The UNEP Year Book 2009 presents work in progress on scientific understanding of global environmental change, as well as foresight
about possible issues on the horizon. The aim is to raise awareness of the interlinkages among environmental issues that can accelerate the rates
of change and threaten human wellbeing.

A new rapid response assessment report released by UNEP warns that up to 25% of the world's food production may become lost due to environmental breakdown by 2050 unless action is taken. The report provides the first summary by the UN of how climate change, water stress, invasive pests and land degradation may impact world food prices and life on the planet plus how we may be able to feed the world in a more sustainable manner.

This summary of UNEP's activities in 2008 provides an overview of the organization’s contribution to the fight against climate change in a year in which unequivocal evidence established that global warming is the defining challenge of our era. The report also looks at the broad range of other activities carried out by UNEP as it follows its mandate to provide environmental leadership and promote sustainable development.

UNEP's objective in Afghanistan is long-term : to create a truly lasting foundation for environmental management and sustainable development. In its forst six years the programme has surprised many observers by its record of success and lasting commitment in the most difficult of circumstances.

This new report by UNEP looks at the links between environment, conflict and peace building.

The UNEP Year Book 2009 (formerly the GEO Year Book) presents selected new scientific findings and events of 2008 that are likely to shape important environmental issues and trends in the coming year of 2009.

Forests are not only important for the 1.6 billion people who depend on them for their livelihoods, but for the world’s population at large. Forests play a critical role in the Earth’s life support system, including global carbon and hydrological cycles. The Vital Forest Graphics provides an overview of the global trends in forest cover and looks specifically at the four largest forest ecosystems and analyses the trends and challenges in their conservation and management. It scrutinizes some of the key drivers behind forest loss, including the increasing demand for commodities and energy.

Save US$20.00 by purchasing these latest UNEP titles as a set: The Environmental Food Crisis, The Natural Fix? and Climate in Peril

The Global Deserts Outlook is the first thematic assessment report in the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) series of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). A UNEP contribution to the International Year of Deserts and Desertification in 2006, the report aims to help raise global public awareness of the state of the world's deserts.

The report by the WTO and the United Nations Environment Programme explains the connections between trade and climate change. The report examines the science of climate change, its economic aspects, multilateral efforts to tackle climate change, and national climate change policies and their effect on trade.

Marine litter is an ecological, economic, health and aesthetic problem. It is a complex and multi-dimensional challenge with significant implications for the marine and coastal environment, and human activities all over the world. The persistence of marine litter is the result of a lack of coordinated global and regional strategies, and deficiencies in the implementation and enforcement of existing programmes, regulations and standards at all levels – international, regional and national.

The main problem in North America is the location of water resources relative to large population centers where the majority of the freshwater drains away from the bulk of the population. Climate variability and change is a reality. It raises the impact on variability and availability within the continent, which is characterized by its different climatic regions.