Disappearing forests

From 1970 to 1990 there was significant deforestation of both primary and secondary forests in Thailand: during this thirty year period, the area covered…

Keylinks

Environmental Goods and Services

Water Availability Trends

Water availability in developing countries (with and without arid climates) has declined by about 65 percent since the 1960s and continues to do so.…

Central Asia in peril

Communities face appalling health problems. In Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, drinking water is saline and polluted, with a high content of metals that causes a range…

Ever growing numbers of refugees

Many people forced into exile for ecological reasons have to claim political refugee status. For instance, in 1992 the thousands of people who fled…

Global human development indicators

Poverty is multidimensional. It varies in scale and context (political, social, cultural, ecological, historical, economic). The rural poor face different challenges from those in…

Poverty and cholera in Kwazulu-Natal January 2001

Data and maps on poverty, sanitation, safe and clean water and the incidence of cholera were used to help contain the spread of cholera…

Hunger and conflicts in Africa

Over the last 30 years increasing numbers of people have been affected by severe flooding, drought and variable climate in the Sahel. Millions of…

Human influences on the atmosphere during the industrial era

In many of the world’s largest cities (Beijing, Calcutta, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, etc.) WHO World Health Organization) air quality guidelines are not…

Severity of land degradation

The highest levels of land degradation is in Europe. Specifically degraded soils are found especially in semi-arid areas (Sub-Saharan Africa, Chile), areas with high…

Poverty and unemployment in New York City

The United States Census Bureau sets the poverty thresholds according to money income before taxes, excluding capital gains and noncash benefits, family size and…