The dataset shows the global distribution of islands greater than about 0.06 sq-km. The information given here relates to version 1 of the dataset. This dataset, also known as the IBPow (Island Biodiversity Programme of Work) database, has been developed in collaboration with the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) since 2005. The International Environmental Forum (IEF), under the leadership of Arthur Dahl, was a major contributor at the initial stages of development.

Other cited reference(s):

• Depraetere C (2007). IBPoW Database. A technical note on a global dataset of islands. Global Islands Network. 58 pp.
• Wessel P, Smith WHF (1996). A global, self-consistent, hierarchical, high-resolution shoreline database. Journal of Geophysical Research 101: 8741-8743

This dataset is replaced by version 2 (WCMC-031), which is based on a higher resolution dataset from Open Street Map. Versions 1 (dataset ID WCMC-005) and 2 (dataset ID WCMC-031) of the dataset can be joined using the id_ic field).