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The 2017 Commodities and Development Report investigates the transmission channels through which commodity dependence affects micro- and macro-level development outcomes, examines long-term commodity...

Smallholder farmers constitute the largest contingent of the poor and yet they produce more than 80 per cent of the world's food, in value terms. Though there are marked differences by country and...

The Commodities and Development Report 2012, released during the 13th session of UNCTAD, shows that developing countries suffer from high prices for commodities and food, in particular Least Developed...

This report highlights pathways to economic diversification in commodity-dependent developing countries in an environment where decarbonization of the global economy has become the overarching...

Commodity dependence is a trap: once a country is commodity dependent, it is difficult to develop a productive sector out of commodities and export non-commodity products. This publication argues that...

This report explores key aspects of the two-way relationship between commodities and climate change, discusses the concept of natural resource conversion and explores its application to renewable and...

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...

It is urgent that we protect our groundwater supplies with diligence and that everyone understands the importance of doing so. This publication is intended to explain to all readers how important...