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Dams and drainage schemes have transformed one of the finest wetlands, the Mesopotamian marshlands, into salt-encrusted desert. This study prepared by the United Nations Environmental Programme...

The fourth report in the Global Environment Outlook series provides a comprehensive, scientifically credible, policy-relevant and up-to-date assessment of, and outlook for, the state of the global...

The Global Environment Outlook is a major publication for all those who are interested in environmental issues. It has brought together thousands of scientists and hundreds of collaborating centres...

UNEP’s third Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-3) emphasizes that the next 30 years will be as crucial as the past 30 for shaping the future of the environment. It uses four scenarios to explore what...

This document provides an overview of the forest fire situation in Latin America and the Caribbean and the impact that they have had on the region and its population over the past few years. It...

UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook series provides a comprehensive assessment of the state of global environment, a review of policy response and an outlook for the future. The Outlook Chapter of GEO-3...

This publication discusses the scientific background of the African elephant and the effect of the ivory trade on its endangered population. A chapter on the counting of elephants provides the reader...

The value of this volume is the summary of the GEMS/Air assessment on the levels and effects of five of the most common and ubiquitous air pollutants: sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide...

The data in this fifth volume in the series of the UNEP/GEMS Environment Library provide a picture of levels and trends of food contamination over much of the globe. Contaminants such as lead, cadmium...

Polluted water has the potential for becoming a global threat. The GEMS assessment provides the first global picture of the state of much of the world's freshwater resources. It outlines the critical...

This volume deals with the effects of ozone depletion on human health and the environment, and outlines ways of reducing damage to the ozone layer. It discusses the effects of ultraviolet radiation on...

This technical document, written to be easily understood by those without technical qualifications, deals with the phenomenon of El Niño as it effects a reversal in the direction of winds and oceans...

Glaciers are important to the environmental health of the planet especially in the regulation of the Earth's heat balance. This volume presents the background and behaviour of glaciers, as they can be...

This volume summarizes the current state of knowledge on climate change and its possible consequences. It draws together scientific research on the enhanced greenhouse effect, global warming and...

Biodiversity describes the diversity of life on Earth encompassing all species of plants, animals and micro-organisms, their genetic material and the ecosystems of which they are part. This volume...

Good management of the world's freshwater resources depends on understanding their value and the major problems confronting them. This publication documents the state of the world's lakes and...

This volume summarizes the potential implications of climate change and variability on fisheries and on the societies that depend on them. It is based on a review of several fisheries case studies and...

Contributing to the scientific investigation of global water resources, this publication summarizes the results of analysis and interpretation for 82 major river basins around the world. It is...