Marine environment

This publication deals in two distinct parts with the status of our natural resources on the high-seas (approximately 50 per cent of the Earth's surface) which contain open-access common resources. Part 1 identifies and reviews a certain number of relatively discrete or localised geographic features/habitats/biological communities that have particular scientific, societal or economic interest.

WWF and IUCN have joined forces to outline a policy that will address the complexity of the oceans and coasts as well as our dependency on them. The challenge of protecting and sustainably managing marine natural resources, the last great source of wild-caught food on this planet, is a daunting one. The document sets out the goals to be attained and the guiding principles by which these objectives can be achieved

Marine waters comprise by far the most extensive major ecosystem on the planet. WCMC has produced a region by region account of select issues in marine biological diversity: descriptive text on marine ecosystems, elements of biodiversity (including estimates of species richness and endemism), and marine fisheries. The aim is to help develop an integrated approach to management of marine and coastal biodiversity.

Reports on the status of protected areas establishment and management, principally in China, Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. These countries exhibit great biological and cultural diversity and all are characterised by great pressures on natural resources. Written by leading academics and practitioners, the book provides a broad perspective from regional to national and local viewpoints. It reviews the status, problems and prospects for protected areas and local communities.

Intended to promote effective application of the biodiversity Convention in coastal and marine environments. It is based in large part on the recommendation of the "Jakarta Mandate" agreed to by the Parties to the Convention at their Second Conference in Jakarta in November 1995 and which identified the major threats to marine and coastal biodiversity and the principal legal and policy measures needed to address them.