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About the United Nations Atlas of the Oceans |
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The UN Atlas of the Oceans is an Internet portal
providing information relevant to the sustainable development
of oceans. It is designed for policy-makers who need to become
familiar with ocean issues and for scientists, students and
resource managers who need access to databases and approaches
to sustainability. The UN Atlas can also provide the ocean
industry and stakeholders with pertinent information on ocean
matters.
The material contained in
the UN Atlas is copyrighted but can be freely used for any
personal and non-commercial purpose provided that the UN Atlas
of the Oceans is cited.
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History
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The UN Atlas supports Chapter
17 of Agenda 21, the blueprint for the sustainable development
of oceans adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Development began in November 1999 by the UN agencies responsible
for matters relevant to the sustainable development of the
oceans and the advancement of ocean science as an initiative
of the United Nations Subcommittee on Oceans and Coastal Areas
of the Administrative Committee on Coordination.
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Partnership
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The UN Atlas of the Oceans is funded by the United
Nations Foundation. In addition, six UN agencies (FAO, IAEA,
IMO, UNEP, WMO, UNESCO/IOC) have committed financial resources
to the project, joined by the Secretariat of the Convention
on Biodiversity (CBD). Development has been under the lead
of the FAO Fisheries Department with additional participation
from national agencies. Collaboration agreements have been
signed with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and the Russian Head Department of Navigation and Oceanography
(HDNO). Cinegram Media Inc., a private publisher, will be
producing CD-ROMs and other media in order to reach a wider
audience beyond the Internet.
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Technical
development
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The
software supporting the Internet portal is the Java-based
Community Directory Server (CDS) developed at FAO in collaboration
with the Fisheries Department and the Information Systems
and Technology Division of the World Agriculture Information
Centre (WAICENT).
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Content
of the UN Atlas of the Oceans
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The Atlas includes four main entry
points to access information:
1. about the oceans - from history, biology, maps and
statistics to research, climatology and ecology
2. uses of the oceans - from fishing, shipping and mining
to tourism, dumping and marine biotechnology
3. issues
- from food security and climate change to governance and
human health
4. geography - information categorized by geographical
area
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More
Information
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1. Statements
on Copyright
Policy and on Content and Submissions Policy
2. Meeting
reports (Microsoft Word software or a converter or viewer
is required)
a) Reports of last meeting of the Technical Committee:
Report of the 5th Meeting of the
UN Atlas of the Oceans Technical Committee held 27 February - 1 March 2002, FAO Rome
(600 KB)
b) Agenda
of 5th Meeting of the UN Atlas of the Oceans Technical Committee
held 27 February - 1 March 2002, FAO Rome
3. An
Overview of the UN Atlas of the Oceans' Interface
(60 Kb)
4. A PowerPoint presentation on the
UN Atlas of the Oceans; updated to 24-04-2001 (1.09
Mb; Microsoft PowerPoint software or a converter is required)
5. Detailed
matrix, printable on two A4 pages, showing the content and
structure of the Atlas and the responsible agencies StructureMatrix (Microsoft
Excel software is required; 23 KB)
6. Full Names of UN Atlas Agencies and
Participants
7. List
of contacts for editors of the UN Atlas of the Oceans Contacts
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