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The GEF and UNCCD Secretariats collaborated on this new book to convey how sustainable land management (SLM) practices are helping shape a sustainable future for people and the planet. The book is illustrated with high quality photos donated by the GoodPlanet Foundation and from other sources, to demonstrate how human ingenuity is largely driving innovations in soil, land, water, and vegetation management. It describes how harnessing natural, social, and cultural capital is addressing fundamental needs for livelihood and well-being—food, water, energy, and wealth—while delivering global environmental benefits.

The biological diversity of the 72% of our planet covered by seawater is crucial to global resource security, ecosystem function and climate dynamics. We know little of the extent and the interactions of marine biological diversity but in all of the UNEP Regional Seas changes in biodiversity are the symptom of failures to manage marine ecosystems.

At its sixth meeting the Conference of the Parties, in decision VI/7 A endorsed the draft guidelines for incorporating biodiversity-related issues into environmental impact assessment legislation and/or processes and in strategic environmental assessment. In the same decision, the Executive Secretary was requested to compile and disseminate, through the clearing-house mechanism and other means of communication, current experiences in environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment procedures that incorporate biodiversity-related issues, as well as experiences of Parties in applying the guidelines.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a financial mechanism that provides grant and concessional funds to recipient countries for activities aimed at protecting the global environment. This operational strategy has been developed to guide the preparation of country driven initiatives in the GEF four focal areas: biodiversity, climate change, international waters and ozone layer depletion.