About the Last of the Wild Project:

Human influence on the earth’s land surface is a global driver of ecological processes on the planet, on par with climatic trends, geological forces and astronomical variations. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University joined together to systematically map and measure the human influence on the earth’s land surface today.

Our analysis indicates that 83% of the earth's land surface is influenced directly by human beings, whether through human land uses, human access from roads, railways or major rivers, electrical infrastructure (indicated by lights detected at night), or direct occupancy by human beings at densities above 1 person per km2. We refer to the human influence on the land’s surface measure as the "Human Footprint."

It is within the approximately 17% of the earth's land’s surface relatively less influenced by human beings that some of the best conservation opportunities lie. In these few places, conservation may be less hampered by conflicts and the targets of conservation may continue to thrive into the future. We call these areas, identified by biome, "Last of the Wild."

The human footprint and the last of the wild datasets should not be used for local or regional conservation planning without consultation with local expertise

Data:

Last of the Wild Version Two data is now available.

This dataset was created to facilitate policy making aimed at conserving Last of the Wild. From this website you can download the "Human Footprint" dataset in Band Interleaf (BIL) format and the "Last of the Wild" dataset in BIL and ArcInfo Exchange (.e00) formats.

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Human Footprint: Nine global data layers were used to create this global "human footprint" map. The layers covering the following themes: human population pressure, human land use and infrastructure and human access.

Last of the Wild: Through analysis of the human footprint, we identified 569 wild places, representing the largest wild areas in each of the biomes of the world. Although these wild places vary enormously in their biological productivity and diversity, they represent the least influenced or "wildest" areas in each of their respective biomes.

Caveat to the Human footprint Data

Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) at Columbia University. Copyright© 1997-2002. The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.