UN Resolution on Equal Earth Map: Rethinking the Mercator Projection

Context

Recently, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution encouraging greater use of the Equal Earth projection instead of the widely used Mercator projection for world maps.

UN resolution on Equal Earth Projection

1. The Togo-led resolution on moving beyond Mercator’s projection was supported by 164 countries, including India; the United States voted against it, while six countries abstained.
2. The resolution is not legally binding and does not prohibit the use of Mercator. It mainly encourages governments, educational institutions and other organisations to use maps that represent land areas more accurately.
3. The move is particularly significant for Africa, which appears much smaller than its actual size on Mercator maps.

Why Is It Difficult to Make a Perfect Flat Map?

1. The Earth is a three-dimensional, approximately spherical/ellipsoidal body, while a map is two-dimensional.
2. Converting the curved surface of Earth onto a flat surface requires a map projection.
3. Every projection introduces some degree of distortion.
4. A map may distort one or more of four properties:
   • Area: Relative size of landmasses.
   • Shape: Actual outline of places.
   • Distance: Actual distance between locations.
   • Direction: Correct bearing between locations.
5. Therefore, no single flat map can accurately preserve all properties simultaneously.
6. A globe provides a more accurate representation, but flat maps are more practical for education, navigation, research and data analysis.

What Is a Map Projection?

1. A map projection is a mathematical method of representing Earth’s curved surface on a flat map.
2. Different projections are designed for different purposes.
3. Therefore, a projection should be judged according to its intended use, rather than simply being labelled as “correct” or “incorrect”.

Major Types

Mercator Projection

1. Developed by Gerardus Mercator in 1569.
2. It is a conformal cylindrical projection.
3. It was primarily designed to assist navigation.

Why Was Mercator Useful?

1. It shows routes with a constant compass direction as straight lines.
2. This allowed sailors to plot and follow a constant compass direction more easily.
3. Hence, Mercator remains useful for maritime navigation despite its area distortion.

Major Limitation

1. The projection increasingly stretches areas as they move away from the Equator.
2. Regions near the poles therefore appear much larger than they actually are.
3. For example, Greenland appears comparable in size to Africa, although Africa is roughly 14 times larger.
4. Thus, Mercator is excellent for its original navigational purpose but poor for comparing the actual sizes of continents.

The Colonial and Perception Debate

1. Critics argue that the widespread use of Mercator can create a distorted visual perception of the relative importance and size of regions.
2. The problem is particularly significant for countries in the tropics and Global South, whose areas are visually reduced compared with regions closer to the poles.
3. African advocates have therefore linked the campaign to correcting historical and colonial-era perceptions.

Equal Earth Projection

1. Equal Earth is an equal-area pseudo cylindrical projection introduced in 2018.
2. It was developed by Bojan Šavrič, Tom Patterson and Bernhard Jenny.
3. It was inspired partly by the visual appearance of the Robinson projection, but unlike Robinson, it preserves relative areas.

Key Features

1. Preserves relative area of continents and countries.
2. Represents tropical and equatorial regions more proportionately.
3. Has curved meridians and straight parallels.
4. Produces a visually balanced world map while maintaining area accuracy.
5. Useful for comparing the geographical distribution of:
   • Population
   • Climate impacts
   • Natural resources
   • Agricultural land
   • Biodiversity
   • Other statistical data

Significance of the UN Move

1. More Accurate Geographical Representation: Equal-area maps provide a better understanding of the actual relative size of continents and countries.
2. Better Geography Education: Students can develop a more accurate understanding of global geography and spatial relationships.
3. Better Thematic Mapping: Area-preserving projections are useful for displaying population, climate, resources and environmental data.
4. Representation of the Global South: The move addresses concerns that conventional maps can visually underrepresent tropical and African regions.
5. Cartography and Geopolitics: It highlights how seemingly technical choices in map-making can influence perceptions of the world.
6. Symbolic Decolonisation: For African countries, the initiative also represents an attempt to challenge long-standing colonial-era geographical narratives.

Limitations and Concerns

1. Equal Earth is not distortion-free: It preserves area but distorts shape, distance and direction to some extent.
2. Mercator still has legitimate uses: Its navigational advantages remain important.
3. Adoption may be slow: The UN resolution is non-binding.
4. Digital mapping challenges: Replacing established projections across websites, GIS systems, educational materials and mapping platforms requires technical changes.
5. No single projection can satisfy every need: Different sectors will continue to require different projections.

Broader Significance for India

1. India supported the UN resolution, making the issue relevant to India’s engagement with Global South priorities.
2. It also highlights India’s role in debates on:
   • Decolonisation of knowledge
   • Fair representation of developing countries
   • Global South cooperation
   • Geography and education
3. At the same time, India needs to retain appropriate projections for navigation, defence, surveying and geospatial applications, where technical suitability is more important than visual representation.

Way Forward

1. Use purpose-specific map projections rather than replacing one projection universally.
2. Introduce students to multiple projections to build geographical literacy.
3. Use equal-area projections for statistical and thematic comparisons.
4. Retain Mercator where its navigational advantages are relevant.
5. Promote awareness that every flat map involves some distortion.
6. Encourage wider use of modern GIS and digital geospatial technologies that can switch between projections according to purpose.

FAQs

1. What is the Equal Earth projection?
   It is an equal-area world map projection introduced in 2018 that preserves the relative size of landmasses while allowing some distortion in shape and distance.
2. Why is the UN promoting Equal Earth?
   The 2026 UN resolution encourages more accurate representation of land areas, particularly correcting the visual underrepresentation of Africa and other tropical regions.
3. Does the UN ban the Mercator projection?
   No. The resolution is non-binding and does not prohibit Mercator. Mercator remains useful for navigation.
4. Why does Africa look smaller on Mercator maps?
   Mercator increasingly enlarges areas as they move towards the poles. Since Africa lies largely closer to the Equator, its relative size appears reduced compared with northern landmasses.
5. Is Equal Earth completely distortion-free?
   No. It accurately preserves area, but other properties such as shape, distance and direction may be distorted.
6. Who developed Equal Earth?
   Bojan Šavrič, Tom Patterson and Bernhard Jenny developed the projection in 2018.
7. Which projection is better for navigation?
   Mercator is particularly useful for navigation because constant compass-bearing routes, or rhumb lines, appear as straight lines.