Bibliothèque

This report approved by the world’s governments notes that warming of the climate system is unequivocal. It predicts that global mean temperatures will rise by 1.8°-4.0°C this century, depending on which socio-economic scenario is followed. The report confirms that most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations and that discernible human influences now extend to other aspects of climate, including ocean warming, continental-average temperatures, temperature extremes and wind patterns.

This document presents an integrated multidisciplinary programme offering Member States capacity building and technical advice to design and implement evidence-based climate change policies and projects at the local, national, regional and global levels. UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organisation have been designated as the joint convening agencies for the cross-cutting areas of science, assessment, monitoring and early warning within the UN system.

This activity report came out of a Special Expert Meeting of the World Heritage Convention, 16-17 March, 2006. It aims at reviewing the potential impacts of climate change on World Heritage properties and suggests appropriate measures to deal with them.

This activity report informs about the outcomes of a Working Group Meeting of the World Heritage Committee on the impacts of climate change. The Committee endorsed a « Strategy to assist States Parties to implement management responses » and took note of the report on « Predicting and managing the impacts of Climate Change on World Heritage ». Both documents are available on the website.

This activity report presents the UNESCO Strategy for Action on Climate Change. This strategy aims at helping Member States to build and maintain the requisite knowledge base, and to adopt measures for adapting to the impacts of climate change, contribute to the mitigation of its causes, and enhance sustainable development.

This analytical report proposes practical and objective solutions to the entrenched water conflicts in the Middle East. The author reveals and clarifies the complexity of the water conflicts, drawing on years of experience facilitating and chairing water negotiations in the region.

Amid contemporary scenarios of potential climatic catastrophes and global warming that might be imagined to bring a new ice age, the powerful image of the Gulf Stream rising from the Florida Straits and flowing to the north Atlantic inevitably provokes questions about its ecological significance and whether it might ever stop. This analytical report states that even dramatic climatic change would not bring an end to the Gulf Stream. Combining complex scientific information with an engaging narrative, the book paints an elaborate but accessible portrait of this extraordinary natural phenomenon, tracing its historical discovery and the paradigms of its exploration, outlining its causes and dynamics, and examining its profound importance for the marine ecosystems of the Atlantic Ocean.

This analytical report that came out of the International Scientific Conference on Desertification and Drylands Research addresses the problem of desertification in the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions of the world. Deterioration of soil and plant cover has adversely affected 70% of the world’s drylands as a result of extended droughts as well as mismanagement of range and cultivated lands. The report offers practical solutions for combating desertification along with conserving and sustainably managing dryland ecosystems. Major themes include the conservation of dryland biological and cultural diversity and the human dryland interface.

This analytical report, commissioned by UNESCO in 2005, looks at the state of research on arid lands in 1956 to then consider how scientific understanding of the processes governing arid lands has evolved. It  extracts lessons from this comparison that might guide current and future arid land managers.

This analytical report discusses a particular use of solar energy. Divided into two parts, the first part of this book addresses the theory and fundamentals of water decontamination by means of solar energy. This prepares the reader for the second part, which deals with the practical applications and systems engineering of the process.

This technical document looks at how the biological productivity of the oceans is of central importance to a world concerned about climate change. Marine phytoplankton comprises a quarter of the world’s vegetation and chlorophyll is the most frequently measured biochemical parameter in aquatic science. The publication includes all the oceanographer needs to know on how to measure and identify pigments, as well as select the best methods of quality control.

The analytical report offers a series of panoramic views accompanied by short commentaries on the geography of the Mediterranean Basin. The maps presented show the extreme diversity of natural water resources, the specific needs of Mediterranean countries, and the impacts of water usage on the environment.

This technical document is a sourcebook of protocols for studying, monitoring and managing harmful marine microalgae. Proliferation of microalgae in marine, brackish or fresh waters can cause the destruction of huge numbers of fish, contaminate seafood with toxins and alter ecosystems. About 300 species of microalgae are reported to form mass occurrences, so-called ‘blooms’, and nearly one-fourth of these species are known to produce toxins.

This technical document provides a practical guide to water development projects on small islands. It is a useful advice for technicians, hydrologists, engineers and managers in identifying, assessing, developing, managing and protecting the water resources of these islands. It presents a selection of methods and best practices appropriate to the special conditions of small islands.

This document is a concise but complete description of geothermal phenomena and geothermal exploitation. Features include a comprehensive introduction to the nature, classification and distribution of geothermal resources; a description of geothermal electricity generation and non-electric uses; an analysis of the potential impact of the uses of geothermal energy on the environment, and socio-economic and regulatory aspects.

This technical document consists of a toolkit designed to provide guidance in collecting sex-disaggregated data in scientific and technological activities. It aims at helping decision-makers, researchers and practitioners understand gender issues better and formulate successful policy and programming. It intends to promote a common approach in the systematic collection of sex-disaggregated data in science and technology. It also provides an overview of the participation of women in these fields, both in industrialized and industrializing countries.

This analytical report focuses on how and where fishers’ knowledge – indigenous and artisanal, as well as large and small-scale commercial – is being put to work in collaboration with scientists, government managers and non-governmental organizations.

This analytical report covers the data requirements for Integrated Urban Water Management. Integrated urban water management relies on data allowing the analysis, understanding and predicting of the behaviour of the individual water cycle components and their interactions. The concomitant monitoring of the complex of urban water system elements makes it possible to grasp the entirety of relations among the various components of the urban water cycle and so develop a holistic approach to solving urban water problems.

This video shows a documentary on climate change impact and effects made for the Environment for BBC World News. In particular the documentary investigates how two ‘twinned’ coastal biosphere reserves, one in the UK and one in Kenya, are comparing their mutual challenges and sharing the lessons learned in trying to find sustainable solutions to local development in the face of climate change. The ‘twinning’ has taken place within the framework of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves which includes 553 biosphere reserves in 107 countries.

This policy document covers the issue of the impacts of climate change on World Heritage natural and cultural properties. The Committee requested (Decision 29 COM 7B.a) the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Convention’s Advisory Bodies, interested States Parties and the petitioners to convene a broad working group of experts to review the nature and scale of the risks arising from climate change and prepare a strategy and report for dealing with the issue.