8 June 2009, Cambridge - At a time when the world's oceans are facing unprecedented pressures from human impacts in the marine environment, a new decision-making tool is being launched to provide the most current and relevant information about marine and coastal biodiversity and its protection status.

This marine protected areas tool (www.wdpa-marine.org), created by the United Nations Environment Programme's World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), is part of the recently redeveloped World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) - the authoritative and most globally comprehensive list of marine and terrestrial protected areas.

This new system allows users to view information on marine protected areas in their web browser, to visualise them in Google Earth, to download data, to bring together other important data like species and ecosystem information into the same portal and more.

The WDPA-Marine comes as nations, communities and people around the globe mark World Oceans Day - a day designated by the United Nations to raise awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans and to seek solutions such as those offered through the establishment of marine protected areas.

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Millions of people around the world Unite to Combat Climate Change for World Environment Day 2009

Monday 1 June 2009 - People around the world will unite for the planet on 5 June for World Environment Day 2009, with a strong call for environmental action just six months before the crucial United Nations climate change talks in Copenhagen.

This year's theme is 'Your Planet needs You! Unite to combat climate change' - a topic that reflects everyone's individual responsibility to protect the planet, as well as the urgency for nations to agree on a new climate change deal in December.

World Environment Day is truly a People's Day: it is the chance for everyone, young and old, with their community or with close friends, to show that they care for the planet.

This year's host is Mexico, reflecting the country's growing role in the fight against climate change - with its increasingly strong participation in global carbon markets, its massive tree planting campaigns and its natural resource management.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: "On this World Environment Day. I encourage all people to take concrete steps toward making the planet greener and cleaner. Switch off the lights. Take public transportation. Recycle. Plant a tree. Clean up your local park. Hold corporations responsible for their environmental practices. And urge your government representatives to Seal the Deal in Copenhagen."

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, said: "I am delighted that Mexico and its people will be the 2009 global hosts of the annual United nations celebrations on 5 June under the theme 'Your Planet Needs You! Unite to Combat Climate Change'. Mexico is among a group of nations showing real leadership on the challenges of our age - from climate change to bringing environmental goods and services into the mainstream of national and international economics."

World Environment Day is a truly global event, and as such it will be celebrated on every continent - from remote villages to sprawling capitals. Here are some of the highlights of this year's celebration.

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Gaza Strip/Nairobi, 21 May 2009 - A team of experts from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is leaving the region today after completing fieldwork in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, as part of a post-conflict environmental assessment undertaken following the escalation of hostilities there in December 2008 and January 2009.

Conducted at the request of its Member States, the UNEP assessment aims to examine the natural and environmental impacts on the Gaza Strip caused by the recent hostilities, and to make concrete recommendations for rehabilitation.

The fieldwork phase of the assessment was carried out by a multi-disciplinary team of eight UNEP experts, who spent ten days in Gaza from 10 to 19 May. The main sectors under investigation were waste and waste water, the coastal and marine environment, and solid and hazardous waste management, including asbestos.

Travelling extensively across the Gaza Strip, the UNEP team undertook walkover inspections of some 32 sites to assess environmental impacts and collect samples for laboratory analysis. The team also collected data for an economic evaluation of the cost of rehabilitation and restoration of the environmental damage in Gaza.

Sites visited included residential areas, schools, industrial areas, sewage facilities, landfills and the coastline, where detailed sampling of water and sediments, bio-indicators, asbestos and waste water was conducted.

Samples collected on the ground will be sent to an independent international laboratory and analysed in the coming weeks. Together with concrete recommendations for rehabilitation, the findings of the assessment will be published in a UNEP Post-Conflict Environmental Assessment report during the summer.