Illustration in a set of graphics prepared for a pilot assessment report on the Black Sea drainage basin, for the UNEP Global Impact on Waters Assessment (GIWA). All data and information were prepared in close collaboration with the GIWA Black Sea team and the GIWA secretariat. The graphics were never not used in this form in the final report on the Black Sea, published in 2005.

The graphic compares the amount of diversity of marine mammals, sharks, molluscs, birds, shrimp and lobsters in various sea regions. Coral reefs are among the most productive and diverse of all natural ecosystems. Recent decades have been catastrophic for them, however; some 10% of the world’s reefs may already have been degraded beyond recovery, and another 30% are in decline. Meanwhile biologically rich coastal wetlands, including mangrove fore...

Sattelite observations of the september extent of sea ice in the Arctic shows in 2007 shows a 23% decrease from the previous minimum, in 2005, and 39% below the average minimum extent for the time period 1979-2000. The bottom part of this graphic shows the development according to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) and the merging of five global climate models - the resultant projections shows sucessive decreases for this century. The Ar...

The coastal Arctic food web is closely related to drift ice conditions and seasonal use of shorelines by both terrestrial and sea mammals. Numerous species depend upon each other and the transport of food to and from the marine areas to the coast and inland. Indigenous peoples use most of the food chain and traditionally use both environments for hunting, fishing and gathering.

Sattelite observations of the september extent of sea ice in the Arctic shows in 2007 shows a 23% decrease from the previous minimum, in 2005, and 39% below the average minimum extent for the time period 1979-2000. The bottom part of this graphic shows the development according to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA) and the merging of five global climate models - the resultant projections shows sucessive decreases for this century. The Ar...

The Global International Waters Assessment (GIWA) is an example of a comprehensive strategic assessment designed to identify priorities for remedial and mitigatory actions in international waters. This graphic shows GIWA case studies for the Black Sea, the Amazon, the Great Barrier Reef and the Agulhas Current. Each case study includes an introduction and maps of the region and a discussion of the issues of concern for that region, such as freshw...

The demise of the Aral Sea was caused primarily by the diversion of the inflowing Amu Dar'ya and Syr Dar'ya rivers to provide irrigation water for local croplands. This graphic shows the disappearance of the Aral Sea from 1957 to 2000 and three possible scenarios showing the relationship between future demand (and thus water abstraction) and future available runoff in cubic kilometres per year. The scenarios cover the time period from 2000 to 202...

This resource includes four graphics that explain sea level change, an expected consequence of climate change. The first graphic, 'Relative Sea Level Over the Past 300 Years', shows the changes in sea level rise, in metres, that have occurred between 1700 and 2000 at three different locations: Amsterdam, Brest and Swinoujscie (in Poland). The second graphic, 'Causes of Sea Level Change: Simulated Global Mean Sea Level Changes 1900-2100' and the t...

A significant sea level rise is one of the major anticipated consequences of climate change. This graphic explains the causes of sea level change according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). It explains the IPCC's A1 scenario family, which consists of three scenarios on future use of fossil energy sources, including scenario A1F1, which involves the use of fossil-intensive energy sources. This resource also includes the grap...

Over the past 30 years, the Aral Sea in the former Soviet Union has shrunk to less than half of its original size. This graphic shows the Aral Sea as it was in 1960 and as it appeared in 2001. It shows that a former fishing zone is now a dry zone affected by salination. Areas that were previously food crops (partly irrigated) are now cotton and rice crops, widely irrigated. Other changes include the replacement of fish exports with fish imports, ...

The Barents Region is in the Arctic and covers the area of Western Russia and the northern areas of Finland, Sweden and Norway. The Barents Sea has anaverage depth 230 m, bordered by the shelf edge towards the Norwegian Sea in the west, the island of Svalbard (Norway) in the northwest, and the islands of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya (Russia) in the northeast and east.

The Barents region is in the Arctic and covers the area of Western Russia and the northern areas of Finland, Sweden and Norway. The Barents Sea has an average depth 230 m, bordered by the shelf edge towards the Norwegian Sea in the west, the island of Svalbard (Norway) in the northwest, and the islands of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya (Russia) in the northeast and east. (Please note that the The Barents Euro-Arctic Council has expanded the m...

The Arctic is extremely diverse in terms of landscapes, varying from pack and drift ice to rugged shores, flat coastal plains, rolling hills and mountains surpassing 6000 metres above sea level (Denali, 6,194 m asl, in sub-arctic and boreal Alaska). The region has rivers and lakes, tundra and the largest forests in the world (the Russian Taiga).

(See http://maps.grida.no/go/graphic/arctic-topography-and-bathymetry1 for an updated version of this map) The Arctic is extremely diverse in terms of landscapes, varying from pack and drift ice to rugged shores, flat coastal plains, rolling hills and mountains surpassing 6000 metres above sea level (Denali, 6,194 m asl, in sub-arctic and boreal Alaska). The region has rivers and lakes, tundra and the largest forests in the world (the Russian Tai...

Moldova is located in Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania, comprising of 33,843 sq km. It has a population of 4,455,421 (2005). Major environmental concerns are: heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods.

The Barents Region is in the Arctic and covers the area of Western Russia and the northern areas of Finland, Sweden and Norway. The Barents Sea has anaverage depth 230 m, bordered by the shelf edge towards the Norwegian Sea in the west, the island of Svalbard (Norway) in the northwest, and the islands of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya (Russia) in the northeast and east.

The country of Georgia is located in the Caucasus region of Asia, with a coastline towards the Black Sea. The 4.7 million country was a republic in the former Soviet Union, and is now an economy in transition and a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Antarctic is the fifth largest continent of the world at 14 million square kilometres and is covered by a permanent continental ice sheet. The ice is distributed in two major ice sheets, the East Antarctic and the West Antarctic, and in addition there are shelf ice, extending over the sea water. Antarctic inland ice ranges in thickness up to 5000 m, with an average thickness of about 2400 m, making Antarctica by far the highest of the continents....

Romania is located in Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine, comprising of 237,500 sq km. It has a population of 22,329,977 (2005). Major environmental concerns are: soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands.

Estonia is located in Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and Gulf of Finland, between Latvia and Russia, comprising of 45,226 sq km. It has a population of 1,332,893 (2005). Major environmental concerns are: air polluted with sulfur dioxide from oil-shale burning power plants in northeast; however, the amount of pollutants emitted to the air have fallen steadily, the emissions of 2000 were 80% less than in 1980; the amount of unpurified was...