The Global Human Influence Index Dataset of the Last of the Wild
Project, Version 2, 2005 (LWP-2) is a global dataset of 1-kilometer
grid cells, created from nine global data layers covering human
population pressure (population density), human land use and
infrastructure (built-up areas, nighttime lights, land use/land
cover), and human access (coastlines, roads, railroads, navigable
rivers). The dataset is produced by the Wildlife Conservation Society
(WCS) and the Columbia University Center for International Earth
Science Information Network (CIESIN).
The Human Influence Index (HII) is a measure of direct human
influence on terrestrial ecosystems using the best available
data sets on human settlement (population density, built-up
areas), access (roads, railroads, navigable rivers, coastline),
landscape transformation (land use/land cover) and electric
power infrastructure (nighttime lights). HII values range from
0 to 64. Zero value represents no human influence and 64
represents maximum human influence possible using all 8
measures of human presence.