Bringing national data into the Atlas

The Atlas is assembled from datasets that other organisations produced, and it stays useful only if those contributions keep arriving. This is what the process looks like from a contributor's side.

Why national maps matter

Global products give consistent worldwide coverage but tend to miss ecosystems that are small, narrow or spectrally ambiguous. National mapping programmes are usually built with field validation and local knowledge, and they resolve exactly those cases. Where both exist, the national map is generally the better source.

How contributions are reviewed

A contributed dataset is checked for spatial validity, then its classes are matched against the typology. That matching step is the substantive one: it is where a locally defined class is reconciled with a functional group, and it is done in consultation with the contributor rather than assumed.

Licensing and attribution

Every dataset keeps its own licence and citation, and both travel with the data through the Atlas. Contributors retain ownership of what they submit, and each dataset is credited wherever the ecosystems it informs are displayed.

What is needed to start

A contribution generally needs a spatial dataset with documented classes, a description of how it was produced, and a licence permitting redistribution. Coverage does not need to be national — regional and thematic maps are welcome.

Get in touch

If you hold ecosystem maps that could be aligned to the typology, the Atlas team can talk through what alignment would involve before you commit to anything.