The 2004 global image sadly shows that the lack of access to clean water remains a burden for the poorest countries, preventing them accelerating their development. Essentially handicapping most sub-Saharan African countries, the map shows some curious trends, such as Romania, which remains far behind all other European countries.

Limited information is available on species diversity and the condition of coastal and marine ecosystems (Burke et al., 2001). There is growing evidence that many marine species are less widely distributed, and therefore more vulnerable to extinction, than previously thought (GESAMP, 2001a). The protection and sustainable use of marine resources and biodiversity are governed by several international conventions, including the Convention on Biolog...

Impact of sea level rise on the Nile delta. Sea level elevation model used to produce impact of nile delta sea level rise.

Straddling the borders of Chad, Niger and Cameroon in West Africa, Lake Chad has been a source of freshwater for irrigation projects in each of these countries. Maps drawn from a series of satellite images show a dramatic decrease in the size of the lake over the past 30 years. Since 1963, the lake has shrunk to nearly a twentieth of its original size, due both to climatic changes and to high demands for agricultural water. Since 1963, the surfac...

Water scarcity occurs when the amount of water withdrawn from lakes, rivers or groundwater is so great that water supplies are no longer adequate to satisfy all human or ecosystem requirements, resulting in increased competition between water users and other demands.

Graphics captions water run off annually water per continent. Run off is scaled km cubed per year.