Children are defined as underweight if their weight-for-age z-scores are more than two standard deviations (2 SD) below the median of the NCHS/CDC/WHO International Reference Population. There is a high incidence of of malnutrition in Asia.

In many parts of the world natural resources have been treated as though unlimited, and totally resilient to human exploitation. This perception has exacerbated the conflicting agricultural demands on natural capital, as have other exploitative commercial enterprises. Both have affected local cultures and had undesirable long-term impacts on the sustainability of resources. The consequences include: land degradation (about 2,000 million ha of lan...

Only 15% of the world’s agricultural public sector extension agents are women [Global 3]. Women's access to extension is limited by lack of access to membership in rural organizations which often channel or provide training opportunities, and by gender blind agricultural policies that give inadequate attention to women farmer's needs in terms of crops and technology.

Production gains are attributed to improved crop varieties and livestock, soil management, improved access to resources (nutrients and water), infrastructure developments, policy initiatives, microfinance, education, better communication and advances in market and trade systems. This has also increased the demand and use of irrigation, phosphorus and nitrogen.

As carbon concentrations in the atmosphere increase, so do concentrations in the ocean, with resultant acidification as a natural chemical process.

(a) Current (early 2000s) and (b) climate-shifted distributions of the small yellow croaker Larimichthys polyactis (Sciaenidae). The climate-shifted distribution was predicted by a dynamic bioclimate envelope model described by Cheung et al. (2008), under a hypothetical increase in average global ocean temperature of 2.5°C. Boundaries of Exclusive Economic Zones are delineated by the dashed lines.

Distribution of the world's blue carbon sinks (seagrasses).

It is clear that much land needs to be kept for agricultural use but it is also possible that the area required for food production will stabilize in the future.

Tropical forests hold the largest terrestrial carbon store and are active carbon sinks. Reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation is a vital component of tackling dangerous climate change. In addition, tackling illegal and ill-managed logging will be an important part of reducing emissions from forestry.

The glacier extends through the Illulisat Icefjord, surrounded by mountains. Icebergs calve off from the main glacier, pile up and block the fjord before being released into Qeqertarsuup Tunua (Disko) Bay and Davis Strait. The whiter areas in the fjord are piledup icebergs and the “real” glacier ends where the greyish striped section ends – showing that this image is from 2001. The graph shows glacier-velocity profiles for 1985 to 2006. During th...

Passive microwave sensors on satellites have monitored the extent of the sea ice cover since 19782. This technique is widely used to investigate fluctuations in ice extent over the seasons, variability between years, and longterm trends. The seasonal variation of ice extent is much greater in the Antarctic where there is about six times as much ice in winter as in summer. Currently, in the Arctic, ice approximately doubles from summer to winter. ...

The lines represent IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) based on different world views. The differences in impacts between the SRES scenarios for the same amount of sea-level rise and protection response reflect differences in exposure (population) and ability to adapt (wealth). The solid lines represent a level of 'constant' (no additional) protection response. The dashed and dotted lines represent the addition of protection respon...

Feedback refers to the modification of a process by changes resulting from the process itself. Positive feedbacks accelerate the process, while negative feedbacks slow it down. Part of the uncertainty around future climates relates to important feedbacks between different parts of the climate system: air temperatures, ice and snow albedo (reflection of the sun’s rays), and clouds. An important positive feedback is the ice and snow albedo feedback...

The ratio of treated to untreated wastewater reaching water bodies for 10 regions. An estimated 90 per cent of all wastewa- ter in developing countries is discharged untreated directly into rivers, lakes or the oceans (UN Water, 2008).

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What do the Chernobyl disaster, the Three Gorges dam in China and the spread of the Sahel have in common? In each case natural and manmade influences have forced thousands, sometimes millions of people, to leave their land or country of origin.

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