NOVEL INDICATORS OF HUMAN THREAT FOR GLOBAL
CONSERVATION PLANNING: SOCIAL MEDIA DENSITY AND
SPATIAL ACCESSIBILITY AS GLOBAL SURROGATES FOR HUMAN
IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Henrikki TENKANEN, Tuuli TOIVONEN, Enrico di MININ & Matthew ZOOK
University of Helsinki, Finland, henrikki.tenkanen@helsinki.fi; tuuli.toivonen@helsinki.fi & enrico.di.minin@helsinki.fi
University of Kentucky, USA, zook@uky.edu
Different global indices such as population density, accessibility, human footprint and
night-time light intensity can be seen as useful indicators of the form and intensity of
human-environment interactions. These indices at different forms can be strongly
linked to various phenomena such as land use change, human alteration of natural
environments, deforestation and economic interaction. Thus human-environmental
interactions have far reaching consequences for the functioning of the Earth system
on different spatial and temporal scales.
Collecting necessary data for such global indices is not an easy task. Especially
when the focus is on studying human behavior and human-environment relations,
considering also the dynamism of the phenomena, it is either extremely difficult or
expensive (or both) to observe these matters on a global scale by traditional means
(e.g. remote sensing or census). However, novel data sources might provide new
means to more deeply observe and study the dynamics of human-environment
relationships on multiple spatial and temporal scales.
Hereby, we develop and test the applicability of novel analytical approaches for
evaluating the human pressure/activity in a global scale. Two alternative methods
and data sources are tested: 1) global social media density index using data from
Twitter & Instagram and 2) global accessibility index as a measure of distance from
transportation networks. Such alternative indices offer valuable information for spatial
conservation planning since they are more sensitive for temporal changes (caused by
e.g. wars or hazards) compared to for instance global population density (based on
infrequent censuses).