UNEP offices have become more visible through the use of Google Earth technology. Google Earth is downloaded by over 120 million users around the world and provides a compelling platform for disseminating UNEP content related to reviewing the state of the environment and raising public awareness about environmental changes taking place around the world. The collaboration between UNEP and Google Earth provides a 'flying' experience around a virtual planet Earth, zooming in on environmental hotspots and comparing environmental conditions over time.

To view UNEP offices in Google Earth, the user must have Google Earth installed on the computer. The free download is available at Google Earth

After installing Google Earth, click on the globe above to be transported to UNEP offices in the virtual planet Earth.

Google Earth released new UNEP materials on 10 April 2007 for 120 environmental hotspots provided by UNEP GRID-Sioux Falls. Google Earth created a folder entitled "Global Awareness", and is using this to showcase featured layers that are non-profit and public-benefit to help draw the world's attention to an issue. The first spot in the new layer highlighted Darfur.

All UNEP offices are now plotted on Google Earth, including headquarters, regional offices, out-posted offices, collaborating centres, and secretariats. A dowloadable file is available from the 'UNEP Around the World' section of the www.unep.org homepage. By clicking on it, users will obtain a layer that will be projected on an existing installation of Google Earth.

Users can then take a global tour of UNEP by 'visiting' the various UNEP logos on the globe. By clicking on these logos, users receive address and contact information for the specific office. Depending on the detail of satellite images available, users may be able to zoom in to the exact building where the office is located.

UNEP's partnership with Google Inc. was built upon the success of the UNEP publication “One Planet, Many People: Atlas of Our Changing Environment", produced in collaboration with UNEP, USGS, NASA and the University of Maryland. The UNEP GRID-Sioux Falls team spearheaded an initiative to develop a digital version of the publication to showcase how a time series of satellite imagery can be integrated into the Google Earth software for visualization. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in October 2005 to pursue the deployment of this data and information through Google Earth. The following year, the digital system was developed, content was collected for 100 worldwide sites, and on 13 September 2006 the Google Earth team released “UNEP Atlas of Our Changing Environment” as a part of new Featured Content. A new interactive Atlas web site using Google Map technology was also developed by GRID-Sioux Falls.


More information on Google Earth