This book has been jointly produced by several French research organisations for the international Year of Planet Earth. Vivid, concise writing and more than 250 photographs taken by the researchers themselves offer magnificent-and disturbing-panorama of our planet at the beginning of the 21st century, in all the splendour, diversity and vulnerability of its landscapes and rock formations, its oceans, climate and natural phenomena, its plants and animal kingdoms and the activities of its human societies.

Observing, describing and interpreting, but also sharing and communicating knowledge-these are the foundations of every researcher’s work. With today’s paramount need for sustainability in human development, their knowledge has never been more valuable in helping us to understand and anticipate the future of our planet.