Global Environment Outlook 3: Past, Present and Future Perspectives

Hardback  416pp Full Colour, Maps, Figures, Tables, Index  ISBN 9781853838446      £85.00

Softcover  416pp  ISBN 9781853838453      £35.00

'The most authoritative summing up of the environmental situation for the new millennium'
The Independent

'Sustainable development is an exceptional opportunity for humankind - economically, to build markets and create jobs; socially, to bring people in from the margins; politically, to reduce tensions over resources that could lead to violence; and of course, environmentally, to protect the ecosystems and resources on which all life depends.'
From the Foreword by KOFI ANNAN, Secretary-General, United Nations

'Growing evidence that many aspects of the environment are still degrading leads us to the conclusion that people are becoming increasingly vulnerable to environmental change. Some countries can cope but many others remain at risk and when that risk becomes a reality their dreams of sustainable development are set back by decades.'
From the Preface by KLAUS TÖPFER, Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme

Global Environment Outlook 3 (GEO-3) - the flagship report on the state of the global environment of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - comes 10 years after the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 and 30 years after the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment in 1972. By tracking and analysing important environmental issues over the period 1972-2002, GEO-3 provides an integrated explanation of major trends that have shaped our environmental inheritance.

Continuing the global and regional focus of previous GEO reports, GEO-3 presents the 30-year retrospective analysis of environmental conditions and trends, and associated policy responses under themes of land, forests, biodiversity, freshwater, coastal and marine areas, atmosphere, urban areas, and disasters. A special focus on human vulnerability to environmental change highlights the increasing risks and impacts on people. The outlook section of the report, spanning the next 30 years, is presented through scenarios. This innovative approach reveals salutary lessons for all who strive towards a more desirable future.

The contents of GEO-3 are based on information supplied by a global network of collaborating centres, and numerous individual experts and specialized institutions from around the world, giving it unrivalled accuracy and authority.