National human footprint maps for Peru and Ecuador

Abstract

Human Footprint (HF) maps score human pressures based on their influence and integrate them into a single spatial index to assess the naturalness of ecosystems. We produced a historical series of national HF maps for Peru and Ecuador for Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG15) reporting. These maps integrate pressures from built environments, land use/land cover (LULC—agriculture, pasture, tree plantations), roads and railways, population density, electrical infrastructure, oil and gas infrastructure, and mining. The dataset includes HF maps and individual pressure maps for Peru from 2012 to 2021, as well as for Ecuador for the years 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022. These maps support the analysis of spatiotemporal patterns of human influence at national and subnational levels, enabling biodiversity monitoring, modelling, and conservation in these highly biodiverse countries.