A key attribute of the initiative was to apply results of existing global research to the World Heritage context and generate new insights. The platform aims to utilise the web as the preferred form for communicating and delivering data, information and knowledge in a digital format, thus improving accessibility to people working in World Heritage conservation.
IUCN’s World Heritage Analyses online platform includes the following set of initial products, analyses and tools. These are available for consultation and reference however have not been updated since 2017:
- Near real-time satellite images (Landsat 8) for all natural World Heritage sites, powered by Esri’s Landsat Image Service, which allows for the use of petabytes of satellite data
- Surface water change analysis, based on the Google Earth Engine, a cloud computing service
- Interactive data visualisations for land cover change
- Online natural World Heritage information sheets
- Geospatial comparative analysis for identifying biogeographic representation
- Global forest loss, human footprint in natural World Heritage sites
The data products, analyses and tools presented on the platform are allin the prototype phase, and should be seen as a set of proof-of-concept outputs, rather than final, sufficiently reviewed knowledge products. By putting these products in the public domain, we hope to generate user feedback to understand how these could be improved and refined in the future.
