The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 4th Assessment Report (IPCC AR4) concluded that climate change will have significant impacts on many aspects of biological diversity; on ecosystems, species, genetic diversity within species, and on ecological interactions.

This guide addresses the linkages between drinking water, biological diversity and development/poverty alleviation. It aims to raise awareness of sustainable approaches to managing drinking water that have been tested globally. The guide introduces the available techniques, technologies and procedures that optimize social and environmental outcomes in the management of drinking water.

The surface ocean plays a critical role in the global carbon cycle, absorbing approximately one quarter of the carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, and other human activities. As more and more anthropogenic CO2 has been emitted into the atmosphere,