This book is a comprehensive compendium of conservation information. It aims to provide the first systematic report on the status, distribution, management and utilization of the planet's biological wealth. With extensive use of tables, graphics and maps, it presents standardized and comparable data for 205 countries of the world. The report is divided into three sections: Part I documents diversity at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels, including micro-organisms, species extinctions and rates of habitat loss; Part II covers the benefits and values of biodiversity, focusing on wildlife utilization, domestication and the economic valuation of diversity; Part III reviews the conservation and management of biodiversity at the national and international conventions and institutional and financial support. This reference-work may be a valuable source of factual information for everybody involved in wildlife conservation - politicians, planners, resource managers, aid workers, scientists, journalists and the concerned general public.