Earth Portal-- "Comprehensive resource for timely, objective, science-based information about the environment. It is a means for the global scientific community to come together to produce the first free, expert-driven, massively scaleable information resource on the environment, and to engage civil society in a public dialogue on the role of environmental issues in human affairs." Its main parts are the Earth Forum, Earth News, and the Encyclopedia of Earth.

ECOLEX: A Gateway to Environmental Law-- From the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Conservation Union, several large databases of national and international legal instruments and materials related to environmental management, searchable by subject area, keyword, country, or date.

Eldis-- With the slogan, "Sharing the best in development policy, practice and research," Eldis is a world class directory and gateway to electronic information resources on development and the environment, with a searchable database of thousands of papers online at its site or linked. Note especially the Climate Change Resource Guide.

Environmental Sustainability Index-- Excellent and detailed resource for data and analysis that measures progress toward environmental sustainability on many indicators for 142 countries, from Yale University, Columbia University, and the World Economic Forum. Very good source for cross-national environmental comparisons and finding best practices. Also includes the Environmental Performance Index, that "ranks countries according to their present air and water quality, land protection, and climate change prevention results."

Forest Protection Portal-- Directory and limited area search engine for full-text searches for the best Internet resources on rainforest and forest preservation and conservation.

Freshwater Ecoregions of the World-- "Global biogeographic regionalization of the Earth's freshwater biodiversity... covering virtually all freshwater habitats on Earth, [an] ecoregion map, together with associated species data." From the Nature Conservancy.

Global System for Sustainable Development-- From MIT, excellent searchable, abstracted, and cross-referenced index to thousands of the best online resources on this topic.

Intute Environment Gateway-- From Intute, a service created by a network of UK universities and partners, a fine searchable directory for access to high quality Internet resources about environmental studies.

National Environmental Directory-- Searchable directory of thousands of U.S. organizations concerned with environmental issues and environmental education.

National Library for the Environment-- From the National Council for Science and the Environment (USA), with excellent U.S. Congressional Research Service Reports, links to reference resources, environmental virtual libraries, environmental journals on the Internet, and internship and career information.

• AAAS Atlas of Population and Environment-- From the American Association for the Advancement of Science, "maps and graphics that quantify and illustrate many of the issues, and text that lays out the broader links between population dynamics and the environment and places them within their historical perspective."

• Australian Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts-- Official, governmental source of information on the environment in Australia.

• Center for International Earth Science Information Network-- Excellent site from Columbia University's Earth Institute, to further the interdisciplinary study of global environmental change. Contains much environmentally relevant geographic data and many maps. See especially their very useful Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center, with data and links designed to integrate social and natural science data for better decision making on environmental issues. There is a section on Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators, a comprehensive online search service for finding information about environmental treaties and national resource indicators, by issue.

• Commission for Environmental Cooperation-- Created under the North American Agreement for Environmental Cooperation, under NAFTA, to address environmental and related trade issues in North America.

• Convention on Biological Diversity-- Website of the Convention on Biological Diversity, with news and many reports on the Convention and related matters.

• Earth Policy Institute-- Research institute with the mission of providing "a vision of what an environmentally sustainable economy will look like and a plan for how to get from here to there." Posts much information, statistics, news, updates, and analyses about the current global environment and sustainable alternative economic measures. Note the online book by Lester R. Brown,  Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble.

• Economic Performance and Environmental Quality Information Base-- From the University of Guelph, a "comprehensive data base of indicators of aggregate economic activity matched with data on a wide variety of environmental quality indicators," plus  links to sites around the world with information on pollution policies in use.

• Electronic Green Journal-- Sponsored by the UCLA Library, this is a professional publication that "provides peer-reviewed articles, book reviews, news, and information on current printed and electronic sources concerning international environmental topics."

• Environmental Defense Fund--  Active in analysis and advocacy in a broad range of regional, national, and international environmental issues, linking "science, economics and law to create innovative, equitable and cost-effective solutions to society's most urgent environmental problems." News, reports, e-mail newsletter, and more available.

• Environmental News Network-- "The largest and longest-running portal in the global business of the environment, "excellent for news, features, multimedia presentations, forums, polls, and special reports.

• Environmental Protection Agency-- A large site from the U.S. government agency with the charge to protect human health and to safeguard the natural environment. Programs, publications, databases, software, and links. See their Climate Change site. The Great Lakes site posts information on that international ecosystem.

• European Environmental Agency-- Searchable site, with news, documents, calendar of events, and links (including to databases) from this European Union organization. Also check out the European Environment Information and Observation Network.

• European Environmental Law Homepage-- Full text cases, legislation, dossiers, articles, and other materials on European environmental law.

• Forestry Site of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations-- Detailed databased information on the world's forests, including in country profiles. Note the annual report State of the World's Forests and the Global Forests Resources Assessment section.

• Global Forest Watch-- From the World Resources Institute, "an international data and mapping network that combines on-the-ground knowledge with digital technology to provide accurate information about the world's forests." Searchable, offers maps, studies, newsletter, and country profiles.

• Greenpeace International-- This famous environmentalist group offers information on many topics, emphasizing climate, oceans, forests, genetic engineering, toxic wastes, and nuclear matters.

• Inter-American Development Bank, Sustainable Development Department-- Excellent full-text publications on environment and natural resources issues.

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change-- Established by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme "to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation." Winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, along with Al Gore, Jr. Large site posts reports, press releases, official documents, and graphic presentations on the topic.

• International Institute for Sustainable Development-- IISD's mission is to promote sustainable development in decisionmaking, internationally and within Canada, for audiences and clients including businesses, governments, communities, and concerned individuals. Note their Linkages, an electronic clearing-house for information on past and upcoming international meetings and negotiations related to environment and development.

• International Water Management Institute-- International research center supported by the network of 60 governments, private foundations and international and regional organizations, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, with the mission of improving the "management of land and water resources for food, livelihoods and nature," especially in developing countries. Posts a wide variety of publications, analytical tools, and databases.

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce-- Environmental, climatic, weather, and oceanographic information. Note the National Oceanographic Data Center.

• Natural Resources Defense Council-- Pro-environment NGO, with a comprehensive perspective. The hundreds of resources include news, legislative updates, in-depth technical materials, scientific research, policy analyses, and an action center that makes it easy to make your voice heard.

• Nature Conservancy-- "The leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people," with a wide range of international information and analysis.

• Ocean Conservancy-- U.S. research and advocacy institute whose mission is "to protect ocean ecosystems and conserve the global abundance and diversity of marine wildlife." Free online publications, including the Ocean Conservancy magazine.

• Pew Center on Global Climate Change-- U.S. organization that "brings together business leaders, policy makers, scientists, and other experts to bring a new approach to a complex and often controversial issue. Our approach is based on sound science, straight talk, and a belief that we can work together to protect the climate while sustaining economic growth." Posts "reports from top-tier researchers on key climate topics."

• Pollution.com-- News, information, and links on many aspects of global pollution, from the World News Network.

• Rainforest Action Network-- Works to protect the Earth's rain forests and support the rights of their inhabitants through education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action.

• Resources for the Future-- This nonprofit and nonpartisan U.S. organization conducts independent social science research on environmental and natural resource issues, and provides online discussion papers, articles, project summaries, and reports.

• Sierra Club-- A nonprofit, member-supported, U.S. public interest organization that promotes conservation of the natural environment by influencing public policy decisions. Reports online.

• Trade and Environment Database-- This is a collection of hundreds of trade and environment cases, from the American University. Each case is coded on 28 different criteria and accompanied by a written report. The coded material in the cases can be sorted to help with case selection. TED serves as an inventory of cases in trade and environment and provides a basis for use by researchers, policymakers, and others in this field.

• UN-Water-- Official United Nations site that posts much information on and analysis of "all aspects of  freshwater, including surface and groundwater resources and the interface between fresh and sea water. It includes freshwater resources, both in terms of their quality and quantity, their development, assessment, management, monitoring and use (including, for example, domestic uses, agriculture and ecosystems requirements)."

• UNESCO Water Portal-- "Intended to enhance access to information related to freshwater available on the World Wide Web. The site provides links to the current UNESCO and UNESCO-led programmes on freshwater and will serve as an interactive point for sharing, browsing and searching websites of water-related organizations, government bodies and NGOs, including a range of categories such as water links, water events, learning modules and other on-line resources." Note as well UNESCO's World Water Assessment Program.

• United Nations Atlas of the Oceans-- "An Internet portal providing information relevant to the sustainable development of the 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."

• United Nations Environment Programme-- UNEP's mandate is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations. For data, maps, and country reports, try the United Nations Environment Programme at GRID-Arendal. Be sure to consult the major UNEP year book Global Environment Outlook. Also see the interactive Environment and Trade: A Handbook about the effects of trade on the environment. Note the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, the world biodiversity information and assessment center of the United Nations Environment Programme, with many online resources. The UNEP Freshwater site provides analysis about the world's threatened supplies of fresh water, in news, reports, conference papers, and graphics.

• United Nations Gateway to the UN System’s Work on Climate Change-- Well designed and useful hub for monitoring the work of the entire UN system on the climate change issue, with many publications linked or on-site.

• United Nations System-wide Earthwatch-- "Broad UN initiative to coordinate, harmonize and catalyze environmental observation activities among all UN agencies for integrated assessment purposes." This site provides free online access to a database of a wide range of UN environmental data, indicators, information, assessments, and publications, by issue and region.

• U.S. Global Change Research Information Office (GCRIO)-- "Provides access to data and information on climate change research, adaptation/mitigation strategies and technologies, and global change related educational resources on behalf of the U.S. Global Change Research Program and its participating Federal Agencies." Note the Global Change Documents page for "documents and publications that pertain to global environmental change research, adaptation/mitigation strategies and technologies, and education."

• World Bank Environment Site-- Outlines World Bank projects related to the environment and provides plentiful data and analysis of environmental conditions and issues around the world. The Environmental Economics and Indicators page lends access to abundant World Bank data, analysis, and publications on environmental indicators, examination of the linkages between poverty and the environment, and policy options. Note the annual Little Green Data Book, "a succinct collection of [environmental] information from the World Development Indicators."

• World Ecology-- News, information, and links on many aspects of the global environment, from the World News Network.

• World Resources Institute-- A policy research center striving to address how societies can meet basic human needs and promote economic growth without undermining natural resources and environmental integrity. This excellent and major site has a large number of full-text searchable studies and other resources online (such as databanks), by location and subject. Read their World Resources Report online. EarthTrends is an excellent section on environmental matters. The insightful EarthTrends Poverty Resource "explores the dimensions of human well-being through a combination of maps, datasets, resources, and short articles on the linkages between poverty and the environment," with country profiles.

• World Water Council-- Based in Marseille, this "international water policy think tank dedicated to strengthening the world water movement for an improved management of the world's water resources" posts news and analysis about world water issues and about conferences on the topic.

• World Wildlife Fund-- World's largest independent conservation organization. Note the environmental and conservation publications page and especially the Living Planet Report, a quantitative picture of the world's natural environment and the human pressures upon it, through the Living Planet Index, to measure the change in the health of the world's natural ecosystems since 1970.

• World's Water--  Provides current "water information and data and web connections to organizations, institutions, and individuals working on a wide range of global freshwater problems and solutions." Also see the companion site, the International Water Law Project.

• Worldwatch Institute--  Informs policymakers and the public about emerging global problems and trends and the complex links between the world economy and its environmental support systems, with the motto "independent research for an environmentally sustainable and socially just society." Free and paid downloads of reports and articles. Among other features, note the Research Library and Vital Signs Online, a compilation of significant global trends in many categories.

• World Wide Web Virtual Library: Sustainable Development-- Comprehensive list of  sites dealing with sustainable development, including organizations, projects and activities, electronic journals, libraries, documents, databases, directories, and metadatabases.

• Yale Environment 360-- "Online magazine offering opinion, analysis, reporting and debate on global environmental issues [with] original articles by scientists, journalists, environmentalists, academics, policy makers, and business people, as well as multimedia content and a daily digest of major environmental news," from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.