This book provides a concise and persuasive overview of the values of protected areas. Contributing authors examine a wide range of values that are maintained in protected areas, including cultural and spiritual values, and how they relate to issues such as food, water, materials, health and tourism, as well as capacity for buffering against climate change and natural disasters.
The conservation status of the toothed whales has worsened dramatically since 2001. Since then, more species have been listed in the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable and Nearly Threatended, while the Baiji river dolphin, which used to live in the Yangtze River, is now probably extinct. One major threat to toothed whales world wide is entanglement in fishing gear.
The Living Planet Report relates the Living Planet Index – a measure of the health of the world's biodiversity – to the Ecological Footprint and the Water Footprint – measures of humanity's demands on the Earth's natural resources.