United Nations Environment Programme - Böcker

The Global Biodiversity Assessment is an independent, peer-reviewed, scientific analysis and assessment of the biological and socio-economic aspects of biodiversity. It was commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The main conclusions drawn by the Assessment are presented in this 1995 Summary for Policy-Makers, which, together with the Executive Summary, has been prepared by the Editorial Group of the Global Biodiversity Assessment.

The implications of a major war in an increasingly industrial world would be far-reaching and incalculable. Releasing Dangerous Forces discusses the ramifications and places special emphasis on the fast growing potential for collateral effects: the release of dangerous forces from civil artifacts. The key issues at stake are not only the unprecedented loss of human life but also the threat to basic human life support systems, both economic and environmental, placing the future of all human existence in doubt.

The indicators used in the past to measure human societies' success have proven to be insufficient. Economic production indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP) and the Human Development Index (HDI) fail to reflect the state of natural resources or ecological conditions and both focus exclusively on the short term, without indicating whether national policies are sustainable over longer periods of time. The Inclusive Wealth Report 2012 presents an index that measures the wealth of nations by carrying out a comprehensive analysis of a country's capital assets, including manufactured, human and natural capital, and its corresponding values: the Inclusive Wealth Index (IWI). Results show changes in inclusive wealth from 1990 to 2008 and feature a long-term comparison to GDP for an initial group of 20 countries. This report provides policy-makers and planning authorities with a tool to assess the state of a country's productive base and its development over time.

Economic production indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP) and the Human Development Index (HDI) fail to reflect the state of natural resources or ecological conditions and both focus exclusively on the short term. The Inclusive Wealth Report 2014 is the second book in an important biennial series that provides a new framework for measuring the inclusive wealth of nations. It provides an overview of how the capital asset components of inclusive wealth evolved between 1990 and 2010, and analyses the meaning of these trends for sustainability. While the asset base studied is largely unchanged from the 2012 report, the country sample has been expanded from 20 to 140 nations and the focus has shifted from natural to human capital. This report offers a wealth of information for researchers and policy-makers, identifying key gaps in data and knowledge, and suggesting specific needs for future research.

Economic production indicators such as gross domestic product (GDP) and the Human Development Index (HDI) fail to reflect the state of natural resources or ecological conditions and both focus exclusively on the short term. The Inclusive Wealth Report 2014 is the second book in an important biennial series that provides a new framework for measuring the inclusive wealth of nations. It provides an overview of how the capital asset components of inclusive wealth evolved between 1990 and 2010, and analyses the meaning of these trends for sustainability. While the asset base studied is largely unchanged from the 2012 report, the country sample has been expanded from 20 to 140 nations and the focus has shifted from natural to human capital. This report offers a wealth of information for researchers and policy-makers, identifying key gaps in data and knowledge, and suggesting specific needs for future research.

Europe's Environment - the seventh pan-European environmental assessment, is the latest in the series of regional assessments conducted since 1995. The environmental assessments of the pan-European region provide up-to-date and policy-relevant information on the interactions between the environment and society. The assessments have been a consistent feature of the Environment for Europe process from 1995 to 2022. At its twenty-fifth session (Geneva, 13-15 November 2019), the UNECE Committee on Environmental Policy selected a limited indicator-based and thematic assessment from among the options for the seventh pan-European environmental assessment. The main objective of the seventh assessment is to provide decision-makers with adequate information to take informed policy decisions at the Ninth Environment for Europe Ministerial Conference (Nicosia, 5-7 October 2022), both on broader environmental issues and trends and on the two conference themes on (a) 'Greening the economy in the pan-European region: working towards sustainable infrastructure' and (b) 'Applying principles of circular economy to sustainable tourism'. The seventh edition of the pan-European environmental assessment provides an overview of the current state and trends of the environment in Europe and Central Asia based on selected indicators, and of the challenges that are faced. It also provides policy recommendations to UNECE member States. Its release gives an opportunity for tracking progress achieved in meeting global and regional policy goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals and targets, and offers information to enable a societal transition towards more sustainable and circular economies in the face of an alarming planetary change

This guide collects and summarizes good practices on the successful mediation of resource conflicts. It draws on the field experiences of mediators and mediation experts, specifically those with natural resource expertise. It also features lessons learned from UNEP’s work on environmental diplomacy in different conflict-affected countries, with a particular focus on how to use impartial technical knowledge to equalize stakeholder information in a mediation process.