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Contents:
1 - 2003 overview; 2 - Feature focus: freshwater; 3 - Emerging challenges: new findings; 4 - Geo indicators.
Review:
This slim text is one of the first by UNEP to put some basic data out in a simple format. As one would expect this publication can also be found online in both pdf and html formats. The aim is not to provide a detailed examination of all topics (that's found elsewhere in the GEO series); the aim is to give an overview of the key issues that happened in 2003 (or subsequently as this is planned a series). The overview is a region-by-region summary of key events starting with a global perspective and timeline and then moving to regional scale with continental summaries. In this issue extreme weather is a key topic along with biosafety and international politics. However, move to the regional scale and the key topic changes. For Africa it's freshwater, Asia is disasters, Europe is weather, Central America is forests etc. This is a good way of showing how issues change with location. The next chapter deals withg the main topic - freshwater, and the goals that are being set to provide more of this. Emerging challenges gives new topics a showcase. Here we have nitrogen cascades and overfishing as areas of study.
This text is ideal for students. Pages are clear with masses of full colour illustrations and images. The language might be a little more difficult for junior classes but seniors would have no difficulty understanding. A slim format works well because it can pack in information without overloading the reader. The value of the book is obvoius in library settings and reasonably priced so this should not deter people. The online version should be standard reading for all studnmets in ecological and environmental studies. This promises to be a great addition to our collection of yearbooks and deserves to be a standard text in education.