The GEO Year Book series keeps readers abreast of environmental issues as they unfold. The Year Book 2003 highlights the most significant environmental developments during the previous year. Issues and developments at global and regional levels are summarized in the Overview section. The Feature Focus
section highlights the role of water in realizing various internationally agreed development goals, including those in the Millennium Declaration that came out of the
UN Millennium Summit of Heads
of State and Government in 2000.
The section on Emerging Challenges – New Findings
focuses on some of the latest available knowledge that could assist in recognizing and better understanding ongoing and emerging environmental complexities and help policy-makers design appropriate responses. The 2003 Year Book also highlights scientific research related to the nitrogen cycle and marine fisheries.
The Year Book uses GEO Indicators to present trends in regard to some of the major global and regional environmental issues addressed in previous GEO
reports. The core set selected for this report aims to give a consistent and harmonized overview of major environmental changes on an annual basis, thereby facilitating tracking of major environmental issues.