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.
