We are excited to announce the recent release of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). This landmark study is an extensive, in-depth look at the earth's ecosystems and the goods and services they provide to people. The MA reveals that approximately 60 percent of the ecosystem services that support life on Earth - including fresh water; capture fisheries; air and water regulation; and the regulation of regional climate, natural hazards and pests - are being degraded or used unsustainably. Scientists warn that the harmful consequences of this degradation could grow significantly worse in the next 50 years. The study also examines the potential for coordinated action to halt or reverse this degradation and explores a number of strategies by which this could be accomplished.
The four-year assessment was designed with guidance from the private sector and civil society groups by a partnership of UN agencies, international scientific organizations, and development agencies and was conducted by over 1,300 experts from 95 countries. Assessment results are summarized in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) Synthesis Report, the first in a series of seven synthesis and summary reports and four technical volumes that measure the state of global ecosystems and their impact on human well-being." This report is being released in conjunction with a statement by the MA board of directors entitled "Living beyond Our Means: Natural Assets and Human Well-being."
The MA Synthesis Report reveals that it is the world's poorest people who suffer most from ecosystem changes. The regions facing significant problems of ecosystem degradation - Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, some regions in Latin America, and parts of South and Southeast Asia - are also facing the greatest challenges in achieving the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. In Sub-Saharan Africa, for example, the number of poor people is forecast to rise from 315 million in 1999 to 404 million by 2015. "Any progress achieved in addressing the goals of poverty and hunger eradication, improved health, and environmental protection is unlikely to be sustained if most of the ecosystem services on which humanity relies continue to be degraded," said the study.
While the report paints a stark picture of the state of the world's ecosystems and the people who rely on them, it also details scenarios of ecosystem management that could bring about net improvements in the next fifty years.
Check out EarthTrends for a wealth of on-line data, statistics, maps and short articles on many issues relating to the Earth's ecosystems.
