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AFRICA ENVIRONMENT OUTLOOK 3 • Authors’ Guide

• Names of books should be given in full, using initial caps for the major words in the title; names of journals should be abbreviated only where there is an official abbreviation and this is known to you.

• Citation of web pages and referencing: For web pages, provide authorship (either the name of the author or the institution) and date in the text, using the Harvard system, for example (UNEP 2004). In the reference section, the web page will be listed under the name of authorship, the title of the publication, and then the web page address: UNEP (2004). GEO Year Book 2003. United Nations Environment Programme. http://www. unep.org/geo/yearbook

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

• The metric system is used for all statistical and scientific purposes. Units are abbreviated only when they follow a number; otherwise write out fully (except pH). If necessary, give explanation at first occurrence.

Numbers • No punctuation is used to separate thousands, a space being left: 1 000; 2 312; 1 550 734 (except in years: 1989; page numbers: p. 1139; genotype names with numbers: ‘Across 8047’, 1566/1 x L-12).

• The decimal is a full point in English (while it is a comma in French and Spanish); numbers of less than one take a zero before the decimal point: 0.05.

• Spell out ‘per cent’ in text but use ‘%’ in tables and figures. Note the spelling of ‘per cent’ and ‘percentage’.

• The word billion should never be used (because of the difference of meaning between the US usage and the British usage): instead, thousand million or million million are used, written thus: 7 000 million; 7 million million (or 712

depending on context).

• In text, numbers from one to ten are written in words, not numerals except before units (6 kg, 2 ha, 3 t), before the word million (7 million) although where the number is an approximation, two million, and so on, can be used

• Sentences containing figures in a fairly close and logical sequence or in a series take numerals: the number of graduates in the three courses were 3, 7 and 9; 25 villages, 10 districts, 3 regions; 4 automatic stage recorders and 9 stop gauges; 3 labourers, 6 foremen, and 4 consultants; the life of the system would be 25 years if built in China and 10 years if built elsewhere; in only 4 of 39 trials.

• When a phrase such as three-week course in preceded by another number, adjust accordingly: two 3-week courses; 27 three-week courses.

• Fractions are always hyphenated, whether adjective or noun: one-half, two-thirds.

• Map scales use the colon: a map at 1:50 000 scale.

Weights and measures man-months

parts per million hectare

millimetre centimetre

metre

kilometre microgram milligram

gramme (not gram)

kilogramme (not kilogram)

kilocalorie decilitre litre

metric tonne (tonne, 1000 kg)

second minute hour day year volt

millivolt kilovolt

megavolt ohm

ampere

kilovolt ampere watt

kilowatt-hour hertz

megahertz

m/m (tables only) ppm ha

mm cm (cm3 m

km (km2 µg

mg g

kg

kcal dl

l (write out in text) t

s

min h

d

a (not yr) V

mV kV

MV ohm A

kVA W

kWh Hz Mz

• If a sentence begins with a number, it must be written out; to avoid awkwardness, it is sometimes better to rephrase the sentence. Numbers written out are hyphenated as follows: one hundred and sixty-seven; twenty-six; one hundred and nineteen.

• Units are not repeated: 3 x 5 cm; 0.7 to 1.5 ha; 15 and 21 t. Note: between 8 and 9 t; 8-9 t (not between 8-9 t); yield per hectare (not yield per ha); 7 kg/ha, 7 kg per hectare (but not 7 kg per ha).

• Currencies should as far as possible be expressed in US$. Note the lack of space after $: US$ 450 000

, not sq km) , not cu cm

or cc -- but a 125-cc motorcycle)