This website is the homepage of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI), "an international research institute with a mandate to advance the conservation and use of genetic diversity for the well-being of present and future generations." The site is packed with informative resources on agricultural biodiversity, including IPGRI breaking news, downloadable publications, links to...

The Ecological Society of America (ESA) has released Number 4 of the series Issues in Ecology. Designed to present, "in language understandable to non-scientists, the consensus of a panel of scientific experts on issues relevant to the environment," the newest report (.pdf format) is entitled "Biodiversity and Ecosystem Functioning: Maintaining Natural Life Support Processes."

This fun, interactive website was designed by NASA's earth observatory to introduce students to the Earth's Biomes. A biome, as defined by the site, is "a community of plants and animals living together in a certain kind of climate." This website provides links to seven different biomes that students can learn about including coniferous forests, grasslands, and tundras. Each separate biome page...

This online "open" book was edited by world renowned experts Peter H. Raven and Tania Williams and was produced in 2000 by the Committee for the Second Forum on Biodiversity (National Academy of Sciences and National Research Council). Available for browsing only, the document spans nine chapters -- from "Defining Biodiversity" to "Examples of Sustainability."

"While most of the botanical community concentrates on tracking the threats to biodiversity in the tropics," the Brooklyn Botanic Garden is conducting research on the biodiversity found in the urban landscape. The Web site includes useful resources for users interested in identifying, planting, maintaining, or just learning about the plants found in urban areas. The Web site is easy to use, with...

This website presents the International Kuril Island Project (IKIP), "an international collaboration of American, Russian, and Japanese scientists to survey the plants, insects, spiders, freshwater and terrestrial mollusks, freshwater fishes, amphibians, and reptiles of the Kuril Archipelago." The website was developed primarily "to provide easy access to project results and databases, both for...

Devoted to informing readers about biological and cultural diversity, this free online magazine presents articles and images from around the world. The emphasis in OneWorld's approach to environmental issues is on how individuals and small foundations can effect change. Throughout, the graphics are lush and well chosen, and the articles are arranged logically for easy reading.

The Center for Systematic Biology and Evolution at the Academy of Natural Sciences engages in biodiversity research that "involves the discovery of species and the working out of the relationships among those species, why they are distributed as they are in the world, and their interactions with other species." This website provides information about the collections and research activities of the...

The World Information Network on Biodiversity (REMIB) is organized and provided by Mexico's National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of the Biodiversity. REMIB is a network of shared biological information databases from research centers in Mexico, the US, Costa Rica, and Spain. The databases contain "curatorial, taxonomic, ecological, cartographic, bibliographic, ethno-biological type, use...

It is widely accepted that global biodiversity is at risk. While humans are often encouraged to think globally yet act locally, who's watching out for the bigger picture. The answer is in the form of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), which is a function of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). It is now noted as "the world's foremost intergovernmental environmental...