About World Resources Report

The World Resources Report (WRR) provides policymakers around the world government, civil society, and business - with analysis and insight about major environmental and development issues. It is the product of a unique 20-year partnership among the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the World Resources Institute.

Recent editions of the World Resources Report have explored key issues at the nexus of environment, poverty, governance and sustainable development, providing analysis and insight that has helped to catalyze action by governments and others.

Past Volumes of the World Resources Report

The WRR, in its most recent volumes, has addressed the important linkages between development, the environment and governance.

• World Resources Report 2008, Roots of Resilience: Growing the Wealth of the Poor continues the focus on poverty and the environment. The reality of global poverty is that it is rural and it is persistent: three-quarters of the 2.6 billion people living on less than $2 per day - almost 2 billion - live in rural areas; that number is virtually unchanged in 20 years. World Resources 2008 argues that successfully scaling up environmental income for the poor requires three elements: ownership, capacity, and adaptive, connected networks. The result is communities with increased resilience: economic, social and environmental. Such outcomes take on added import as it becomes increasingly clear that the impacts of climate change are likely to have their biggest effect on those areas where most of the world's poor live: drylands, low-latitude geographies and high-stress watersheds.
• World Resources 2005, The Wealth of the Poor: Managing Ecosystems to Fight Poverty argued that poverty and the environment are inextricably linked, that the world's rural poor could enhance their livelihoods by capturing greater value from ecosystems. The unavoidable reality is that three quarters of the poorest in the world, numbering almost one billion, live in rural areas; they are dependent on their natural resources for their livelihood, whatever their condition. Our thesis was that income from sustainably managed ecosystems can act as a stepping stone in the economic empowerment of the poor. But this can only happen when poor households are able to reap the benefits of their good ecosystem stewardship.
• World Resources 2002-2004, Decisions for the Earth: Balance, Voice and Power argued that better environmental governance, based on greater
  participation and access to information, leads to fairer and more sustainable use of natural resources.
• World Resources 2000-2001, People and Ecosystems: The Fraying Web of Life examined the essential role played by natural resources in 20th century human existence. The Report provided the impetus behind the landmark Millennium Ecosystem Assessment completed in 2005.

The Complete World Resources Report Catalog:

Cover	Title	Authors
	World Resources 2008: Roots of Resilience - Growing the Wealth of the Poor - July, 2008 Full Report (PDF, 277 pages, 19.8 Mb)	United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, World Resources Institute
	World Resources 2005 -- The Wealth of the Poor: Managing Ecosystems to Fight Poverty - September, 2005 Full Report: (PDF, 268 pages, 8.2 Mb)	United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, The World Bank, World Resources Institute
	World Resources 2002-2004: Decisions for the Earth: Balance, voice, and power - July, 2003 Full Report (PDF, 329 pages, 21.4 Mb)	United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, World Resources Institute
	World Resources 2000-2001: People and ecosystems: The fraying web of life - September, 2000 Full Report (PDF, 276 pages, 8.6 Mb)	United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, World Resources Institute
	World Resources 1998-99: Environmental change and human health - May, 1998 Order here.	World Resources Institute, the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Development Programme, and The World Bank
	World Resources 1996-97: The Urban Environment - April, 1996 Full Report (PDF, 390 pages, 67.8 Mb)	World Resources Institute, United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Development Programme, and the World Bank
	World Resources 1994-95: People and the Environment - March, 1994 Full Report (PDF, 56.9 Mb)	World Resources Institute in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programe and the United Nations Development Programme
	World Resources 1992-93: Guide to Global Environment - March, 1992 Full Report (PDF, 45.9 Mb)	World Resources Institute in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme
	World Resources 1990-91: Climate Change in Latin America Focus - July, 1990 Full Text (English, PDF, 69.2 Mb)	World Resources Institute, in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development Programme.
	World Resources 1988-89: An Assessment of the Resource Base that Supports the Global Economy - January, 1988 Full Report (PDF, 54.3 Mb)	World Resources Institute, International Institute for Environment and Development, United Nations Environment Programme.
	World Resources 1987: An assessment of the resource base that supports the global economy - April, 1987 Full Report (PDF, 56.2 Mb)	International Institute for Environment and Development and World Resources Institute
	World Resources 1986: An assessment of the resource base that supports the global economy - April, 1986 Full Report (PDF, 49.8 Mb)	International Institute for Environment and Development and World Resources Institute