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Interactive
Carbon Calculator

This innovative tool provides users with initial estimates of carbon values for existing protected areas or any polygon drawn on a global map.

Carbon estimates are based on a global map of carbon storage (Scharlemann et al. 2009), which consists of a dataset of carbon stored in above - and below ground biomass (Ruesch and Gibbs 2008) combined with a dataset on carbon stored in soil down to 1 meter depth (Scharlemann et al. in prep.). The quality of these estimates will further improve with time, as more accurate datasets become available. Additional biodiversity datasets identifying areas of biodiversity importance will be added.

The tool is using the most up to date version of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), which is available at www.protectedplanet.net.

Additional biodiversity datasets identifying areas of biodiversity importance will be added.

Data Sources: BirdLife International and Conservation International (May 2010). Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) - including Important Bird Areas (IBAs) maintained by BirdLife International and Key Biodiversity Areas maintained by Conservation International. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK and Conservation International, Washington DC, USA.



Its development, by the CBD Secretariat’s LifeWeb Coordination Office and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre in collaboration with Vizzuality, is supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, within the framework of the International Climate Initiative, and by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation.

Video demonstration of the carbon tool