Geography Network portal as well as ArcIMS, ESRI’s
Internet enabled geographic information system (GIS) software, the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) has launched its Environment Network Web site, UNEP.Net.
Geography Network Explorer technology is the principal spatial search engine for finding
data on the Environment Network Web site. In addition to its own data sets, UNEP.Net uses
data published through ESRI’s Geography Network (www.geographynetwork.com) and data
from the European Environment Agency, World Conservation Union, U.S. Geological Survey,
and World Wildlife Fund. Application development was provided by Conservation
International, the World Wildlife Fund, and ESRI.
The site provides a forum for scientific and technical peer review, as well as insights on
environmental issues to the global community. It facilitates the exchange of ideas, information,
and data.
According to the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, ESRI has been instrumental in
starting the UNEP.Net initiative by contributing technical and substantive environmental
expertise as well as global data sets. “Critical to any system design of this magnitude, which
includes the global network of UN and national resources, is the intellectual input,” states
UNEP’s lead scientist, Tim Foresman, “and when ESRI’s president dedicated a week of his time
to sit with 35 UN scientists and programmers, we knew we had the right ingredients for success.”
“I am proud that the United Nations (UN) has chosen our Geography Network and ArcIMS
as two primary components to build UNEP.Net. The UN is a longtime user of our software, and
I believe that they are providing a vital service by making UNEP data available,” comments Jack
Dangermond, president of ESRI.
Applications that are currently available, developed for the proof-of-concept phase, include
National and Regional Environmental Profiles, with more than 230 listings, and the international
Atlas of Protected Areas.
Thematic maps created for the Environment Network are extensive and include Kyoto
Protocol greenhouse gas emissions, indigenous peoples and ecoregions, nuclear power sites,
threats to the Mount Kenya wilderness preserve, and UNEP partners around the world. It also
includes African tribes and civil conflicts, global population density (four to five decade time
series), global land cover classification, global assessment of soil degradation, geography of
Nepal and Bhutan (with new glacier data), basic geography (global), annual average temperature
(global), annual average precipitation (global), and freshwater-lakes and rivers (global). The
site expects exponential growth as the various links to UN agencies are built over the next two
years.
UNEP’s Environment Network Web site is available at www.unep.net.
For more than 30 years, ESRI has been the leading developer of GIS software with more than
300,000 clients worldwide. ESRI also provides consulting, implementation, and technical
support services. In addition to its headquarters in California, ESRI has regional offices
throughout the United States, international distributors in more than 90 countries, and more than
1,050 business partners. ESRI’s goal is to provide users with comprehensive tools to help them
quickly and efficiently manage and use geographic information to make a real difference in the
world around them. ESRI can be found on the Web at www.esri.com.
ESRI, ArcIMS, and the ESRI globe logo are trademarks of ESRI, registered in the United States and certain other
countries; registration is pending in the European Community. GIS by ESRI is a trademark and www.esri.com,
www.geographynetwork.com, Geography Network, and @esri.com are service marks of ESRI. Other companies
and products mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.
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