30-meter High-Value Freshwater Ecosystems (HVFEs) Dataset

This dataset provides global high-resolution maps of High Value Freshwater Ecosystems (HVFEs) under two delineation scenarios—Minimum and Maximum—to support freshwater protection, restoration planning, and climate mitigation assessment. Minimum Scenario: Core Freshwater Protection ZonesThis conservative scenario includes surface water bodies, regularly flooded wetlands, headwater regions, and fixed-width riparian buffers around low-order streams (orders 1–3), high-order streams (orders ≥4), and lakes and reservoirs. It is aligned with policy-relevant priorities for water quality, erosion control, and aquatic habitat protection. Maximum Scenario: Broad Hydrological Influence ZonesThis expanded scenario includes all components of the minimum scenario plus geomorphic floodplains and wetland buffer corridors, capturing a broader set of co-benefits such as flood mitigation, sediment retention, and carbon storage. Each scenario contains nine GeoTIFF tiles covering the global land area at 30-meter spatial resolution in geographic coordinates (EPSG:4326). Class labels in the maximum scenario: 1. Surface water 2. Regularly flooded wetlands 3. Headwater regions 4. Riparian buffer around low-order streams 5. Riparian buffer around high-order streams and surface water 6. Geomorphic floodplains 7. Wetland buffer corridors Class labels in the minimum scenario: 1. Surface water 2. Regularly flooded wetlands 3. Headwater regions 4. Fixed-width buffer around low-order streams (stream orders 1–3) 5. Fixed-width buffer around surface water and high-order streams (orders ≥4)