WCMC Handbooks on Biodiversity Information Management
This eight volume series, developed for use by decision-makers, mid-career professionals, and interested parties, reviews the issues and processes involved in the management of biodiversity information to support the conservation and sustainable use of living resources. They also provide a framework for the development of national plans and strategies and for meeting reporting obligations of international programmes and conventions. The handbooks may be used as a training resource or, more generally, to support institutions and networks involved in building capacity in information management.
Representing three-years work, these handbooks were supported by the EU, UNEP, European Environment Agency, through the United Kingdom's Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species and published through the generous support of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Complete set UK£22.50 | Buy from World Conservation Bookstore here | Full text available here

Reefs at Risk
The first ever objective survey of the human threats to coral reefs, Reefs at Risk: A Map-Based Indicator of Threats to the World's Coral Reefs, is the result of a two-year research exercise undertaken by the World Resources Institute (WRI) in Washington, WCMC, and the International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM) in the Philippines. Reefs provide billions of people and scores of countries with food, tourism revenue, coastal protection and new pharmaceuticals. Despite this importance, nearly 60 percent of the earth's coral reefs are threatened by human activity. Prior to the publication of Reefs at Risk all information about the global state of coral reefs was based on guesswork and anecdotal evidence. The report gives a measure of the actual threat to reefs. It is not a measure of existing degradation, but rather of the potential for such degradation to occur. The research was conducted using a Geographic Information System (GIS), combining a broad range of global maps, information on 800 sites known to be degraded, and input from top coral reef scientists from around the world.
ISBN 1559632574 | Buy from the WRI here | Full text available on WRI website here

The World List of Threatened Trees
Compiled by WCMC, The World List of Threatened Trees is an essential reference book for conservationists, botanists, foresters, resource managers and policy planners, containing concise information on the global conservation status of more than 7000 tree species. The book concludes that at least 10% of the world's trees are threatened. This represents a significant part of the world's sources of fuel, food, medicine, timber and many other essential commodities. Over 300 botanists contributed information on species' habitat, threats, population trends and other key details for conservation action, including IUCN Red List Category (1994).
ISBN 189962810X | UK£26.75 | Buy from the World Conservation Bookstore here | Go to Tree Conservation database here

1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants
This, the first world list of threatened plants ever compiled, reveals that more than one in ten plant species is facing extinction. The IUCN Red List includes the names of more than 33,000 rare or threatened plant species worldwide, and is collated from the WCMC Threatened Plants database, the product of over 15 years work by individuals and organisations worldwide. Four major datasets were made available to WCMC to integrate into the database for the production of the list, provided by The Nature Conservancy (for North and South America), the Australian Nature Conservation Agency, South Africa's National Botanical Institute and Flora Europaea.
ISBN 283170328X | UK£30 | Buy from the World Conservation Bookstore here | Buy from amazon.co.uk | Go to Threatened Plants database here

1997 UN List of Protected Areas
The UN List is the definitive list of the world's protected areas, compiled by WCMC on behalf of IUCN, and published by IUCN. This 1997 edition reveals a global network in excess of 30,000 protected areas designated under national legislation which covers 13.2 million square kilometres of land, freshwater and sea. The list is arranged by country and classified by management aims, ranging from strict protection to protected areas managed for the sustainable use of natural ecosystems.
ISBN 283170426X | UK £26.75 | Buy from the World Conservation Bookstore here | Buy from amazon.co.uk | Go to 1997 UN List here | Go to Protected Areas database here

Protected Areas Systems Review of the Indo-Malayan Realm
This report documents the growth and changing character of the protected areas systems of the Indo-Malayan realm since the last review published by IUCN in 1986. It provides specific suggestions at the country and bio-unit levels on priorities for future investments and institutional development, and suggests how the present approaches and initiatives relating to protected areas management could be improved throughout the Realm. The report was prepared by The Asian Bureau for Conservation and WCMC on behalf of the World Bank.
ISBN 9628515217 | UK£5 | Buy from the World Conservation Press here

Guide to Information Management
Recognising that biodiversity information depends on access to data from many and varied stakeholders, this document examines the organisational issues associated with establishing effective co-operation. A step-by-step information cycle is proposed, comprising agreement on priority issues, determination of information needs, design of information products, agreement of stakeholder roles, and enablement of stakeholders to ensure information is produced cost-effectively. A participatory approach is emphasised as a means to ensure transparency in information usage.
ISBN 9280715915 | Out of print | Full text available here

Private Protected Areas: A Preliminary Study of Private Initiatives to Conserve Biodiversity in Selected African Countries
A major gap in the available information on the world's protected areas concerns private initiatives in protecting biodiversity. In order to begin to address this gap, a preliminary survey of private protected areas was carried out in some East and Southern African countries. This pilot study demonstrates the significant contribution of private initiatives to national protected area systems and underlines the importance of extending this survey to entire regions, as part of a global review of the role private protected areas.
Out of print | Full text available here

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