{"id":496912,"date":"2022-02-22T19:18:49","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T03:18:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcuser&p=496912"},"modified":"2022-02-22T20:04:18","modified_gmt":"2022-02-23T04:04:18","slug":"understanding-where-to-act","status":"publish","type":"arcuser","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/understanding-where-to-act","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Where to Act | Table of Contents"},"author":1031,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","castos_file_data":"","podmotor_file_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[463771,422802,348072],"tags":[472461,1301,26512,477842],"arcuser_issues":[477652],"class_list":["post-496912","arcuser","type-arcuser","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate-change","category-conservation","category-letter","tag-arcuser","tag-biodiversity","tag-climate-change","tag-e-o-wilson","arcuser_issues-winter-2022"],"acf":{"short_description":"Loss of biodiversity is the other great and interrelated challenge of our era that is often overlooked. ","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":496932,"file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"As the world deals with the devastating effects of more frequent wildfires, longer droughts, and more intense tropical storms that are attributed to climate change, the other great and interrelated challenge of our era\u2014loss of biodiversity\u2014is often overlooked.\r\n\r\nPreserving the abundance and variety of life on Earth is required to support humanity and achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, a 2019 report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that more animal and plant species are threatened with extinction than ever before in human history and that rate is accelerating. Clearly, action is needed.\r\n\r\nTaking effective action will require not only understanding what must be done, but where it must be done. Everything happens somewhere. GIS is the technology that uses where to make strategies actionable.\r\nThe late American biologist and biodiversity champion Edward O. Wilson was acutely aware of the need to use the geographic approach to tackle massive species loss on a global scale. In a 2018 conversation with Esri president Jack Dangermond, he noted, \u201cWe still live on a little-known planet. We still have to find out what\u2019s still out there\u2014to find out where species are exactly. We are going to have to be doing a lot of mapping to find out where the maximum of diversity exists.\u201d\r\n\r\nWilson advocated transforming geography into a \u201cdigitized system of thinking ecosystems that will inform where conservation is most needed to preserve biodiversity.\u201d His vision has been realized in the Half-Earth Project, an initiative of the nonprofit E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation, which advocates conserving half of the world\u2019s land and sea to preserve 85 percent of its biodiversity.\r\n\r\nEsri, in partnership with the US Geological Survey and others, has been developing a global framework\u2014releasing the ecological land units (ELUs), the ecological marine units (EMUs), and most recently, the ecological coastal units (ECLUs). However, the creation of an ecological infrastructure of places that should be protected will require massive participation by people\u2014not just scientists\u2014to capture data in the detail that is needed. According to Dangermond, \u201cIt will require everybody\u2019s imagination and all of our science and technology to measure virtually everything that moves or changes in the living world.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Center","content":"

Focus<\/h3>\r\nPlant Back Better: Mapping Recovery Plans for a Climate-Resilient Forest<\/a>\r\n\r\nSite Suitability Modeling for Locating Tidal Buoys<\/a>\r\n

Special Section<\/h3>\r\nSocial Equity Analysis Solution Supports Better Policy Decisions<\/a>\r\n\r\nArcGIS Solutions Helps Communities Assist People Experiencing Homelessness<\/a>\r\n

End Notes<\/h3>\r\nOffering Hope to Those Left Behind in Afghanistan<\/a>\r\n

Software and Data<\/h3>\r\nBriefly Noted<\/a>\r\n\r\nA Guide to Sharing Imagery and Raster Data<\/a>\r\n\r\nMaking More BIM Content Available<\/a>\r\n

Manager\u2019s Corner<\/h3>\r\nSmall Team Makes a Big Impact with Enterprise GIS<\/a>\r\n\r\nThe Role of Change Management in Strategy Development<\/a>\r\n

Developer\u2019s Section<\/h3>\r\nConfigure Feature Display Order in Web Apps<\/a>\r\n

Hands On<\/h3>\r\nHow to Choose Your Map\u2019s Medium<\/a>\r\n\r\nAutomating Everyday Workflows Using Custom ModelBuilder Tools<\/a>\r\n\r\nTry the Newest of the Instant Apps\u2014Countdown<\/a>\r\n\r\nFocused Interactive Experiences with Maps and Data<\/a>\r\n\r\nDesigning for Accessibility<\/a>\r\n

Bookshelf<\/h3>\r\nMapping Community Health: GIS for Health and Human Services<\/a>\r\n\r\nMapping by Design: A Guide to ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud<\/a>\r\n

Faces of GIS<\/h3>\r\nHow Mapping Can Help Mend Social Divides<\/a>\r\n

Education<\/h3>\r\nBuilding Video Games with ArcGIS Technology<\/a>\r\n\r\nThe Top 10 Reasons to Adopt GIS in the Classroom<\/a>","snippet":""}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nKnow where to act<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the world deals with the devastating effects of more frequent wildfires, longer droughts, and more intense tropical storms that are attributed to climate change, the other great and interrelated challenge of our era\u2014loss of biodiversity\u2014is often overlooked.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/understanding-where-to-act\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Understanding Where to Act | Table of Contents\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As the 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