GCRI · Fields across the Consortium
Biodiversity and nature
Nature risk has two faces: economies and communities depend on declining ecosystem services, and economic activity drives that decline. Both now have disclosure frameworks. Neither is yet well measured.
01Contents
Biodiversity and nature in six parts.
02Three mandates
The field, seen three ways.
03Geography
Habitat condition worldwide.
Vegetation, land cover and plant growth across the world, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.
The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.
Layers 3
Habitat condition, for this page
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed (clouds leave gaps)
- Source
- MODIS Terra EVI (NASA LANCE)
- Provider
- NASA LANCE
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite index; clouds leave gaps
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-13
- Resolution
- about 250 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite vegetation index for the 8 days to the date shown, a habitat condition indicator; not a measure of species or biodiversity.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Modelled (latest year GIBS publishes)
- Source
- MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1) (NASA LP DAAC)
- Provider
- NASA LP DAAC
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- yearly; Satellite classification; latest year GIBS publishes
- Newest at build
- 2024-01-01
- Resolution
- about 500 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite land cover classes for the year shown, including croplands; a classification with known errors, not a farm register.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Modelled (latest 8-day period GIBS publishes)
- Source
- MODIS Aqua GPP (MYD17) (NASA LP DAAC)
- Provider
- NASA LP DAAC
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- 8-day; Satellite-driven model; latest 8-day period GIBS publishes
- Newest at build
- 2026-09-30
- Resolution
- about 500 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Model estimate of carbon taken up by plants over the 8-day period shown; an indicator of growth, not harvest or production.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed
- Source
- VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance (NASA LANCE)
- Provider
- NASA LANCE
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite image
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-14
- Resolution
- about 250 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite image. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed (clouds and overpass timing leave gaps)
- Source
- VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS) (NASA LANCE FIRMS)
- Provider
- NASA LANCE FIRMS
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite detection; clouds and overpass timing leave gaps
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-13
- Resolution
- about 500 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite hot-spot detections for the day shown, including gas flares and industrial heat; not a confirmed fire, an incident report or a warning.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed (clouds leave gaps)
- Source
- MODIS Terra NDVI (NASA LANCE)
- Provider
- NASA LANCE
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite index; clouds leave gaps
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-13
- Resolution
- about 250 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite greenness index over the 8 days to the date shown; an indicator of crop and pasture condition, not a yield estimate or a food security warning.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
Keyboard, with the map focused
Hold Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll to zoom
Latest available
NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
Loading the latest NASA imagery.
Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.
Habitat condition, framed on the world.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.
Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERTSources and licences
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS), VIIRS 375 m active fire product, NASA LANCE; vector tiles via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
- Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
- © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). ODbL
- Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
- Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
- Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- Observed (EO): NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERT (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026). We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- Optional layers (6 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.
Layers and dates
- Enhanced vegetation index, rolling 8 days: MODIS Terra EVI, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
- Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
- Gross primary production, 8-day total: MODIS Aqua GPP (MYD17), NASA LP DAAC · 30 Sep 2026
- True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
- Active fires and thermal anomalies: VIIRS NOAA-20 375 m (FIRMS), NASA LANCE FIRMS · 13 Oct 2026
- Vegetation greenness (NDVI), rolling 8 days: MODIS Terra NDVI, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
04The systemic question
Dependencies, impacts and tipping behaviour.
Pollination, water regulation, soil formation and coastal protection are inputs that markets rarely price until they fail. The IPBES Global Assessment identified land and sea use change, direct exploitation, climate change, pollution and invasive species as the main direct drivers of decline. Ecosystems can respond nonlinearly, so a slow pressure can end in an abrupt loss of function.
| Concept | Where it is defined |
|---|---|
| Dependencies and impacts on nature | TNFD LEAP approach (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) |
| Ecosystem condition and service flows | UN SEEA Ecosystem Accounting |
| Ecosystem types | IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology |
| Global targets | Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework |
05Twin and cascade simulator
Model biodiversity and nature as a system. Run the cascade.
Assembled from the Nexus Standards area profile Biodiversity and nature risk standards: the hazards it names, the systems and sectors that carry the loss, the controls that dampen it and the data that observe it. Choose the components, pick an initiating hazard and step through the cascade. The Map view places the run on an example geography with open data. Every coupling weight is a stated assumption you can change. A teaching model, not a forecast, an assessment or a certification. To model a place of your own choosing, open the full System Builder.
Hazards
- Deforestation
- Biodiversity loss (set off downstream)
- Soil erosion (set off downstream)
- Land-system change boundary transgression (set off downstream)
- Amazon rainforest dieback (set off downstream)
- Slope slide (set off downstream)
- Flash flood (set off downstream)
- Zoonotic spillover event (set off downstream)
- Wildfire (set off downstream)
- Emerging arbovirus outbreak (set off downstream)
- Malaria resurgence (set off downstream)
Systems and couplings
- Biodiversity and nature risk standards
- Climate risk standards Feedback
- Health risk standards Cascade
- Food and agriculture risk standards Dependency
- Environmental degradation hazard standards Shared hazard records
Controls
NS-0Constitution and principlesNS-1The UNI and the artefact catalogue (grammar v0.2: domain, sector, region and environment segments)NS-3Risk record UNIs (grammar, legacy crosswalk, allocation authority)NS-3bDataset and product metadata profile (STAC, DCAT, PROV-O)NS-5Figure, map and visualisation standard (with the UI/UX kit)NS-9Contextual UNIs (deployments, instances, programme instances)NS-11Verification and monitoring (evidence, attestations, zero-trust conformance observation)NRS-N5Biodiversity and nature risk and resilienceNRS-H65Hazard family: Planetary boundary transgressions (NHS-1 planet.boundary)NRS-H27Hazard family: Biodiversity and species stress (NHS-1 eco.species)NRS-H26Hazard family: Land and wetland degradation (NHS-1 eco.land)NRS-H28Hazard family: Climate-state shifts (NHS-1 eco.climate-state)NRS-H64Hazard family: Ecosystem regime shifts (NHS-1 eco.regime-shift)
Observation
- GBIF occurrence API and downloads (listed for reference)
- World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas (listed for reference)
- Global Forest Watch tree cover loss (Hansen/UMD) and alerts (listed for reference)
- ESA WorldCover 10 m land cover (listed for reference)
- Copernicus Land Monitoring Service products (listed for reference)
- Red List Index
- Forest area as a proportion of total land area
- Proportion of important sites for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity covered by protected areas
Example geography
- Pacific Island states: 150 hexagonal cells
- Vegetation disturbance alerts, 30 m (OPERA DIST-ALERT), NASA GIBS
- Surface soil moisture (SMAP), NASA GIBS
- Night lights tonight, outages (VIIRS Day/Night Band), NASA GIBS
- Rain rate, last half hour (IMERG), NASA GIBS
06Frameworks
Agreements, assessments and disclosure.
| Framework or body | What it governs or supplies |
|---|---|
| Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework | Global targets including protection of land and sea and business disclosure of nature-related risks |
| IPBES assessments (Global, Nexus, Transformative Change) | Assessed evidence on drivers, interactions and options |
| TNFD recommendations | Market framework for nature-related disclosure, aligned in structure with ISSB |
| UN SEEA Ecosystem Accounting | Statistical standard for ecosystem extent, condition and services |
07Sector signature
The sector signature of biodiversity and nature.
The sectors biodiversity and nature touches and how strongly they depend on each other: what a study has to observe and model together.
Select corners · hover lines6 / 15 relations
Signature
Biodiversity and its partners
Biodiversity gives pollination and soils to food (0.6), watershed regulation to water (0.5) and zoonotic spillover and medicines to health (0.4).
W · E · I · F · H · B
- Sectors
- 4 of 6
- Relations
- 6 of 15
- Coupling
- 0.46 share of total
Strongest relations in play
- Food → Biodiversity · land conversion0.6
- Water → Food · irrigation0.8
- Water → Biodiversity · environmental flows0.6
- Food → Health · nutrition0.7
08Couplings
Where nature loss lands.
- Water: forests and wetlands regulate flow and quality.
- Food: pollination and soil health.
- Oceans: fisheries and coastal protection from reefs and mangroves.
- Markets: nature-related financial risk and disclosure.
The science sits on Biodiversity Nexus; methods start from ecology.
09Grounding
The methods behind the field.
- Ecology and biodiversity science
- Earth observation and remote sensing
- Spatial statistics and geostatistics
- Geospatial information systems
- Complex systems and agent-based modelling
- Causal inference and impact evaluation
- Hydrology and water science
- Ocean and coastal science
- Extreme value theory and tail risk
- Earth and geophysical science
- Water and environmental engineering
- Climate and atmospheric science
- Policy, institutional and decision science
- Agricultural, soil and food science
- Financial economics and macro-finance
- Financial and risk engineering
- Scenario design and stress testing
- Econometrics
10Sources
Where this page’s references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
- Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (CBD)
- IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
- IPBES Nexus Assessment (biodiversity, water, food, health, climate)
- TNFD recommendations and LEAP approach
- System of Environmental-Economic Accounting, Ecosystem Accounting (UN SEEA EA)
- IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology
11Questions
Questions and answers.
Why does GCRI host field gateways?
GCRI hosts the shared references of the Consortium, including the STEM Commons and the field gateways, so each field has one place that links all three institutions’ work.
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