G05 · ENGAGE · learningGCRI dossier · service level R0
GCRIBiodiversity NexusEstablished
Learning and professional development

Learning and professional development

Learning paths of Biodiversity Nexus in biodiversity and nature, climate and hazards and oceans and coasts, built on the methods of the STEM Commons and linked to recognized providers.

Publisher
The Global Centre for Risk and Innovation
Field
Biodiversity and nature, Climate and hazards, Oceans and coasts
Status
Established
Service level
R0: information and enquiries

Community workspace

Biodiversity · Learning and professional…

5 requests to reviewGCRI · Biodiversity Nexus

Working groups

Species data WG295Week 27Active
Restoration WG193Week 9Active
Nature disclosure WG3610Week 34Active
Rights and consent WG3212Week 23Active
Ecosystem condition WG298Week 25Active

Join requests

  1. J-1Hydrologist, early careerSpecies data WG3 d
  2. J-2Utility engineerRestoration WG8 d
  3. J-3Conflict of interest to declareNature disclosure WG2 d

Contributions

Proposed01
Locate: sensitive locations…credit: named
In review01
Evaluate: dependency and…two reviewers
Accepted01
Nature-related assessmentcredited on record

Biodiversity Nexus · Community workspaceCommunity workspace, in outline: domain structure with placeholder names and illustrative values, not a record.

01In brief

The short answer.

Learning in Biodiversity Nexus is the set of paths through which professionals build competence in the biodiversity and nature field, starting from the methods it applies, such as ecology and biodiversity science as well as Earth observation and remote sensing. Courses are listed once approved, with provider, level and terms; completing one is a learning record, not a professional licence or certification.

02Canvas

From enquiry to contribution.

Canvas · from enquiry to contributionDesign, not a record
Learning and professional development: a working group from charter to sunsetA charter sets the question and the code of conduct; members join with declared interests; a workplan produces deliverables that are reviewed and credited; the group reports and sunsets or renews. Design of the process, not a record of a run.

Fig.The path from an enquiry to a credited contribution. Design, not a record; no step creates membership.

03Geography

Habitat condition in the Amazon Basin.

For learning and professional development, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on population density, land cover, night lights and true-colour imagery with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on the Amazon Basin; every other NASA layer, live feed and forecast waits in the layer list.

The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.

Layers 4

Habitat condition, for this page

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.

For learning and professional development, in GCRI's spatial-intelligence reading, the map opens on population density, land cover, night lights and true-colour imagery with true colour from NASA GIBS, framed on the Amazon Basin; every other NASA layer, live feed and forecast waits in the layer list.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date; indicators, not assessments of any place; claim ceiling INTEGRATED.

Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA HLS S30 · Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2ASources 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 H3 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 cells where shown (modified). CC BY 4.0
  • 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
  • GHRSST Level 4 MUR analyses, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; distributed by the NASA Physical Oceanography DAAC (PO.DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). 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 H3 cells where shown (modified). ODbL
  • Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into H3 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.
  • Globe: MapLibre GL JS 6.9.1, BSD-3-Clause, © MapLibre contributors.
  • Observed (EO): NASA HLS S30 (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).
  • Observed (EO): Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026), Microsoft Planetary Computer
  • Optional layers (35 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

  • Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
  • Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
  • Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
  • True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Enhanced vegetation index, rolling 8 days: MODIS Terra EVI, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
  • Sea surface temperature anomaly: GHRSST MUR25, NASA JPL PO.DAAC · 12 Oct 2026

04Paths

Start from the methods.

Ecology and biodiversity scienceEarth observation and remote sensingSpatial statistics and geostatisticsGeospatial information systemsComplex systems and agent-based modellingCausal inference and impact evaluationHydrology and water scienceOcean and coastal science

Each method links to its canonical page, which lists teaching material as it is published.

05A path through the field

A learning path through biodiversity risk.

ModuleBuilds onLevel
Ecology for risk analystsEcology and biodiversity scienceFoundation
Mapping ecosystems from spaceEarth observation and remote sensingIntermediate
Spatial analysis of biodiversitySpatial statistics and geostatisticsIntermediate
Water and ecosystemsHydrology and water scienceIntermediate
Causal evidence for conservationCausal inference and impact evaluationAdvanced
Ecosystems as complex systemsComplex systems and agent-based modellingAdvanced
06Status

How courses are added.

Courses are listed once approved, with their provider, level and terms. Completing a course is a learning record, not a professional licence or certification.

07Key terms

Terms used on this page.

Each term as this page uses it. Where a standard-setting body defines the term, the wording follows that body.

TermDefinition
Learning outcomeA statement of what a learner knows, understands and is able to do on completing a learning process, the unit the European Qualifications Framework uses to compare qualifications.
Micro-credentialA record of learning outcomes from a short, assessed course of study.
Continuing professional developmentThe planned maintenance and broadening of a professional's knowledge, skills and judgement throughout a working life, recorded under the rules of the relevant professional body.
Earth observation and remote sensingEarth observation and remote sensing gather information about the Earth's surface and atmosphere from airborne and spaceborne sensors.
09Questions

Questions and answers.

Are courses free?
Each course states its own terms when it is listed.
Biodiversity Nexus

Bring your expertise to this field.

The current service level is R0: information and enquiries. An enquiry receives a reference and names the next step; applications, payments, compute allocations and registrations open only when their team, terms and review capacity exist.

Have questions?