Ecosystem Change Links

1. Factual links

   Some of the websites providing reliable scientific information on Ecosystem Change :

   • 1.1 Reports by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)
   • 1.2 Some Q&As and FAQs on ecosystem change
   • 1.3 More information for the non-specialist
   • 1.4 Some ecosystem change news and monitoring sites
   • 1.5 Some policy-related websites
2. Partner links

See also our page containing sites linking to this Digest

 

1. Factual links

1.1 Reports by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)

Besides the "General Synthesis" Report (summarized by GreenFacts in this Ecosystem Change study) the MA has published a series of other relevant reports on its website:
www.millenniumassessment.org 

• Five specific synthesis reports  on Desertification, Business & Industry, Wetlands & Water, Health, and Biodiversity (see the Biodiversity summary by GreenFacts), as well as a Framework for Assessment.
• Global Assessment Reports:
  • Current State and Trends 
  • Scenarios 
  • Policy Responses 
• Thirty-three sub-global assessments  focusing on specific regions.

See table of contents of MA reports 

1.2 Some Q&As and FAQs on ecosystem change

• FAQs about biodiversity by the GTOS (Global Terrestrial Observing System):
  www.fao.org/gtos/tems/mod_div.jsp?div_PAGE=divqaa 

1.3 More information for the non-specialist

• "Biodiversity and Conservation: the web of life" at the Field Museum of Chicago:
  www.fieldmuseum.org/biodiversity/ 
• The "Nature and Biodiversity" page of the Environment DG of the European Commission
  http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature_biodiversity/index_en 
• “Business and Ecosystems” is an Earthwatch publication addressing the link between ecosystem degradation and economic losses. This document and others can be downloaded at: www.earthwatch.org/europe/publications/business.html 

1.4 Some ecosystem change news and monitoring sites

• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) News:
  www.millenniumassessment.org/en/Index.aspx 
• Ecosystems News Articles of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD): www.wbcsd.org 
• The Newsroom of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): www.fao.org/newsroom/en/ 
• The Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net) proposes recent facts and figures on biodiversity at: www.scidev.net/ms/biofacts/ 
• TEMS (Terrestrial Ecosystem Monitoring Sites) is an international directory of sites and networks that carry out long-term terrestrial monitoring and research activities. It is managed by the GTOS (Global Terrestrial Observing System):
  www.fao.org/gtos/tems/ 

1.5 Some policy-related websites

• Activities in biodiversity of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): www.unep.org/themes/biodiversity/ 
• The Sustainable Development Department of the FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations : www.fao.org/sd/ 
• The Division for Sustainable Development at the United Nations:
  www.un.org/esa/sustdev/ 
• Summaries of EU Legislation on the protection of nature and biodiversity:
  http://ec.europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/s15006 
• IUCN - The World Conservation Union includes, for example:
  - the Species Survival Commission www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/ , and
  - the Sustainable Use Specialist Group http://iucn.org/themes/ssc/susg/ , and
• The Global Footprint Network advances the ecological footprint, "a measurement and management tool that makes the reality of planetary limits relevant to decision-makers throughout the world": www.footprintnetwork.org/index.php 

 

2. Partner links

Web pages of GreenFacts' partners providing information relevant to ecosystems:

The Development Gateway provides access to information on "Forests and Land Use" and on "Wildlife and Biodiversity" at: http://topics.developmentgateway.org/environment

Euractiv provides information on EU policy priorities in terms of biodiversity at: www.euractiv.com

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) provides multilingual information on Natural resources, including "Biodiversity" and "Ecosystems" at: www.sdc.admin.ch

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development provides information on ecosystems and biodiversity at: www.wbcsd.ch

See also information on GreenFacts' partners and benefits to partners.