A global team of scientists has spent over two years identifying the areas around the world that need to be protected in order to save the remaining biodiversity and biological wealth of our planet. If these identified areas are not conserved then we will not safeguard our biosphere. The Global Safety Net is therefore nothing less than a blueprint which has been designed to help save planet Earth.
The Global Safety Net Viewer is an interactive map which allows you to explore the areas around the world which have been identified as in most need of protection. These areas represent 50.4% of the terrestrial surface of the Earth. Using the map you can view five main layers; species rarity sites, high biodiversity areas, large mammal landscapes, intact wilderness, and additional climate stabilization areas. Together (with some additional wildlife corridors) these areas, if protected & conserved, will be able to sustain the world's current biodiversity.
If you select a country on the map you can view a chart showing the percentage of the land which needs protecting and a 'Protection Level' score showing how much of this land is already under environmental protection. The map can therefore be used to view the land that needs to be protected in each country and how much of that land is currently protected.
The 'Protection Level' score given to each country is in the range 0 to 10 - with a higher score indicating the most protection. The scores are based on the percentage of land which is protected. A score of 0 indicates that less than 5% of the land is protected. A score of 10 indicates more than 95% of land is protected. While a score of 5 indicates that roughly half the land is protected. The United States currently has a score of 3. This means the USA is protecting about 30% of the land that it needs to in order to protect the Earth's biodiversity.
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