Experts Warn Ecosystem Changes Will Continue to Worsen

"WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 30, 2005--A landmark study released today reveals that approximately 60 percent of the ecosystem services that support life on Earth -- such as 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.

"'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, 'Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) Synthesis Report,' conducted by 1,300 experts from 95 countries. It specifically states that the ongoing degradation of ecosystem services is a road block to the Millennium Development Goals agreed to by the world leaders at the United Nations in 2000.

"Although evidence remains incomplete, there is enough for the experts to warn that the ongoing degradation of 15 of the 24 ecosystem services examined is increasing the likelihood of potentially abrupt changes that will seriously affect human well-being. This includes the emergence of new diseases, sudden changes in water quality, creation of 'dead zones' along the coasts, the collapse of fisheries, and shifts in regional climate."

Source: Business Wire

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