Mapping global eco-environment vulnerability due to human and nature disturbances

Identifying vulnerable levels of eco-environment over a global scale is critical for environmental management and ecological conservation. We present the method to optimize the use of freely assessable datasets to derive 16 factors for a proposed assessment framework (Nguyen and Liou, 2019; Liou et al., 2017; Nguyen et al., 2016) [[1], [2], [3]]. Results show that the datasets are suitable for evaluating global eco-environmental vulnerability (GEV). PM_2.5 that is a hazardous substance in environment and an anthropogenic disturbance associated with nature and human-made influence is selected to validate the GEV map. The GEV map well correlates with PM_2.5 distribution patterns with correlation coefficient of approximately 0.82. All datasets and mapping procedures are processed in ArcGIS 10.3/QGIS 2.16.3 software. Advantages of our method include three aspects: •The analysis procedure is simple but powerful, while dealing with various complex environmental issues.•The framework is flexible to adjust influential indicators subject to the conditions of concerned regions and purposes of decision makers.•The framework can be easily applied for different concerned regions over various scales. Our findings include GEV mapping and eco-protection zoning that provide key hotspots of eco-environmental vulnerability levels over a global scale for the decision makers and people to take further actions to lessen disturbances and achieve environmental sustainability.