Evaluation of the ecosystems for the millenium

The Evaluation of the ecosystems for the millenium (EM) (or MY: Millenium Ecosystems Assessment for the Anglo-Saxons) was ordered by the General secretary of UNO Kofi Annan, in the year 2000 at the time of a report/ratio entitled Us, the people: the role of the United Nations in XXIe century.

This work lasted four years. Started in 2001, it joined together the contributions of more than 1.360 experts resulting of almost 50 countries, to evaluate - on scientific bases - the extent and the consequences of the modifications undergone by the ecosystem S on which depends our survival and the human wellbeing. It aims to prioriser the actions at undertaking to restore and preserve our environment and for its durable use by the Man.

Its conclusions are organized around four items: Conditions and tendencies, scenarios, answers and evaluations on intermediate scales.

A general synthesis seeks to answer the great questions. And other summarys report aim at meeting the practical needs for particular groups users of the Environment of which the business world which is invited to take up the challenge of the bearable development .

All the parts of the evaluation were examined beforehand by the governments, independent and various scientists expert in order to guarantee the credibility of its conclusions, under the control of an associating Board of directors of the Evaluation of the representatives of organizations depending on UNO and the governments, working already within the framework of various international conventions, as well as representatives of ONG, universities and economic world, as well as representatives of the populations autochtones.

The message-key delivered by this report/ratio:

Each one depends on Nature and the ecological services (provided by the ecosystems) to reach a decent life, sure and in good health.

The Man has developed for a few decades of the Impact S without precedent on the ecosystems, putting in danger their capacity to answer the increasing demands in foods, fibers, energies and drinking water (Ex: In the Middle East and in North Africa, one uses 120% of the renewable water resources, i.e. 20% of more than the threshold of renouvelability. One uses from 40% to 50% of all the fresh water which runs out on the grounds accessible in the majority from the population). In 30 years after 1950, more grounds were put in culture than in the 150 years which separate 1700 from 1850; (24% of the emerged grounds are cultivated today). Since 1980, approximately 35% of the Mangrove S were destroyed like 20% of the coral reefs of the world and additional 20% are very degraded. Nature provides priceless key services like the water and air cleaning, protection against the disasters, the stabilization of the Climat S (macro and microclimates) and of the molecules useful for medicine. This capacity declines.

The evaluation report judges particularly serious:

  • the collapse or the quasi-disappearance of many stocks of fishing (of which at least a quarter are overexploited at sea, in spite of the alarms repeated of the scientists since 20 years. In the world, fished tonnages culminated in the years 1980 and decline today everywhere. Locally, the tonnage of fish available is ten times less than before the beginning of industrial fishing. The catches also decline out of fresh water, whereas this resource was particularly important for the poor populations);
  • vulnerability of the 2 billion human living in arid regions vis-a-vis the loss ecological services (in particular supply of drinking water and fertile grounds);
  • the increasing threat of the total climate change,
  • pollution by manures and erosion (We inject today into the Environment more biologically assimilable nitrogen than all the pro cessus natural compounds. More half of the synthetic nitrate fertilizers (invented in 1913) were used in the world between 1985 and 2001, causing a doubling of nitrogen surge in the oceans since 1860 and almost a tripling of the average content of the grounds of phosphorated manures between 1960 and 1990 in the world. This rate slightly declined since, but the phosphorus which in addition contains impurities radioactive and rich in toxic cadmium will persist of the decades in the grounds before being spread front in water and the environment. Contributing to increase an eutrophication already préocccupante, which led to the development of toxic plankton and many dead zones in the oceans.).

The models in the course of exploitation of nature led planet at the edge of a massive crisis of extinction of the species, putting our wellbeing even more in danger. As example, according to this report/ratio “approximately 12% of the birds, 25% of the mammals and at least 32% of the Amphibians are threatened of extinction within one century”. Disappearance seems to be done at intervals ever seen since the extinction of the dinosaurs, with a rate of extinction “ probably multiplied by more than 1.000 on a total scale compared to “the natural” rate observed during the history of the Earth ”.

The increasing loss of ecological services (services exempted by the ecosystems) became a major hurdle with the realization of the Objectives of the Millenium for the development (reduction of poverty, the hunger and the disease). For lack of a fast and important change of our behaviors, the pressure on the ecosystems will further increase in the decades to come, with probably irreversible damage.

The conservation of the natural resources is done better when she is entrusted to the local communities, if those perceive part of the benefit and that they are implied in the decisions.

The problem is not technical or related to the lack of scientific knowledge, nor even monetarist (according to E W Wilson, 1% of the world GDP would be enough to buy all the zones of main interest for the biodiversity). The means of reducing considerable lies the human impact on the ecosystems exist, but they have few chances to be implemented, as long as the abundant services by the ecosystems will be regarded as free and unlimited.

The natural credits would be protected better with efforts coordinated and transverse through all the sectors from the governments, the companies and the international institutions. The ecological productivity depends now “on policy options relating in particular to the investments, the commercial exchanges, the subsidies, the taxes and the regulation”.

The report/ratio also alerts on the ecological problems and the costs induced by introduced species become invasive.

See too

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External bonds and documents

  • primary source: synthesis of the Board of directors of Millenium Ecosystems Assesment
  • banner page of Millenium Ecosystems Assessment.

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