Biodiversity Links

1. Factual links

   Some of the websites providing factual information on Biodiversity :

   • 1.1 Reports by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)
   • 1.2 Information on biodiversity for the non-specialist
   • 1.3 Some news and monitoring websites addressing biodiversity
   • 1.4 Some policy-related websites
   • 1.5 Other websites related to biodiversity
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 "Biodiversity Synthesis" Report (summarized by GreenFacts in this Biodiversity study) the MA has published a series of other relevant reports on its website: www.millenniumassessment.org 

• One over-arching synthesis report " Ecosystems & Human Well-being" (see also the Ecosystem Change summary by GreenFacts)
• Five specific synthesis reports  on Biodiversity, Desertification, Business & Industry, Wetlands & Water, and Health, as well as a Framework for Assessment.
• Global Assessment Reports:
  • Current State and Trends  (see for instance Chapter 4: Biodiversity)
  • Scenarios  (see for instance Chapter 10: Biodiversity across scenarios)
  • Policy Responses 
• Thirty-three sub-global assessments  focusing on specific regions.

See table of contents of MA reports

1.2 Information on biodiversity for the non-specialist

• Q&As on biodiversity loss from the European Commission:
  http://ec.europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/04/27 
• "Biodiversity and Conservation: the web of life" at the Field Museum of Chicago:
  www.fieldmuseum.org/biodiversity/ 
• Briefing paper for students on Biodiversity provided by the United Nations (UNEP) cyberschoolbus based on the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA): www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/briefing/biodiversity/ 
• The website of the Natural History Museum (UK) offers an overview on biodiversity:
  www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/biodiversity/ 

1.3 Some news and monitoring websites addressing biodiversity

• Ecosystems News Articles of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD):
  www.wbcsd.org 
• 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/ 

1.4 Some policy-related websites

• Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): www.biodiv.org 
  • Global Biodiversity Outlook 2" assesses the current status and trends of biodiversity and the key drivers of biodiversity loss: www.biodiv.org/gbo2/ 
• Activities in biodiversity of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP):
  www.unep.org/themes/biodiversity/ 
• Web pages of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO on Biological Diversity: www.fao.org/biodiversity/ 
• The Division for Sustainable Development of the United Nations (UN) Department of Economic and Social Affairs:
  www.un.org/esa/sustdev/sdissues/biodiversity/biod.htm 
• The "Nature and Biodiversity" page of the Environment DG of the EC:
  http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/home.htm 
• Summaries of EU Legislation on the protection of nature and biodiversity:
  http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/s15006.htm 
• The EC Biodiversity Clearing House Mechanism (EC-CHM) site is managed by the European Environment Agency. It provides information on the Convention on Biological Diversity: http://biodiversity-chm.eea.europa.eu/ 

1.5 Other websites related to biodiversity

• IUCN - The World Conservation Union webpages of the Species Survival Commission, including the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species:
  www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/ 
• The United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) section on biodiversity entitled "Biodiversity Benefits People ":
  www.unep-wcmc.org/biodiversity/ 
• The Conservation International (CI) website which advocates biodiversity conservation: www.conservation.org 
• Earthwatch proposes a series of publications addressing the links between business and biodiversity which can be downloaded at:
  www.earthwatch.org/europe/ 
• Biodiversity economics, Sponsored by the IUCN and WWF, promotes economic approaches to conservation by sharing documents, contacts and information about upcoming events: www.biodiversityeconomics.org/index.html 
• BiodiversaBiodivERsA, a network of research funding agencies in 14 European countries for the understanding of European & Overseas Biodiversity:
  www.eurobiodiversa.org 
• The Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS), Conservation International's hub of scientific research, provides research and analysis that strengthen conservationists' ability to identify and respond to threats against earth’s biodiversity:
  www.biodiversityscience.org/xp/CABS/home/ 
• The European Environmental Agency (EEA) publishes a list of Biodiversity change reports to download at:
  www.eea.europa.eu/themes/biodiversity 

2. Partner links

Organisations who contributed to the preparation of this GreenFacts Digest on biodiversity and to the preparation of a printed foldout of the Level 1 summary:

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) brings together some 10 000 scientists and experts from 181 countries in a unique worldwide partnership to protect biodiversity and work for the sustainable use of natural resources. Within this framework, the IUCN Regional Office for Europe in Brussels has the mission to foster and fortify a European network of excellence in environmental research, policy and best practice. www.iucn.org

The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre is the biodiversity assessment and policy support arm of the United Nations Environment Programme, the world's foremost intergovernmental environmental organization. For over twenty-five years the Centre has been undertaking scientific research and providing practical policy advice to help decision makers recognise the value of biodiversity and apply this knowledge to all that they do. www.unep-wcmc.org

Countdown 2010 collaborates closely with countries, regions, and civil society to help governments reduce biodiversity loss by 2010. At the World Summit for Sustainable Development and other occasions, world leaders committed to achieve this 2010 biodiversity target and thus to meet the challenges outlined in this report. www.countdown2010.net  Watch also the entertaining and instructive flash movie The BioDaVersity Code  and find out about the secret of biodiversity and the web of life.

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

The Development Gateway provides access to information 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 "Biodiversity" at: www.sdc.admin.ch

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

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