How can we preserve – or manage – the earth’s ecosystems under increasing pressure from people’s needs? Zoï tries to give answer to this very basic and central question through easily understandable information products both at the global and at the regional level.
We are supporting the Rio conventions on desertification and biodiversity with illustrated ‘bibles’, such as ‘Desertification – a visual synthesis’. At the regional level we help to synthesize the messages of the convention on transboundary waters in Europe and are also producing simple illustrated ‘primers’, such as the ‘Biodiversity in Central Asia’.
More hands-on are our activities of transboundary river basin assessments (Amu Darya, Dniester etc.) under the environment and security initiative.
Zoï Books are produced for the United Nations, the European Union, regions and countries and a growing community of readers world-wide. We closely cooperate with GRID-Arendal in providing environmental information for decision-making.
More than five years ago we published the first edition of Vital Caspian Graphics. This new edition illustrates the rapidly changing environment in the geopolitically sensitive area around the Caspian Sea. These Vital Caspian Graphics 2 present lesser-known aspects of the region while covering the broader picture in an attractive format to reach out to communities beyond environmental professionals. One of the highlights are the photographic essays by Rena Effendi and Mila Teshaieva.
Overall, there is much to look forward to when it comes to preserving biodiversity both globally and in Central Asia. As the 2011-2020 UN Decade on Biodiversity unfolds, this volume will undoubtedly make a key contribution to those efforts.
The purpose of this assessment is to provide information and recommendations for the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment and other members of the GEF Constituency group for consideration in the second phase of the CACILM (Central Asian Countries Initiative for Land Management) partnership. The overall objective is to assess the extent to which the first phase of the partnership has contributed to reduction of combating land degradation and improving rural livelihoods and to identify the emerging trends and opportunities for CACILM promotion as an example of the regional GEF multi-purpose dynamic partnership.
The present report aims to provide an easily understandable illustrated overview of trends and challenges in the sustainable mountain development of Central Asia since 1992, highlight selected achievements and lessons learned by various stakeholders and identify opportunities. It builds on information from the original experience and interviews with key actors, official and scientific sources and numerous news.
More than two billion people depend on the world’s arid and semi-arid lands. Preventing land degradation and supporting sustainable development in drylands has major implications for food security, climate change and human settlement. This report, issued at the beginning of the United Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight against Desertification, sets out a shared strategy by UN agencies to rise to the challenge of addressing the special needs of these vital zones. This report illustrates the many ways in which the UN system is identifying opportunities to mainstream the drylands agenda into the policy-making process.
The Second Assessment of Transboundary Rivers, Lakes and Groundwaters is the most comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the status of transboundary waters in the European and Asian parts of the UNECE region. It covers more than 140 transboundary rivers, 25 transboundary lakes and about 200 transboundary groundwaters. It has been prepared upon request by the Sixth “Environment for Europe” Ministerial Conference as an input for the Seventh Ministerial Conference in Astana in September 2011.
In support of the 2011 Ministerial Conference, the European Environment Agency, supported by UNECE, has prepared a Europe's environment — An Assessment of Assessments (EE-AoA). This assessment of assessments focuses on the two themes of the Astana conference: water and related ecosystems, and green economy. What progress is being made? Is the right information available to be able to tell? Are the correct approaches to assess what is known being used to support the policy process? Given the volume of environmental reports, indicators and data available a huge amount seems to be known about these issues. But is all this informing the policy process effectively, and is the best being done with the resources available for assessment? The aim of this AoA is to investigate these issues by assessing the assessments: cataloguing what exists, reviewing what is in them and analysing how they are put together. The overall objective is to improve the way in which the state of Europe's environment is kept under on-going review.
ENVSEC Project “Reducing vulnerability to extreme floods and climate change in the Dniester river basin” (Dniester - III floods & climate).
Summary of the baseline studies for Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, February 2011.
This book is intended as a basic information kit that tells "the story" of desertification, land degradation and drought at the global scale, together with a comprehensive set of graphics. The book indicates trends as they have taken place over the last decades, combining and connecting issues, and present priorities. It also provides information on the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and how it works to forge a global partnership to reverse and prevent desertification/land degradation and to mitigate the effects of drought in affected areas in order to support poverty reduction and environmental sustainability.
The loss of land, freshwater and marine biodiversity is part of a wider wave of environmental change driven by ever expanding human activities, touching on virtually every component of our biosphere and the global climate system. This report by the Environment Management Group presents why biodiversity matters to sectors, and how the different policy sectors can help maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services.
Monograph on water management on the upper Pripyat river between Belarus and Ukraine, prepared by the project team to present project results to the professional audience (Russian).
Mapping flood risks in the Styr-Prostyr basin part of the upper Pripyat basin
Action Programme to Improve Transboundary Cooperation and Sustainable Management of the Dniester River Basin (Dniester - III)
The maps are JPG images in Russian ( large files):
topography of the basin
areas affected by floods with probability 0.5% - 1% - 10% - 25%
infrastructure in the basin
infrastructure at risk from floods with probability 0.5% - 1% - 10% - 25%
A team of Belarus, Ukrainian and international experts visited the area around the Vyzhevsky water gate of the Beloozerskaya water-feed system, on 30 June - 4 July 2008. The report is in Russian.
