List of global spatial data for calculating indicators of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

This collection of datasets is a curated list of global spatial datasets that can be used at national and global scales to calculate selected headline, component, and complementary indicators of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, in instances where indicators are based on spatial data, and subject to national needs and priorities for monitoring. The UNBL team has identified that 44% of headline indicators and 50% of component indicators have methodology encouraging the use of spatial data. The list includes indicators that are reported as statistics at the country level, but are also visualizable as maps (e.g., a world map representing different country-level values). It is aligned with the metadata for each indicator provided on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Indicators Website as of December 2023.

These global spatial reference datasets can be used in the following ways:

1. The datasets could act as a data standard that countries could use to evaluate their own national datasets against.
2. The datasets could be used to supplement the national datasets proposed for calculating the headline, component and complementary indicators of the monitoring framework, as set out in the metadata for each indicator.
3. In circumstances where no national data exists for monitoring national actions and target implementation, these global reference data can be used to enable monitoring and supplement gaps in national data.