The Global Island Database (GID)

as a strategic asset for

island biodiversity issues

Christian Depraetere

Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR Espace/DEV, Maison de la Télédétection, Montpellier, France

Arthur L. Dahl

International Environment Forum, Geneva, Switzerland

Jon Hutton

World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, United Nations Environmental Program, United Kingdom

Conference 'Our Common future under Climate Change’, Thursday 9th July at Jussieu – Room 103 – Session

4418b

Island biodiversity

as a priority for the international community

Islands as

« unique sense of place ».

The triple diversity :

biodiversity, geodiversity and

cultural diversity.

Conference 'Our Common future under Climate Change’, Thursday 9th July at Jussieu – Room 103 – Session

4418b

The“island data gap” put at a disadvantage a

macroecological approach of island biodiversity

*Holger Kreft, Walter Jetz, Jens Mutke, Gerold Kier and Wilhelm Barthlott:

“Global diversity of island floras from a macroecological perspective”,

Ecology Letters, (2008) 11: 116–127

“We found that climatic and environmental characteristics

were much harder to determine for islands than for mainland

regions, because smaller islands are not well represented in

most global environmental data sets that are frequently used

in macroecological studies”.

Kreft et al., 2008*

GID in the context of the

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD):

The CBD/CoP9 in Bonn may 2008 gave a mandate to UN

agencies to work on island biodiversity *.

At this occasion, the World Conservation Monitoring

Centre** took the initiative of developing and hosting a

GID in collaboration with the international scientific

community and funding from the Italian government.

The GID is one of the international initiative of the

Global Island Partnership*** since 2008

•Document UNEP/CBD/COP/9/19 and INF/6

** WCMC Cambridge UK

*** GLISPA Head Office, New York, USA

Purposes of GID

The GID supports the Global Island Partnership by making spatial data available

on as much islands as possible around the world including the smallest islets that

may have a high ecological values.

The GID aims to enhance the role of islands in international decision-making

through identifying and bringing together existing sources of data and information.

The GID must contribute to develop linkages, partnerships and collaborations with all

stakeholders involved in island conservation and decision-making to ensure a

global platform for scientific assessment, communication and networking.

The specific “validation tool” of GID encourages the participation of individuals to

help improve on the accuracy of this information through the Global Island Database

Validation Tool (“participative science”).

*

Evolution of GID

Previous global data information on islands:

- Islands directory (A.L. Dahl, UNEP, 1990)

- NISSOLOG GIS data (1390 islands C. Depratere, ORSTOM, 1991)

- ISLANDS (A.L. Dahl, UNEP, 1996)

GID Version 1 (185,000 islands) May 2010 http://www.globalislands.net/about/gid_functions.php

Based on GIS homogeneous shorelines data with attributes for each island*

related to names, topography, past and present geography, present and future

bioclimate, human population and buildings…

GID Version 2 (460,000 islands) June 2015 This dataset is an intermediate

product. Presence of fake islands thoughout the dataset. Not all islands listed

have an associated name.

The final version will be a compound of these two versions.

The GID validation tool : version June 2013

This platform also encourages the participation of individuals to help improve on the accuracy of this

information through the Global Island Database Validation Tool. https://vimeo.com/68301630

* Depraetere C (2007). IBPoW Database. A technical note on a global dataset of islands. Global Islands Network. 58

pp.

Expected applications of GID

- Exhaustive and homogenous dataset for comparison purpose at global scale

at least for islands greater than 1 hectare.

- Providing CC scenario at island scale.

- Developing Potential biodiversity indexes (PBI) based on past and present

human occupation of the island, present land cover, diversity of ecological

niches, paleogeography…

- Optimizing and priotorizing survey and conservation actions. For instance,

optimal exploration of small islands potentially hosting relictual populations

(“Lazarus effect”) within an archipelago.

* Depraetere C (2007). IBPoW Database. A technical note on a global dataset of islands. Global Islands

Network. 58 pp.

Expected applications of GID

“Lazarus effect” within an archipelago:

The emblematic case of the Lord Howe giant stick insect

on the Ball’s Pyramid islet

*

Expected applications of GID

The Lord Howe giant stick insect or tree lobster (Dryococelus australis)

was thought to be extinct by 1920

but rediscovered in 2001 on the Ball’s Pyramid islet.

Dryococelus

australis up to 15 cm

The islet of

Ball’s Pyramid 0.6 km²

Max elevation 529 m

A glimpse on the GID

Frequencies of island according to latitude

Latitude

* Depraetere and Dahl 2007

Frequencies

of island (> 6 hectares)

Max frequency 61°N

Geodiversity of (is)landscapes

* Depraetere 2008

The unique (is)landscape of the Aaland archipelago in Finland (highest density of islands in the world*, 4769 islands > 6 hectares on 17 000 km²)

Climate Change on islands

Rise of temperatures in 2050*

* From WorldClim Dataset, scenario 2A, for islands > 1km² (Depraetere 2014)

CC on islands according to latitude

Rise of temperatures in 2050 according to Latitude

* From WorldClim Dataset scenario 2A (Depraetere

2014)

Rise of

temperatures

in

2050

(°C)

Each dot

refers to

one island

Regional CC on islands

* Depraetere et al.

2015

Rise of temperatures in 2050

on the Mediterranean islands North

Aegean

Islands

+3°C

Conclusion

GID is one element in the process to create partnership and technical

platform to support enhancing data for decision making for islands and

especially for SIDS.

Combined with other initiatives at local and global scales such as

“Eye on Earth” leaded by GLISPA, this should generate momentum around

addressing data for decision making gaps in support of the SAMOA

Pathway and sustainable development efforts.

* Eye on Earth http://www.eyeonearth.org/

Thanks