GEO Data. An Introductory Users Guide

GEO Data

PORTAL

An Introductory Users’ Guide

The GEO Data Portal homepage, entry-point into a wealth of data for any IEA report! Search, access, display & analyze data on-line!

The (global) GEO Data Portal was initiated in 2000, just after the start of the third Global Environmental Outlook assessment (GEO-3), to improve the empirical base of the GEO and harmonize the data that are used for analysis and illustrations. The Data Portal has matured into a unique data collection, and has become the authoritative source of data used by UNEP and its partners in the GEO reporting process and other integrated environment assessments. The Data Portal gives access to a broad collection of harmonized environmental and socio-eco-nomic data sets from authoritative sources at global, regional, sub-regional and national levels, and allows basic data analysis and creation of maps and graphics. Its on-line database currently holds more than 450 variables that can be

analys-ed and displayanalys-ed as maps, graphs or tables. The data sets can also be downloaded in a variety of formats, supporting further analysis and process-ing by the user. The contents of the GEO Data Portal cover a broad range of environmental themes such as Climate, Disasters, Forests, Fresh-water, as well as categories in the socio-economic domain, including Education, Health, Economy, Population and Environmental Policies.

The on-line Data Portal has been designed as an easy and light system that can run on most plat-forms and does not need very extensive Internet bandwidth. Although primarily targeting the GEO user community (UNEP offices, GEO Colla-borating Centres), extensive use of the Portal is also made by other (UN) agencies, universities, schools, civil society and the general public.

The data providers include many primary data-collection agencies among the UN system and other key partners, including FAO, UNEP, UNESCO, UN Statistical Division, WHO, World Bank and OECD. The sources of all data are fully acknowledged. All data can be freely displayed and explored on-line. Although nearly all data sets are in the public domain and freely accessible to all, due to copyright reasons, a small portion of the data can only be downloaded by the formally named GEO user community of UNEP offices and GEO Collaborating Centres.

The statistical data variables are available not just for all countries of the world, but also for the GEO regions and sub-regions, and the world as a whole. In certain cases, the aggregated figures cannot be given due to lack of underlying data at the country level. To the extent possible, the data cover the period 1970 up to now, and are con-stantly being kept up-to-date. Apart from statisti-cal data sets, a good selection of geo-spatial data (maps) is also available, usually at global and regional scales.

New data are added on the basis of needs stem-ming from practical use in GEO reporting and based on priorities discussed in the GEO Data Working Group (DWG) and reflected in the the GEO Data/Indicator matrix, as well as their being available from several UN agencies and other authoritative data providers.

The global GEO Data Portal is now being supple-mented with regional versions, starting in Latin America and Africa. and to follow in Asia and Pacific and West Asian regions.

The Global GEO Data Portal is available on the Internet at http://geodata.grid.unep.ch/, which also gives information on updates, new items etc. A CD-ROM version has also been produced recently.

After the publication of GEO-3 in 2002, the Data Portal has been extensively used to prepare the first GEO Yearbook (2003). Below are some examples of graphics from these reports which were created by using the GEO Data Portal:

Source: GEO Year Book 2003, p.70 Source: GEO Year Book 2003, p.71

Thus, in short the GEO Data Portal has been designed to give easy access to a wealth of relevant core data sets and indicators for use in the GEO process and beyond. The basic steps are: 1) select a data variable;

2) select a time period and/or region; 3) choose among map, graph or table, and 4) optionally, read the documentation, 5) download the data set, or

6) copy & paste into a text processor or other tool.

The following pages explain and elaborate these basic steps and provide additional information on how to use the system and what can be achieved.

For further information, please contact: Stefan Schwarzer or Jaap van Woerden UNEP/DEWA~Europe/GRID-Geneva International Environment House 11 Chemin des Anémones

1219 Châtelaine Switzerland Phone: (+41 22) 917-8294/95 Fax: (+41 22) 917-8029 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.grid.unep.ch/

The Homepage

information. In principle, one can divide it into three main areas of interest:

The search is simple and straightforward: Type in a free (thematic) keyword, such as “emission”, “waste”, “forest”. Click on “Search”; or

Use the “Advanced Search” for more specific search options. Limit your search to a GEO Theme, a GEO region or a scale/resolution (national, regional, geospatial).

In the section “links” one will find some interesting links to, for instance, the list of GEO Collaborating Centres, the complete list of data variables offered by the Portal and a dozen screenshots of the possible use of the Portal, i.e. the “Gallery”.

The block “announcements” helps you to keep up-to-date with the latest GEO Data Portal developments . What data sets have recently been added or updated? What new functionality has been developed?

Source: GEO-3, p.211

Search

query different fields of the meta-data catalogue for the entered keyword(s). All words contained in the variable name or in the description or definition fields will be searched. However, a search for geographical names is not yet possible. Just enter any thematic keyword such as “water”, “forest”, “population”, “emission”, “trade” etc. The use of the “Advanced Search” is recom-mended for experienced users or if the search gives too many results to handle. Click on the “Advanced Search” instead and specify a pre-defined scale/resolution, GEO theme or GEO region, or search only for data that have been updated in the last 3, 6 or 12 months.

For French-speaking users, most of the Portal has been translated into French. Just click on the button indicated below the search screen.

The keyword entered on the homepage is search-ed through various of fields of the metadata catalogue, such as the variable name, the defini-tion, the (GEMET) keywords, etc.

The number of results of the search are displayed in the first line. One can try to limit the number by specifiying several or more precise keywords, in order to avoid long lists of variables. One can also use the “Advanced Search” instead, to specify a defined GEO theme, a GEO region or a scale/resolution.

A variable can be selected by clicking on a circle in front of each data set name and then clicking on the “continue”-button at the top or bottom of the page .

A helpful feature in order to better understand the meaning of a variable, is the view of a small window which displays the definition of the variable. This can be triggered by clicking on the name of the variable.

The different columns of the search result screen give the following information about the dataset:

the name of the variable,

the scale/resolution (national, sub-regional, regional, geospatial),

the covered region, the covered time period,

if the download requires a password (which is distributed only to GEO CCs),

the name of the data provider and when the data was last updated.

Time Period Selection

to choose the desired time period.

The years as displayed in the box, are always ordered descending, so that one has the most recent year at the top of the list.

By clicking on the checkbox “Select all” one will automatically select all available years. One can also select only a single year or, by holding down the Ctrl-button on the keybord, select multiple years.

The availability of years for different data sets varies considerably. Where possible, data are available for a period of 30 or more years, but sometimes there are only a few years available. Even though years are displayed in this box, it doesn’t mean that the data are really available for all countries/sub-regions/regions. Missing values may occur occasionally.

Module Selection

further actions. It offers one access to different display and analysis modules, as well as to the download and metadata modules.

Dynamic mapping: The selected variable can be displayed using Internet Map Server (IMS) technology in the form of dynamically gener-ated maps. One can, for instance, zoom into the map to get more details, query names and values, analyze trends, add more layers and print the customized map.

Customized graphing: The Portal also enables one to produce graphs for the selected data set. This helps to explore trends and analyze changes over time. The values of several

countries or regions can be compared to each other, and one can also show the value for the world as a whole.

Generating data tables: One can display the selected variable in a data sheet, with various possibilities for sorting, generating line- and bar-charts, or displaying histograms and extreme values.

Data download: The Portal offers six different formats for the download of statistical and up to five for the geospatial data sets.

Displaying metadata: This module offers detailed background information for the selected data set, such as its definition, the spatial and temporal reference, data provider, source, footnotes etc.

If one wants to switch from one into anothe module, than there are two possibilities to do this:

By clicking on the “Back” button of one’s browser until the “Module Selection” appears again.

By clicking on the specific “tab” at the top of each page. The module one is using at the moment is highlighted in a blue color. Any other module can be accessed at any time.

Dynamic Mapping

with the selected data set in cartographic format. Statistical data displayed in the form of maps are often much easier to understand than the raw data tables.

The GIS interface offers four different “menus” to choose from:

navigation: This bar is for basic utilities such as zooming, panning, refreshing. Select, for instance, the icon “Zoom In” and then either click on the map or draw a rectangle to zoom into the selected area.

query: select options such as querying (click on the icon, then either click on a country/sub-region/region or draw a rectangle to select multiple countries/sub-regions/regions), drawing a graph for a given country (select icon and click on a specific country), etc.

thematic layers: choose between the selected years, display the real data values on the map (see graphic below), change color symbology, classification method, etc.

view layers: add additional layers, such as the national, sub-regional or regional boundaries, the country names, rivers, cities, etc. or change the size of map, etc.

Customized Graphing

including the following options:

Select Module: Display one variable with multiple countries/regions/ subregions. Or display multiple variables for one country. Or calculate the difference for one variable and a given country.

Select Graph Type: Select among line, accu-mulated or bar graph.

Select X-Axis: Display the graph with the years or the selected countries on the X-axis, or the selected countries on the Y-axis (see graphics at right).

Select Countries/Regions/Subregions: The selection box offers, no matter what scale/ resolution (national, sub-regional, regional) one has selected, always the complete list of countries, sub-regions and regions. It thus allows the graphical display of a combination of countries, sub-regions and regions.

Select Years: Select all years for a line graph. Select only a reduced number for the display of bar graphs.

Additional Options: Add the global value, move the legend or change the size of the graph.

The generation of the graphs is easy to custom-ize. Besides enabling a quick overview of the

data, the graphs can simply be copied & pasted from the web browser into any document (e.g. Word).

Analyzing Statistics

together in classes, so that one can get an idea of how frequently data in each class occur. It thus provides an easy-to-read picture of the location and variation in a data set.

Another option is to display the extreme -maximum and minimum - values of a given data set, i.e. the five highest and five lowest countries or sub-regions of the world.

Generating Data Tables

statisti-cal data is the table format. This enables the display of the exact values. Although it is more difficult to discover trends and compare selected countries/sub-region/regions, this module offers some interesting sorting and analysing capabili-ties. If a specific region has been selected before-hand (see “Advanced Search”), only countries belonging to this region will be displayed.

Here are some of the functions this module offers: Sort the values ascending or descending for any selected year.

Display the five highest and lowest values (“Extremes”). (see “Analyzing Statistics”) Display a histogram. (see “Analyzing Statis-tics”)

Display a line- or bar-chart for a selected country.

To avoid long processing delays and difficult horizontal scrolling, one can select only specific years, such as every 5 or 10 years, instead of all individual years.

Downloading Data

can be downloaded as well. The download option is an important function of the GEO Data Portal, as it enables the users to further process the selected variable on its PC.

The Portal offers six different formats for the download of statistical and up to five for the geo-spatial data sets, namely:

for the statistical data sets: Adobe PDF, Comma Deliminated CSV, ESRI Shapefile, Microsoft Excel and XML

for the geospatial data sets: Adobe PDF, ArcInfo Export File, ASCII Grid, BIL Image, ESRI Shapefile, Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG), TIF Image.

Not all formats are available for all data sets. A small portion of the data can only be down-loaded by the GEO user community. These are protected by a password, available from DEWA-Europe/GRID-Genva.

Displaying Metadata

content, quality, condition, and other characteris-tics of data.

One can find detailed background information for the selected data set, such as its definition, the spatial and temporal reference, data provider, source, footnotes, statistical methods applied, etc. Metadata help users of geospatial data to find the data they need and determine how best to use them. Metadata benefit the data-producing organization as well. As personnel change in an organization, institutional knowledge leaves the organization. Undocumented data can lose their value.

The GEO Data Portal is currently changing its catalogue to the ISO 19115 metadata standard, a world-wide recognized format.

Current Data Providers

Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center

Center for International Earth Science Information Network CITES Secretariat

UNEP/WMO Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change / Data Distribution Centre (DDC) / CRU University of East Anglia

Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations Environmental Systems Research Institute

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Forest Stewardship Council

International Labour Organization

Interim Secretariat for the Rotterdam Convention Interim Secretariat for the Stockholm Convention

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change/Data Distribution Center

International Union for the Conservation of Nature/Species Survival Commission National Aeronautics and Space Administration/Goddard Space Flight Center National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Geophysical Data Center Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development

International Energy Agency

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development/Nuclear Energy Agency

Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance/The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

National Institute of Public Health and the Environment University of Maryland at College Park

United Nations Population Division United Nations Statistics Division

Secretariat of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Environment Programme Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity United Nations Environment Programme Convention on Migratory Species Secretariat

United Nations Environment Programme/Division of Early Warning and Assessment/Global Resource Informa-tion Database-Geneva

United Nations Environment Programme/Global Environment Monitoring System United Nations Environment Programme Ozone Secretariat

United Nations Environment Programme Secretariat of the Basel Convention United Nations Environment Programme/World Conservation Monitoring Center United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change United States Geological Survey/EROS Data Center

United States Geological Survey/Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center Veridian

World Energy Council

World Glacier Monitoring Service World Health Organization

World Health Organization/United Nations Children’s Fund World Bank

World Heritage

World Resources Institute World Wildlife Fund

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