This first UNEP Adaptation Gap Report provides a framework for defining adaptation gaps and a preliminary assessment of the gap between adaptation needs and reality.

The purpose of this document is to provide a contextual understanding of the challenges and opportunities of climate change in relation to human settlements in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

A new manual that will enable policymakers to calculate the true value of ecosystems for a transition to a green economy across the world's 52 small island developing states (SIDS), was launched by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at a ceremony celebrating the end of the International Year of SIDS.

Carbon Pools and Multiple Benefits of Mangroves in Central Africa: Assessment for REDD+ provides the knowledge base for improving the management and reducing the deforestation rates of mangroves in Central Africa.

Mangroves are being destroyed at a rate 3 - 5 times greater than the average rates of forest loss, costing billions in economic damages and denying millions of people the ecosystem services they need to survive, according to a new report by UNEP.

The Earth's protective ozone layer is well on track to recovery in the next few decades thanks to concerted international action against ozone depleting substances, according to a new assessment by 300 scientists. The Assessment for Decision-Makers, a summary document of the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion 2014, is being published by the UNEP and the WMO, and is the first comprehensive update in four years. The stratospheric ozone layer, a fragile shield of gas, protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. Without the Montreal Protocol and associated agreements, atmospheric levels of ozone depleting substances could have increased tenfold by 2050. According to global models, the Protocol will have prevented 2 million cases of skin cancer annually by 2030, averted damage to human eyes and immune systems, and protected wildlife and agriculture, according to UNEP.

As the second in the series of the African Agriculture Status Report, this volume seeks to provide an in-depth and comprehensive analysis of emerging issues and challenges faced by African smallholder farmers, and allow scholars and professionals to contribute practical and evidence-based solutions.

A new Green Infrastructure (GI) guide, launched at World Water Week, is set to raise much needed awareness of the benefits of GI solutions for water resources management, says the UNEP.

This handbook provides local policy makers and other interested readers with an overview of climate and carbon finance mechanisms, both existing and in development, and their relevance to the urban context.