In recognition of the fact that 2008 was the International Year of Sanitation, UN-HABITAT collaborated with the Greater Moncton Sewerage Commission (GMSC), hosts and organizers of the IWA Global Biosolids Conference, "Moving Forward Wastewater Biosolids Sustainability: Technical, Managerial, and Public Synergy" held in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada in June 2007 to publish this Global Atlas, which comprises the inputs from cities and organizations around the world.The objective of this Global Atlas was to provide a global picture of the current status of information and opportunities for wastewater biosolids/sludge disposal and reuse, including trends and regional comparisons. The Atlas also aims to contextualize biosolids management within the larger framework of global development challenges.The publication runs to 608 pages and chronicles excreta, wastewater sludge and biosolids management practices in 37 countries and regions throughout the world with reports on sanitation in 59 jurisdictions. They range from developing countries, with substantial portions of the population without access to modern plumbing or flush toilets, to developed countries with sophisticated treatment systems.It is crystal clear that, in addition to clean air, the well-being of our planet also requires that water, wastewater and the resulting biosolids (sludge) need to be managed more seriously, and in a focused, coordinated and cooperative manner. However in order to do so it is necessary to have benchmarks and knowledge of how biosolids/sludges are being managed globally.The Atlas includes a global summary providing a broad overview of excreta, wastewater sludge, and biosolids management from many areas around the world -a "Big Picture" of how this resource is being managed.A concise overview of the relevance of biosolids management today, the key global trends with temporal and regional comparisons, including recommendations for advancing this global resource agenda is also presented.The presentation will serve to communicate that the publication is available and that it provides a concise overview of the existing state of the management of biosolids across the globe.