UNEP-WCMC experts provide a crucial update to the global Critical Habitat screening layer. 

In a paper published this month, UNEP-WCMC, alongside partner institutions, released a comprehensive update to the global Critical Habitat screening layer, finding a significant increase in areas defined as “Potential” or “Likely Critical Habitat”. In this case, “Critical Habitat” refers to areas of land or sea that have high rates of biodiversity and must be safeguarded by development projects, whereas “Likely” or “Potential” denotes the level of certainty afforded by the data. This increased coverage reflects the most recent changes to International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standard 6 (PS6) guidance, which supports financial institutions with ensuring their investment portfolios safeguard biodiversity. 

The update builds on 54 biodiversity features from 22 authoritative datasets to identify 68 million km² of Likely or Potential Critical Habitat, covering roughly 13% of the planet’s surface. UNEP-WCMC experts screened datasets for inclusion in the update that were the best available data for the biodiversity feature of interest. 

This data update will support sustainable development  

PS6 is built on fundamental conservation principles such as protected areas and threatened species. It is often seen as the benchmark for sustainable development, for example by the 130 financial institutions that are signatories to the Equator Principles. These financial institutions use the guidance to mitigate biodiversity risk within their investment portfolios. Businesses also continue to use PS6 to manage their impacts and direct corporate action.  

With USD 60 trillion of infrastructure spending required to meet the investment needs forecasted for 2040, safeguarding Critical Habitat, as defined by IFC PS6, can support sustainable development. Providing key biodiversity data to help identify these areas can guide investments in infrastructure projects belonging to key initiatives, such as the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as supporting the projects themselves in mitigating risk. 

The PS6 guidance has been updated in three major ways 

The latest update to the IFC PS6 guidance introduced three core changes: 

1.Changes to thresholds to better align with the Global Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) Standard 

2.Specified exceptional circumstances that automatically trigger Critical Habitat designation: the presence of great apes, natural or mixed World Heritage Sites, and Alliance for Zero Extinction sites  

3.Addition of IUCN Vulnerable species in specific circumstances 

Data were added to the screening layer to respond to these criteria changes, including Important Marine Mammal Areas, Intact Forest Landscapes, tropical moist forest, and great apes habitat. UNEP-WCMC experts also took the opportunity to update and refine use of data present in the previous screening layer. 

Our analysis found significant global increases in area classified as Likely or Potential Critical Habitat 

The analysis found that 68 million km² of the Earth’s surface was classified as Likely or Potential Critical Habitat. This is a significant increase on the 36 million km² previously classified, with increases in coverage on land and sea. Important Marine Mammal Areas comprises a large share of the increase, as well as Intact Forest Landscapes and tropical moist forest. 

The global Critical Habitat screening layer can be used by businesses and financial institutions in the early stages of project screening to support the targeting of more detailed, on the ground Critical Habitat assessments. 

The basic data, where grid cells are classified as Likely, Potential or Unclassified, can be accessed on the UNEP-WCMC data portal at https://doi.org/10.34892/snwv-a025 under a CC BY licence. The drill down layer, where this classification is supported by what biodiversity feature(s) triggered the classification, is available at https://doi.org/10.34892/d3xm-qm60 under a CC BY-NC licence. Access to the drill down layer will shortly be provided through the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool. 

Main image: kondratuk, Adobe Stock #142427612