GEO Year Book 2003 on-line with indicators on threatened species and protected areas

UNEP's Global Environment Outlook Year Book for 2003 is accessible at http://unep.org/geo/yearbook/yb2003/ . It contains global and regional information with a limited set of main indicators. Threatened animals and plants are reported by main groups. Protected areas now account for around 11 % of the total terrestrial surface of the Earth, while less than 0.5 % of the marine area is protected. For Europe the main focus is on the extension of the European Union from 15 to 25 countries by 1 May 2004. There is no reporting on European biodiversity as such, but on indicators for extreme weather events, unsustainable transport patterns and on overfishing, three main influences on biodiversity.