Jürgen Maier

Bio: Jürgen Maier is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Environmental governance & Resource efficiency. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 600 citations.

UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme

Abstract: Apart from its headquarters in Nairobi, UNEP has some regional offices: New York (North America), Geneva (Europe), Bangkok (Asia-Pacific), Mexico City (Latin America/Caribbean), Bahrain (West Asia), and Nairobi (Africa). UNEP has increasingly initiated new forms of cooperation, not only with governments but also with the private sector, in particular the financial sector. In Paris UNEP maintains an Industry and Environment Unit coordinating UNEP's Sustainable Production and Consumption Programme which focuses on such cooperative operations. At the 10th Special Session of the GC in 2008 in Monaco, Achim Steiner presented the Draft UNEP Medium-Term Strategy for 2010-2013. This paper called for a stronger focus of UNEP on six key activities - climate change, disasters and conflicts, ecosystem management, environmental governance, harmful substances and hazardous waste, resource efficiency - and some financial and organizational changes. Keywords: climate change; ecosystem management; environmental governance; organizational changes; resource efficiency; United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

Status and distribution of mangrove forests of the world using earth observation satellite data

Abstract: Aim Our scientific understanding of the extent and distribution of mangrove forests of the world is inadequate. The available global mangrove databases, compiled using disparate geospatial data sources and national statistics, need to be improved.Here,we mapped the status and distributions of global mangroves using recently available Global Land Survey (GLS) data and the Landsat archive. Methods We interpreted approximately 1000 Landsat scenes using hybrid supervised and unsupervised digital image classification techniques. Each image was normalized for variation in solar angle and earth‐sun distance by converting the digital number values to the top-of-the-atmosphere reflectance. Ground truth data and existing maps and databases were used to select training samples and also for iterative labelling. Results were validated using existing GIS data and the published literature to map ‘true mangroves’. Results The total area of mangroves in the year 2000 was 137,760 km 2 in 118 countries and territories in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Approximately 75% of world’s mangroves are found in just 15 countries, and only 6.9% are protected under the existing protected areas network (IUCN I-IV). Our study confirms earlier findings that the biogeographic distribution of mangroves is generallyconfinedtothetropicalandsubtropicalregionsandthelargestpercentage of mangroves is found between 5° N and 5° S latitude. Main conclusions We report that the remaining area of mangrove forest in the world is less than previously thought. Our estimate is 12.3% smaller than the most recent estimate by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.We present the most comprehensive, globally consistent and highest resolution (30 m) global mangrove database ever created.We developed and used better mapping techniques and data sources and mapped mangroves with better spatial and thematic details than previous studies.

World Energy Outlook 2012

Abstract: Industry and government decision-makers and others with a stake in the energy sector all need WEO-2012. It presents authoritative projections of energy trends through to 2035 and insights into what they mean for energy security, environmental sustainability and economic development. Oil, coal, natural gas, renewables and nuclear power are all covered, together with an update on climate change issues. Global energy demand, production, trade, investment and carbon dioxide emissions are broken down by region or country, by fuel and by sector. Special strategic analyses cover -What unlocking the purely economic potential for energy efficiency could do, country by country and sector by sector, for energy markets, the economy and the environment. -The Iraqi energy sector, examining both its importance in satisfying the country’s own needs and its crucial role in meeting global oil and gas demand. -An examination of the cost of delaying action on climate change. -The water-energy nexus,as water resources become increasingly stressed and access more contentious. -Measures of progress towards providing universal access to modern energy services. There are many uncertainties; but many decisions cannot wait. The insights of WEO‑2012 are invaluable to those who must shape our energy future.

The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Recent Instances for Debate

Abstract: After 1992 many conservation biologists thought that the use of economic instruments would be more effective to halt biodiversity loss than policies based on setting apart some natural spaces outside the market. At the same time there was a new elaboration of the concept of ecosystem services and, since 1997, there have been attempts at costing in money terms the loss of ecosystem services and biodiversity, including the high profile TEEB (The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity) project (2008-2011). Our discussion rests on instances showing the analytical implications of three main socio-economic meanings of biodiversity loss: 1) the loss of natural capital; 2) the loss of ecosystem functions; and 3) the loss of cultural values and human rights to livelihood. We review several approaches to include economic considerations in biodiversity conservation. We show cases where monetary valuation is relevant and other cases where it is controversial and even counterproductive, as it undermines the objectives of conservation.

The changing landscape : ecosystem responses to urbanization and pollution across climatic and societal gradients

Abstract: Urbanization, an important driver of climate change and pollution, alters both biotic and abiotic ecosystem properties within, surrounding, and even at great distances from urban areas. As a result, research challenges and environmental problems must be tackled at local, regional, and global scales. Ecosystem responses to land change are complex and interacting, occurring on all spatial and temporal scales as a consequence of connectivity of resources, energy, and information among social, physical, and biological systems. We propose six hypotheses about local to continental effects of urbanization and pollution, and an operational research approach to test them. This approach focuses on analysis of “megapolitan” areas that have emerged across North America, but also includes diverse wildland-to-urban gradients and spatially continuous coverage of land change. Concerted and coordinated monitoring of land change and accompanying ecosystem responses, coupled with simulation models, will permit robust foreca...

Distorted views of biodiversity: spatial and temporal bias in species occurrence data.

Abstract: Boakes et al. compile and analyze a historical dataset of 170,000 bird sightings over two centuries and show how changing trends in data gathering may confound a true picture of biodiversity change.