This layer shows warm-water coral reefs distribution around the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea

• coastal habitat
• coral reef
• ecosystem
• marine
• ocean

This dataset shows the distribution of coral reefs in tropical and subtropical regions. It is the most comprehensive dataset of warm-water coral reefs to date, acting as a foundation baseline map for future, more detailed, work. 

Source: UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) and World Fish Centre

Contributors: World Resources Insitute (WRI), The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Millenium Mapping Project, World Atlas of Coral Reefs

Temporal range: 1954-2018

Methodology:
Approximately 85% of this dataset originates from the Millennium Coral Reef Mapping Project, of which 35% was validated (by IMaRS-USF and IRD-Noumea) and 50% remains unvalidated (but was interpreted by UNEP-WCMC). Millennium Coral Reef Mapping Project products (validated or not) are at a consistent 30 m resolution (multispectral Landsat 7 images acquired between 1999 and 2002, http://www.imars.usf.edu/MC/index.html). Additional information regarding methodology and 'validated' and 'unvalidated' polygons can be obtained from http://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/LANDSAT/HTML/README.html. 

Limitation:
While having global coverage, the dataset was compiled from multiple sources with varying scale and quality (outlined in "Metadata_CoralReefs.dbf" included in the package). The dataset has yet to undergo external review. The 'validated data' correspond to the final standard of Millennium Coral Reef Mapping Project products; they can evolve according to minor corrections and modifications, but no major changes should be expected. In the 'unvalidated data', boundaries of occurrence polygons are unchecked and associated attributes are incomplete. In some areas, unvalidated and validated polygons of differing shapes overlap. As the dataset may still contain overlapping polygons, a dissolve operation (within a GIS) might be needed before surface area calculations are carried out. Most of the dataset's polygons align relatively well (spatially) to the base layer (coastline) of Open Street Map (used in ESRI ArcGIS software).

Attribute table: 
- Automatically generated number (OBJECTID); 
- Unique ID distinguishing the data entry (LAYER_ID); 
- Metadata ID linking to the source of the dataset, found in the associated metadata table (METADATA_ID);
- ISO 3166-3 character code of country or territory where the feature is located (PARENT_ISO and ISO3); 
- ISO 3166-2 sub-national code(s) where the feature is located (SUB_LOC);
- English name of the feature as provided by the data provider (NAME); - Name of the feature as provided by the data provider in original language (ORIG_NAME); 
- Local definition of feature as provided by the data provider (LOC_DEF); - Scientific (Latin) name(s) of family, genus and species (FAMILY, GENUS, SPECIES); 
- Reported area in square kilometres (REP_AREA_KM2); 
- Area calculated using GIS, in square kilometres (GIS_AREA_KM2); description of whether data have been obtained through remote sensing and/or field survey (DATA_TYPE); 
- Data gathering approach (SURVEY_MET); 
- Start and end date of data collection (of survey), supplied as text inthe format YYYY-MM-DD (ISO date format) (START_DATE, END_DATE); - Character code that identifies accuracy of dates used in START_DATE and END_DATE to the nearest day(s), month(s), or year(s) (DATE_TYPE);
- Minimum/maximum depth in metres that the feature was found (MIN_DEPTH and MAX_DEPTH); 
- Binomial value indicating whether the feature occurs in an area protected by law or any other conservation measure, where '0' = not within a protected area, '1' = partially within a protected area, and '2' = fully within a protected area (PROTECT); 
- Feature protected by law or by any other conservation measures(PROTECT_FEAT); 
- Measure that protects the feature (PROTECT_STAT); 
- Verification by government or expert (VERIF).

License: UNEP-WCMC General Data License (excl. WDPA)