The World Conservation Monitoring Centre provides information services on conservation and sustainable use of the world's living resources, and helps others to develop information systems of their own.

WCMC Biodiversity Series

The WCMC Biodiversity Series presents the results of projects carried out by WCMC, often in partnership with IUCN, WWF, UNEP or other organisations. This series is focused on providing support to the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity.

1. Biodiversity Data Sourcebook
140 pages of tabular data with supporting text and graphics, on global BIODIVERSITY - the world's most pressing conservation issue. Contents include: Tabular information on country species diversity, threatened species, national Red Data Books, major food crops, domestic livestock, marine resources, tropical forests, protected areas and systematics collections.
ISBN 1 - 899628-00-2 £10 (US$ 15) Order no. B55

2. The Biodiversity Clearing House - Concept And Challenges
The Convention on Biological Diversity anticipates the establishment of a clearing house mechanism to promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation in the field of conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. This paper was prepared by WCMC at the request of the Interim Secretariat, as an input to discussion on the form the clearing house for biodiversity information would take, and the manner in which it would operate.The research was supported by the UK Department of Trade and Industry.
ISBN 1-899628-01-0 36pp £5 (US$7.50) Order no. B60

3. Priorities for Conserving Global Species Richness and Endemism
Substantial amounts of detailed biodiversity data exist for the world, these data can be used to guide conservation priorities. WCMC have compiled key data in order to identify areas of high species richness and endemism. The conclusions may help to guide The Convention Parties and the financial mechanism on where to focus effort and resources. This book and No 5 are made available by kind permission of the UK Overseas Development Administration for whom it was prepared.
ISBN 1-899628-02-0 36pp £5 (US$7.50) Order no. B59

4. The Diversity of the Seas: A regional approach
Marine waters cover more than 70% of the Earth's surface and open ocean waters comprise by far the most extensive major ecosystem on the planet, but its biodiversity remains poorly-known. WCMC in collaboration with UNEP's Oceans and Coastal Areas Programme Activity Centre, has produced a region by region account of select issues in marine biological diversity. Each regional account includes descriptive text on the oceanography, elements of biodiversity (including estimates of species richness and endemism), and a discussion of marine fisheries and their current status. The aim has been to lay out some of the foundation needed for a more integrated approach to management of marine and coastal biodiversity. ISBN 1 - 899628-03-7 £10 (US$ 15) Order number B140

5. Assessing Biodiversity Status and Sustainability
If human use of biological resources and human impacts on biodiversity generally are to be made sustainable, it is necessary to confront a number of challenging issues. Among these are: the meaning of sustainability; what kinds of data must be collected; which scale of analysis is needed for different purposes. With the needs of developing country governments most in mind, this document,prepared for the UK Overseas Development Administration, outlines some approaches to assessment of the status of national biodiversity and the sustainability of its use. An introductory chapter outlines central concepts and terminology. The key second chapter develops a framework for assessment of status and use, and subsequent material covers biodiversity inventory, the users of biodiversity, and the threats entailed.
ISBN 1 - 899628-04-5 104pp £7.50 (US$ 11.25) Order no. B152

6. Biodiversity Conservation in the Tropics - gaps in habitat protected and funding priorities
M.G. Murray, M.J.B. Green, G.C. Bunting and J.R. Paine

This study makes use of extensive spatial datasets, not previously available, to provide a comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of biodiversity throughout the tropics. The extent to which potential habitats and closed moist forests are represented in protected areas is assessed. Priorities for conservation action are identified on the basis of a country's relative importance for a given habitat and the extent to which it is protected. National importance for biodiversity is also examined in relation to natural and foreign investments in protected areas.

Parts of the book are available on our FTP site in electronic format.

WCMC Biodiversity Series No. 6.     Published by the World Conservation Press, WCMC.
ISBN 1-899628-07-X, 1997.     295 x 210mm, ii + 170pp., maps
£13.50, US$20 + p&p. How to order the book

7. Industrial Reliance on Biodiversity
Written by T. M. Swanson and R. A. Luxmoore

While the developed countries control most of the world's financial resources, it is the developing world that is home to most of its biological resources. This study provides an overview of the extent to which industry in the developed world relies on the biodiversity of the developing world. Primitive human societies rely almost entirely on wild species for food, draught, building materials and other products, and such direct use continues in modern society. The first section of the report reviews the direct consumptive use, the largest components of which are fisheries and forestry. The remaining chapters examine two specific industrial inputs where biodiversity serves as an information source: the use of wild genetic resources in plant breeding and the use of substances derived from the wild in the pharmaceutical industry. In economic terms, these two uses have far outweighed the more conventional forms of direct use but this shows that we are still dependent to a large extent on the world's biological riches. The project was funded under the UK Government Darwin Initiative.

The text of the book is available on our FTP site in electronic format as a WordPerfect file.

WCMC Biodiversity Series No. 7.     Published by the World Conservation Press, WCMC.
ISBN 1-899628-06-1, 1997.     295 x 210mm, 98pp
£30.00 + p&p.
33% discount for booksellers and 50% discount for non-governmental organisations and personal purchasers. How to order the book

8. Freshwater Biodiversity: a preliminary global assessment
Written by Brian Groombridge and Martin Jenkins

*** Coming soon ***

This document provides information on inland waters and their biodiversity for a wide audience, ranging from those interested in the state of the world environment generally, to those needing an overview of the global and regional context in order to improve planning, management and investment decisions. The report includes the first global assessment of areas of special importance for freshwater biodiversity, based on expert opinion and the data already available. It also includes a first comparative analysis of major river basins, using indicators of biodiversity, the condition of catchment basins and pressures on water resources, in order to generate indices of importance and risk.

Please contact the Information Officer at WCMC for further details at info@wcmc.org.uk

See the World Conservation Bookstore for other titles.

For further information please write to: Information Office, World Conservation Monitoring Centre, 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, United Kingdom. Tel: +44 1223 277314; Fax: +44 1223 277136. Email: info@wcmc.org.uk Document URL: http:// www.wcmc.org.uk /information_services/publications/series.htm Revision date: 27-July-1999 Current date: 21-January-2000
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