The Group on Earth Observations (GEO), a consortium of over 200 nations advancing the use of earth observation for societal benefit, has commissioned a standardized, robust and practical mapping of the ecosystems for the planet. The U.S. Geological Survey is collaborating with Esri, NOAA, and ecosystem mapping experts from academic and NGO communities to respond to this charge, and they have developed new, objective, high spatial and thematic resolution maps of terrestrial and ocean ecosystems. They are now developing a standardized map of global coastal ecosystems and will subsequently map global freshwater ecosystems. These mapping efforts are delivering high quality and public domain-available maps and data, as well as other products like online exploration tools, publications, etc. The maps are intended to improve our understanding of the distribution and condition of global ecosystems, and facilitate work outlined in the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and associated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In this seminar, progress to date on the mapping of global ecological land units (ELUs), global ecological marine units (EMUs), global ecological coastal units (ECUs), and global ecological freshwater units (EFUs), will be presented, including derivative single-ecosystem products like global mountains and global islands.

At USGS, Dr. Sayre is the GEO Task Lead for the global ecosystem mapping task. He is an ecosystems geographer with 20 years' experience in ecosystem mapping at global, continental, regional, national, and site scales. Prior to coming to the USGS in 2005, Dr. Sayre directed the International Conservation Science Program at The Nature Conservancy, where he wrote the industry standard book on rapid ecological assessment (Nature in Focus - Rapid Ecological Assessment, 2000, Island Press). Dr. Sayre has degrees in Botany (B.S., University of California Riverside), Forestry (M.S., Pennsylvania State University), and Natural Resources (Ph.D., Cornell University).

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