Assessment reports provide valuable information for decision making for biodiversity protection.

The GEO Indicators provide an up-to-date, graphic snapshot of key trends in managing our planetary habitat. Essential, informative and authoritative reading for anyone with a role or an interest in our changing environment.

Biodiversity indicator: Species loss and protection

The GLOBIO consortium has developed a global-scale spatial model of the impacts of environmental change on biodiversity. The model is designed to produce policy relevant indicators for use in assessments, scenario exercises and exploration of the impacts of policy options. The main indicator produced is the mean abundance of the original species belonging to an ecosystem (MSA): that is, the abundance of native wildlife.

The latest GLOBIO3 model estimates the impacts on biodiversity through time of land use change, climate change, fragmentation, infrastructure and nitrogen deposition. The original GLOBIO2 model considered infrastructure impacts only. A wide range of publications have been produced using both models.

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)

The value of ecosystem services was the subject of the five-year Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), in which UNEP was a partner. The MA concluded in 2005, and its synthesis reports  reveal that ecosystem services are habitually undervalued, at an uncountable cost to society, especially the poor who rely most heavily on the planet’s natural capital for health and livelihoods.

Review of Small Cetaceans: Distribution, Behaviour, Migration and Threats

No comparable encyclopedia has been previously published. With the exception of the sperm whale, all species of toothed whales that migrate across the oceans are covered. The findings on distribution, behaviour and migration in the report will facilitate action plans to reduce the threats that so many of these species clearly face.

Protected Areas and Biodiversity: An Overview of Key Issues

The report underlines the need for more international cooperation to conserve habitats and highlighted how biodiversity in protected areas influences the status of ecosystems on a wider scale. Protected areas are essential to achieving the 2010 biodiversity goals.

Cloud Forest Agenda

This report compiled by UNEP in collaboration with UNESCO and the World Conservation Union, and launched in February for the CBD conference, is the first major output of the Mountain Cloud Forest Initiative. Among its findings are that the majority of these moist forests are in Asia, not in Latin America as was previously assumed— with 60 per cent in Asia, 25 per cent in Latin America and 15 per cent in Africa.

Emphasizing their importance to developing world economies, as well as crucial biodiversity conservation, the report underlines the vital need for improved monitoring and conservation measures if these important habitats are to be preserved.

Bamboo Biodiversity (Africa, Madagascar and the Americas)

This report, produced by the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan in collaboration with UNEP-WCMC highlighted the urgent need to act to preservethe world’s diminishing stock of bamboos. These giant grasses provide essential habitats for some of the world’s most charismatic and endangered species, such as pandas and gorillas.They are also widely used by people fo rconstruction, handicrafts and for food. International trade in bamboo, mostly from cultivated sources, is worth more than $2 billion annually.

UNEP-WCMC's World Atlases

UNEP-WCMC's World Atlases contain comprehensive information on the current status of some of the world's unique global ecosystems. The Atlases present a synthesis of the latest research, detailed analyses of geographical distribution and an overview of threats and changes challenging these ecosystems today. These publications are a valuable resource accessible to a broad audience ranging from global travellers and students to scientists and those with an interest in natural history.