All news items

February 22, 2008
The worst concentration of cumulative impacts of climate change with existing pressures of over-harvest, bottom trawling, invasive species , coastal development and pollution appear to be concentrated in 10-15 per cent of the oceans concurrent with today’s most important fishing grounds. The report In Dead Water, the work of UNEP scientists in collaboration with universities and institutes in Europe and the United States, was launched February 22nd 2008 during UNEP’s Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum taking place in Monaco. GLOBIO contributed with input to the report, including coastal analysis. Read more on the press releases page.

October 25, 2007
The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) is UNEP’s flagship assessment process and report series. The fourth report in the series, GEO- provides an overview of the global and regional environmental, social and economic state-and-trends over the past two decades. It highlights the interlinkages, challenges and opportunities which the environment provides for developmen and human well-being. The report also presents an outlook, using four scenarios to explore plausible futures to the year 2050, as well as policy options to address present and emerging environmental issues. GLOBIO contributed to this report with a global analysis of the state and future of biodiversity

September 19, 2007
Biodiversity loss will remain unabatedly high up to 2050 - this is the conclusion from an investigation carried out by the GLOBIO consortium (work lead by MNP) in cooperation with partners. The report, Cross-roads of Life on Earth — Exploring means to meet the 2010 Biodiversity Target, has been internationally reviewed and was launched on July 2nd in Paris, France (SBSSTA12) in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Technical Series. Read more on the MNP website.

June 11, 2007
UNEP urges timber importing nations and international community to back Indonesia’s efforts by boosting customs and border controls. The Last stand of the Orangutan report was presented at the triannual CITES conference (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in the Hague, Netherlands. Read more in the statement by the UN Environment Programme director Achim Steiner, or check out the full report.

February 6, 2007
The tropical forests of South East Asia, important for local livelihoods and the last home of the orangutan are disappearing far faster than experts have previously supposed according to a new Rapid Response report from The UN Environment Programme. This report The Last Stand of the Orangutan - State of emergency: illegal logging, fire and palm oil in Indonesia's national parks, was prepared in co-operation with GLOBIO and the Great Apes Survival Programme (GRASP), through UNEP/GRID-Arendal and UNEP-WCMC - the GLOBIO2 model results are presented in a Sumatra and Borneo map, for instance. Read the full press release at grida.no, View the maps at maps.grida.no, Download the full report or view the GLOBIO Asia page.

October 19, 2006
Analysis of coastal regions using the GLOBIO methodology have been featured in the new report: Our Precious Coasts: Marine Pollution, Climate Change and Resilience of Coastal Ecosystems. The GLOBIO modelling results indicates that up to 90 per cent of the tropical coasts of the world may have been developed by 2030. Read more in the full press release, with links to download the report

June 27, 2006
On 26-27 June UNEP-WCMC hosted a GLOBIO3 Directors meeting to discuss the progress and aims of the global biodiversity modelling consortium between UNEP-WCMC, UNEP/GRID Arendal and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP). The collaboration has developed a global model for exploring the impact of environmental change on biodiversity, in support of UNEP's environmental assessment and early warning activities. The meeting identified several promising opportunities for further development and application of the GLOBIO3 model.

June 5, 2006
As a contribution to the International Year of Deserts, the Global Deserts Outlook evaluate the current status and the future for the World's desert areas. GLOBIO has contributed heavily to the scenarios part, with maps and analysis, and Christian Nellemann of UNEP/GRID-Arendal has been one of the authors to this report. Read the full press release, and download the report, or view the maps that GLOBIO has contributed.

May 31, 2006
The position as director of UNEP/GRID-Arendal is currently open for applicants, with a deadline of July 1st. (no longer open)

March 20, 2006
A 2010 target aimed at saving the globe’s biodiversity from continued decline is doable but will require greater effort world-wide is the main conclusion from the Global Diversity Outlook 2, launched by the Convention on Biological Diversity. The report covers all aspects of biodiversity, and GLOBIO has contributed with modelling and scenarios. See the GBO 2 web-site or the Cross-roads of Planet Earth. Exploring means to meet the 2010 biodiversity target article prepared by the GLOBIO consortium.

February 15, 2006
All of the maps on this web-site are now catalogued in the new UNEP/GRID-Arendal maps and graphics library, see the GLOBIO maps collection and the collection of maps prepared for GEO-3.

September 14, 2005
International agreement signed to help protect the great apes. Following several GLOBIO-GRASP reports and global news coverage highlighting that the Great Apes may become extinct within a few decades, 27 governments moved forward to sign a pledge to help protect the great apes from extinction. See more in the Defra press release.

September 5, 2005
The mountains of Asia, including the mighty Himalayas, are facing accelerating threats from a rapid rise in roads, settlements, overgrazing and deforestation experts are warning in a new report, published jointly by IUCN, UNEP/GLOBIO and ICIMOD (and many more). Read the full press release and the full report for more information.

September 1, 2005
Fewer than 250 wild Sumatran orangutans may exist in fifty years, their habitat is disappearing and the devastation of the Asian tsunami has accelerated the rate of destruction.

This is among the findings from the first World Atlas of Great Apes and their Conservation by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, which reveals that it is not just humans that will benefit from a campaign to ‘make poverty history’.

GLOBIO analyses of Great Ape habitat in Asia and Africa are featured in this publication. Read the full press release.

July 13, 2005
Work has started to prepare the next edition of the UN Environment Programme flagship publication - Global Environment Outlook 4. GEO-4 is expected to be available in 2007. GLOBIO is contributing to the development of scenarios for this assessment. For more information about GEO and GEO-4, see the UNEP web-site.

July 10, 2005
Note that Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (MNP) has a new web-site, and a new logo and new contact information (since May 2005, formerly this was under RIVM). This web-site has been updated to reflect the information.

April 13, 2005
We have now added a publications page with all the major articles, reports, books and studies that has featured GLOBIO analyses or related work. Among other things, there are a few new publications from RIVM added there.

April 4, 2005
New global biodiversity model to be launched in 2005: Review meeting to be held in the Netherlands on 21-23 April. Things are progressing with the development of the third version of the GLOBIO model framework. This web-site will be updated with more information later this spring.

February 24, 2005
Arctic development maps produced using the GLOBIO methodology have been featured in this publication, published as a report and web-site. The Vital Graphics series of publications aim to present a collection of maps and illustration with the most important issues in a format for easy communication. Vital Arctic Graphics presents an overview of the physical background, the peoples of the Arctic, threats (including climate change) and resources. Read the full press release, or go directly to the Vital Arctic Graphics website.

January 4, 2005
Environmental group says pipeline comes at cost: Canadian Arctic Resources Committee says network of feeder pipelines for Mackenzie project must be considered.
CARC, an organization in Northern Canada, has used the GLOBIO methodology (among others) to analyze the impacts of resoure extraction and infrastructure along the Mackenzie River.
Read more and see the maps on the CARC website.

March 15, 2004
The Arctic's unique environment and indigenous peoples are under increasing threat from industrial activities and the region is likely to change drastically unless decision-makers in the European Union and elsewhere address the challenges seriously. The GLOBIO methodology was featured in this report, presenting development issues. Read the full press release, or visit the report web-site.

January 7, 2004
The Convention on Biological Diversity has been working on indicators to assess biodiversity since 1997. At a subsidary body meeting meeting (SBSTTA) in November, there was a discussion on national indicators and monitoring (documents 9/10 and 9/inf/7) and a limited set of indicators to assess the progress towards the 2010 target at the global and regional level (document 9/inf 26). The first proposal on national indicators was accepted and recommended for agreement for the upcoming COP 7.
5 indicators on state and response have been accepted for the 2010 target so far. The parties invited UNEP-WCMC to implement these indicators and report on the progress in 2006. The Globio 3 model will include the accepted indicators as output variables to support the policy process at the global and regional level.

Links: Convention on Biological Diversity, SBSTTA (including meeting documents)

January 6, 2004
Threatened by the building of dams, mountain cabins and hydroelectric schemes Europe's last remaining reindeer population is in peril. So writes the New Scientist after a scientific article written by GRID-Arendal and the World Conservation Monitoring Center published in Biological Conservation this month. Other international media have also covered the findings in the scientific article.

November 26, 2003
The GLOBIO report for the Great Apes Survival Project (GRASP) has been highlighted at a UNEP/UNESCO meeting in Paris: Twenty five million dollars is urgently needed to lift the threat of imminent extinction from humankind's closest living relatives, delegates to an international crisis meeting on the great apes were told today at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. (Full press release)
New posters for download on the Africa and Asia pages (in both French and English), as well as new video clips in French.

November 24, 2003
Some updates of the information on the GLOBIO web-site: the methodology page has been updated with the latest on the Global Biodiversity model(GBM) currently in the works, the "about GLOBIO" now includes the most recent information on the consortium (including RIVM as a partner), and the front page has updated texts.

November 7, 2003
The analysis and maps that was produced within GLOBIO earlier this year has been in the news again, in the process towards the UNESCO and UNEP intergovernmental meeting on great apes to take place before the end of 2004. In order to facilitate the successful outcome of that meeting, a preparatory meeting, co-chaired by UNEP and UNESCO, will be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 26-28 November 2003. (more information)

GRASP has been featured on the BBC World news (tv) and Financial Times among others.

For the GLOBIO maps on the great apes, look here for Africa and here for Southeast Asia

October 23, 2002

New report launched at the Bishkek Global Mountain Summit in Kyrgyzstan the last week of October. The "Mountain Watch" report, edited by UNEP/WCMC, represents a key output in the 2002 International Year of the Mountains. GLOBIO participated with a mountain study for the "pressures" chapter. Read the full press release.

September 3, 2002
"The Great Apes -- the road ahead" A GLOBIO perspective on the impacts of infrastructural development on the Great Apes. Read more about the future for bonobo, chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan ? the press release is in the GLOBIO press room, the full report and posters are available on the Africa page and the Asia page.

August 14, 2002

"World Atlas of Biodiversity" First map-based view of earth's living resources. GLOBIO has given input to the studies in this publication. Read more in the GLOBIO press room.

August 13, 2002
The Arctic is getting more and more vulnerable, UNEP warns. Read more in the GLOBIO press room.

August 9, 2002
Turn to the Polar/Arctic page to download and view a new animation over the different GEO-3 scenarios for 2032.

August 1, 2002
The GLOBIO metholodology has been updated, and now includes the scenarios as well. The new document is uploaded to the methodology page.

May 22, 2002
This report has now been launched, and is available for order.
"Over 70 per cent of the Earth's land surface could be affected by the impacts of roads, mining, cities and other infrastructure developments in the next 30 years unless urgent action is taken.
The full press release is in the Press room.
The GEO-3 scenario maps are available on the World page.
Read more about GEO-3 at the GEO-3 website.

March 12, 2002
The world page has been updated with a new world map, in Robinson projection and with a more detailed coloring of the impact, than the previous map (just one color, and in Miller cylindical projection).

February 1, 2002
The regional analyses have been merge to form a global world map of human impact. Graphics are on the world page.

December 14, 2001
Maps & graphics are now available for viewing/download on the regional pages, as environmental overviews of the GLOBIO analysis performed on the whole world in November 2001. Scenario modelling is underway.

December 5, 2001
Documents have been moved to the about and methodology pages.

December 4, 2001
Animations of the Arctic scenario can now be found on the Polar/Arctic page.

November 28, 2001
Full analysis of the human impact with a global coverage is now done. Images will appear on this site soon.

October 1, 2001
Analysis of human impacts to create a global map has begun. This is done to support the 3rd edition of the Global Environment Outlook.

June 12, 2001
Launch of the GLOBIO report (The Arctic 2050 Scenario, and Global application) at the Rovaniemi exhibition, Finland. See the press release for detailed information. The information, posters and reports are available on the Polar regions page.