Global Biodiversity: Status of the Earth's living resources is the most comprehensive compendium of conservation information ever published. It provides the first systematic report on the status, distribution, management, and utilisation of the planet's biological wealth. With extensive use of tables, graphics and maps, it presents standardized and comparable data for 205 countries of the world. The report is divided into three sections: Part 1 documents diversity at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels, including micro-organisms, species extinctions and rates of habitat loss. Part 2 covers the benefits and values of biodiversity, focusing on wildlife utilisation, domestication and the economic valuation of diversity. Part 3 reviews the conservation and management of biodiversity at the national and international levels, including in situ and ex situ management, international conventions, and institutional and financial support. This authoritative reference-work will be an indispensable source of factual information for everybody involved in conservation and development - politicians, planners, resource managers, aid workers, scientists, journalists, and the concerned general public. The Global Biodiversity Strategy is a comprehensive set of guidelines and actions to save, study and utilise the Earth's biotic wealth. Published by the World Resources Institute, lUCN - The World Conservation Union, and the United Nations Environment Programme, it prescribes a decade of action to slow the loss of biodiversity by promoting its sustainable and equitable use. Global Biodiversity: Status of the Earth’s living resources provides the platform of scientific data upon which to implement the Strategy and to monitor its effects.