Convention on Biological Diversity: Global Biodiversity Outlook
http://www.biodiv.org/gbo/
Explore Biodiversity
http://www.explorebiodiversity.com/
Australian Government-Department of the Environment and Heritage: Australian Biodiversity
http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/
Belgian Federal Science Policy: The Belgian Biodiversity Platform
http://www.biodiversity.be/bbpf/
Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation: Nepal Biodiversity
http://www.biodiv-nepal.gov.np/
Centre for Marine Biodiversity
http://www.marinebiodiversity.ca/en/home.html

Nations around the world have recognized biodiversity as one of the most pressing ecological issues of our time. Declining biodiversity over recent decades has prompted the formation of international coalitions and national biodiversity programs. This Topic in Depth explores the work of both international and national efforts to increase global biodiversity. The first site presents an archived report from the Convention on Biological Diversity, an international organization formed by many world nations after the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. This first edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook report, published in 2001, was created to provide a status summary, and an analysis of Convention objectives. It is expected that a second edition will be published this year presenting more recent data and analysis (1). Explore Biodiversity is an innovative project involving a team of scientists and filmmakers working to document the diminishing biological diversity of our planet. The hip Explore website shares beautiful images, videos, and information from expeditions to Hawaii, Mexico, and Alaska (2). The third site, from the Australian Government's Department of the Environment and Heritage, discusses biodiversity in Australia. The site contains sections regarding Migratory Species; Conservation and Regional Planning; Invasive Species; and Biodiversity Hotspots--to name a few (3). The fourth website presents the Belgian Biodiversity Platform (4), which is "an integrated network of people and institutions funded by the Belgian Federal Science Policy to facilitate dialogue and collaboration between scientists in Belgium and abroad, in the field of biological diversity." From the Nepalese Government's Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation, the fifth site presents information about biodiversity programs in Nepal. The site contains sections about Forests, National Parks, Plant Resources, and the Ministry's National Biodiversity Unit (5). The final website presents the Centre for Marine Biodiversity (CMB), a Canada-based organization that was established in 2000 to promote scientific support of marine biodiversity. The CMB website contains research reports, links to several databases, links to various identification guides, and a photo gallery with some nice underwater images (6). [NL]