Mapping human modification of the world’s terrestrial ecosystems from 1990 to 2030

Forest clearing to create a palm plantation in Sumatra. Photo by Joe Kiesecker, TNC.

Human pressures that degrade, fragment, and convert natural habitats have caused significant declines in global biodiversity and the benefits nature provides to people. Mapping where these pressures are happening is critical for tracking progress under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF). A team of scientists at The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has developed the Human Modification (HM) framework, which provides a comprehensive and robust method to map the extent and intensity of threats from industrial activities and their potential cumulative impact on terrestrial biodiversity.

The Human Modification modeling process. Satellite data is compiled and organized according to the IUCN threats framework, producing a harmonized geospatial time series of human modification on land. The Nature Conservancy (TNC), 2025.

In a recent publication, supported by the Nature Data Lab/One Earth, the HM framework was used to produce detailed and consistent maps of individual and cumulative threats to terrestrial ecosystems from 1990 to 2020 at 300 m resolution and for 2022 at 90m resolution. Using the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) threats classification scheme v3.3 (PDF), data on 16 types of human activities were used to map 8 threat classes: human settlement, agriculture, energy production and mining, transportation and electrical infrastructure, forestry, human accessibility, dams, and pollution. These threats were then aggregated into an overall measure on a continuous scale from 0 (no detectable modification) to 1.0 (complete modification).

Global Human Modification map at 90 m resolution (HM90) for the year 2022, showing cumulative human threats from the most comprehensive set of datasets, with three critical regions highlighted. The Nature Conservancy (TNC), 2025.

The HM maps offer unique and deep insights into pressures on ecosystems that are often not visible in categorical land cover or land use maps. They reveal that half of the world’s terrestrial ecoregions were moderately modified in 2022; 24% of ecoregions (~31 million km²) experienced increased modification from 1990 to 2020; and at least 3.5 million km² of natural lands (HM < 0.1)—an area roughly the size of India—were lost. Although HM maps do not directly measure ecosystem extent or condition, they provide a practical, surrogate indicator of loss, degradation, or impairment of ecosystems and capture the direct threats to 88% of threatened and endangered species.

The 90‑m Human Modification map (HM90), representing the most comprehensive integration of datasets and mapped threats, has become a core input to the annual Global Safety Net (GSN). HM90 is used to identify and remove modified lands from potential habitat areas, resulting in a global-scale map of ‘areas of importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services’ (AIBES). To keep the GSN up-to-date and track change in AIBES, there are proposed updates for HM90 biennially through 2030. These updates include incorporating the latest high-quality datasets, improvements informed by feedback from regional experts, and biome-specific definitions of modification thresholds, along with other methodological refinements. The data will remain publicly available for use by science and civic communities.

Providing robust and reliable nature data—like HM maps—is essential as governments ramp up their efforts to meet global commitments to plan and manage all areas to reduce biodiversity loss, restore 30% of all degraded ecosystems, and conserve 30% of land, waters, and seas by 2030. Near-term updates to the HM models will provide national and subnational governments with an invaluable resource to guide and track progress toward KM-GBF targets and prioritize conservation interventions.

Lead scientist: David M. Theobald, Conservation Planning Technologies      

Contributing scientists: Christina Kennedy (TNC), James Oakleaf (TNC), Glenn Moncrieff (TNC), Maria Voigt (TNC), Katie Walker (TNC), and Joe Kiesecker (TNC)