The availability and accessibility of natural resources is essential for human well-being. Natural resources are unevenly distributed, and the limits to their availability in many parts of the world are becoming increasingly ...

This synopsis highlights key findings from the following reports of the International Resource Panel: A) Priority products and materials: assessing the environmental impacts of consumption and production; B) Decoupling ...

Water is an essential resource for virtually all aspects of human enterprise, from agriculture via urbanization to energy and industrial production. Equally, the many uses for water create pressures on the natural systems. ...

This report advocates placing REDD+ into a larger planning framework that should involve multiple influences (especially those driving deforestation, albeit sometimes inadvertently). This framework would go beyond forests ...

Better matching of land use with its sustainable potential is a “no-regrets” strategy for sustainably increasing agricultural production on existing land, targeting restoration efforts to where they are likely to be most ...

The IRP Food Systems and Natural Resources report assesses the current status and dynamics of natural resource use in food systems and their environmental impacts, identifying opportunities to move towards more resource-smart ...

This report presents an assessment of the impacts of nine main electricity production technologies on human health, ecosystem health and resource use, taking a life-cycle approach. It covers coal and gas with and without ...

This report finds that global material use has tripled over the past four decades, with annual global extraction of materials growing from 22 billion tonnes (1970) to 70 billion tonnes (2010). It also provides a new material ...

This note draws on the findings of the United Nations’ expert panel on natural resources – the International Resource Panel (IRP) – to highlight some key policy-relevant messages on how sustainable management of natural ...

This report was produced by the Land and Soils Working Group of the International Resource Panel. It explores how the management of land-based biomass production and consumption can be developed towards a higher degree of ...