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  Environment on the Edge 2006 - 2007 »

  This publication presents five of the lectures from the 2006 - 2007 'Environment on the Edge' lecture series. It includes the following themes:

  •Europe on the edge Professor - Jacqueline McGlade
  •Are we running out of oil? - Dr Jeremy Leggett and Dr Ian Vann
  •The impacts of the Three Gorges Dam - Professor Zhang Jing
  •Humans and carbon: a Faustian bargain? - Professor Berrien Moore III
  •Valuing sustainability - Richard Saxon CBE
  •Transport: a case of systematic sclerosis? - Professor David Fisk

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Global Ecological Forest Classification and Forest Protected Area Gap Analysis: Analyses and Recommendations in view of the 10% target for forest protection under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) »

  This study assesses the global gaps in forest conservation with reference to the target of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which calls for the effective conservation of "at least 10% of the world's forest types" by 2010 (decision VIII/15). The results are expected to guide forest conservation policies and planning at national and international levels.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Crossroads of Life on Earth - Exploring means to meet the 2010 Biodiversity Target »

  The aim of this assessment study was to explore policy options under current discussion in the global political arena that could have major positive or negative impacts on biodiversity. The central concern of the assessment is the achievement of the 2010 Biodiversity Target at global and regional levels, as agreed upon under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

  Resource Type: Reports
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  The relevance of the World Database on Protected Areas for a network of forest protected areas under the Convention on Biological Diversity »

  The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the key source for global and regional forest protected area information. It is in the process of a major redevelopment that will significantly enhance its usefulness for various users. The database already plays a significant role in reporting to major globally-agreed goals and targets, such as Millennium Development Goal 7 and the CBD programmes of work on forests and protected areas. For any global forest protected area network, the WDPA could provide information on officially designated protected areas, including sites that have not been assigned a particular IUCN management category but nevertheless qualify as sites contributing towards national, regional and global efforts and processes addressing forest conservation.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Using Higher-Taxon Richness as a Surrogate for Species Richness: I. Regional Tests »

  In the first of two papers, we explored congruence between species and higher-taxon richness across protected areas in Indo-Malaya and the Pacific rim. Our results support the use of the higher-taxon approach in guiding tropical conservation, but with certain reservations. In all three groups examined, higher-taxon richness was quite closely related to species number. However, the precision with which absolute species richness of reserves could be predicted from higher-taxon richness was often surprisingly low, particularly for rich sites where surveying higher taxa rather than species would save most time. The performance of higher taxa as surrogates also dropped sharply with increasing taxonomic rank, resulting in a trade-off between time saved by high-level surveys and the value of those surveys. Lastly, we found that species richness within individual higher taxa was potentially as powerful an indicator of the overall species diversity of a site as the number of higher taxa it contained.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  A review of the national reporting systems of the five global biodiversity-related conventions »

  This report has the following two objectives:

  • To review the extent to which the purpose of reporting is made clear to Parties, and the extent to which the information in the reports is used, inter alia for measuring progress in achieving the 2010 target, including assessing the links between reporting and strategic planning
  • To identify potential overlaps between conventions in information requested, to identify themes relevant across several conventions and agreements, and to assess the experience in the forest sector of harmonizing reporting by theme.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  UNEP-WCMC Strategic Plan 2006-2011 »

  The Strategic Plan lays the foundation for the Centre’s operations and growth from 2006-2011 as we all seek to meet – and exceed – the targets set by the international community to reduce the rate of loss of the world’s biodiversity by 2010 and to reverse the loss of environmental resources by 2015. The plan was developed by UNEP-WCMC in consultation with a wide range of partners, in particular the Centre’s Scientific Advisory Council and UNEP’s Division of Early Warning and Assessment. It responds to mandates derived from UNEP’s Governing Council and the decisions of various biodiversity-related conventions. The Strategic Plan will form the basis of the Centre’s business plan for the next 5 years, helping refocus our work to the benefit of the biodiversity community and providing a framework for the activities that the Centre will undertake in order to accomplish its mission.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Potential links between monitoring for multiple benefits of REDD+ and the monitoring requirements of the Rio Conventions »

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  UNEP-WCMC 2010-2013 »

  UNEP-WCMC responds to UNEP’s Medium Term Strategy as well as mandates derived from UNEP’s Governing Council and the decisions of biodiversity-related Multilateral Environmental Agreements. UNEP works to a Programme of Work that spans a four year period and this document is designed to give colleagues and partners an insight into the approach that UNEP-WCMC will take through the period 2010 – 2013. This is a seminal period for biodiversity spanning the International Year of Biodiversity, in which our 30th anniversary coincidentally falls, and which is likely to result in the creation of an International Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in which we are ready to play a major supporting role.

  L’UNEP-WCMC répond à la Stratégie à moyen terme du PNUE ainsi qu’aux mandats provenant du Conseil d’Administration du PNUE et des décisions issues des Accords Multilatéraux sur l’Environnement relatives à la biodiversité. Le PNUE travaille selon un Programme de Travail qui s’étend sur quatre ans et ce document est censé donner à nos collègues et à nos partenaires une idée de la procédure que l’UNEP-WCMC suivra durant la période 2010-2013. Cette période est majeure pour la biodiversité puisqu’elle couvre l’Année Internationale de la Biodiversité, coïncidant aussi avec le 30ème anniversaire de notre centre, qui pourrait résulter en la création d’un Comité International sur la Biodiversité et les Services Éco-systémiques dans lequel nous sommes prêts à jouer un rôle majeur.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Global Environment Outlook (GEO) Reports »

  Since 1997, UNEP has produced Global Environment Outlook (GEO) reports providing assessments of the interactions between environment and society. With its core mandate of “keeping the global environment under review,” UNEP coordinated a series of scientific assessments that included extensive consultations and participatory processes, resulting in the production of GEO reports in 1997, 1999 and 2002.

  GEO-4 provides an overview of global social and economic trends, and the state-and-trends of the global and regional environments over the past two decades, as well as the human dimensions of these changes. It highlights the interlinkages as well as the challenges of environmental change and opportunities that the environment provides for human wellbeing. It provides an outlook for the future, and policy options to address present and emerging environmental issues.

  It places sustainable development at the core of the assessment, particularly on issues dealing with intra- and intergenerational equity. The analyses include the need and usefulness of valuation of environmental goods and services, and the role of such services in enhancing development and human well-being, and minimizing human vulnerability to environmental change
   

  Resource Type: Reports