MapX is an online platform for managing and visualizing geospatial data on natural resources, developed by UNEP/GRID-Geneva, a data centre resulting from the partnership between UN Environment Programme, the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment, and the University of Geneva. Field applications of MapX are varied and include biodiversity planning, chemicals management, climate change, disaster risk reduction, environmental security, extractive industries, land use planning, and renewable energy, but they are not limited to these topics. MapX targets a wide community of users that are primarily UNEP, the Secretariats of Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) and other UN agencies mandated to collect and use geospatial data in environmental decision making. Civil society groups, non-governmental organizations, academia and citizens complement this set of users. MapX was designed in 2014 and since then continuously improved with wide international stakeholder consultations.
The MapX philosophy is to help stakeholders access and use the best available data in dialogue and decision-making processes. It requires both a technical approach as well a political process and capacity building to ensure ownership, uptake and action. The MapX philosophy in developing a stakeholder solution is based on the practical experiences gained in deploying MapX in a range of different contexts. Core elements include:
MapX has collaborated with 37 scientific projects, covering all environmental topics, operating at 4 geographical scales (global, regional, national –73 countries are covered—and local) and supporting 7 International Conventions. MapX is interoperable with dozens of data repositories and platforms. It offers a free access to 2’000 public datasets. 3’900 users have registered on the platform and can access more data and features than public users. MapX has a bug reporting platform with 800 issues (around 80-90% of them being fixed & closed).
MapX has contributed to various research projects and publications in international peer-reviewed journals: