Ecosystem Services and the Millenium
Assessment
Cyril Egar
cyrilegar@yahoo.co.uk

What is the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment?

History

Partners

How was it done?

Main findings

Impact of the MA

Future of the MA

Conclusions

References
What is the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment?
The realization of the rapid degradation of ecosystems and the inability to sustain their
integrity in the last few decades, raised lots of concern all over the world, which led to
the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA). This is a research program that focuses
on ecosystem changes over the course of decades, and projecting those changes into
the future. It was launched in 2001 with support from the United Nations by the then UN
Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.
Kofi Annan said;
“It is impossible to devise effective environmental policy unless it is based on sound
scientific information. While major advances in data collection have been made in
many areas, large gaps in our knowledge remain. In particular, there has never been
a comprehensive global assessment of the world’s major ecosystems.”
An amount of 24 million US dollars was invested into this project.
History of the MA
The history of the MA can be traced to demands from both scientists and policymakers.
By the mid-1990s, many individuals involved in the work of international conventions
such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention to Combat
Desertification (CCD), realized that the extensive needs for scientific assessments within
the conventions were not being met through the mechanisms then in place. In contrast,
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effective assessment processes like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) did exist for such treaties as the Framework Convention on Climate Change and
the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Scientists had also identified a need for an international ecosystem assessment. Although major advances had been made in ecological sciences, resource economics and
other fields during the 1980s and 1990s, these new findings appeared to be poorly reflected in policy discussions concerning ecosystems. Recognizing these shortcomings, a
panel of 40 leading scientists prepared a draft international assessment - “Protecting our
Planet, Securing our Future: Linkages Among Global Environmental Issues and Human
Needs”. The study, published in November 1998 by UNEP, NASA, and the World Bank,
called for “a more integrative assessment process for selected scientific issues, a process that can highlight the linkages between questions relevant to climate, biodiversity,
desertification, and forest issues.”
The specific proposal for the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment arose during a brainstorming meeting held at World Resources Institute on May 17, 1998 to discuss plans
for the biennial World Resources Report, published by WRI, UNEP, World Bank, and
UNDP. The meeting concluded with a proposal to undertake a set of activities to create
a new international assessment process.
These activities included:
a) Conducting a “Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems”,
b) Focusing World Resources 2000-2001 on the condition of global ecosystems
c) Establishing a consultative process that could lead to the creation of a full international science assessment.
The four partners (WRI, UNEP, the World Bank, and UNDP) approved that proposal and
the exploratory phase began later that month.
How was the work of the MA done?
The MA was undertaken by an international network of scientists and other experts.
More than 1300 authors from 95 countries were involved in the MA, organized into 4
working groups. Three of these working groups (Condition & Trends; Scenarios; Responses) carried out the global assessment component of the MA. The fourth working
group (Sub-global) involved all of the MA sub-global assessments.
The Assessment Panel, comprising the co-chairs of the working groups and a few additional scientific experts, oversaw the technical execution of the assessment work. Each
working group was assisted by a Technical Support Unit (TSU) to help coordinate the
network of scientists and experts involved.
The MA’s four technical volumes underwent two rounds of review by experts and governments. Together with 44 governments and 9 affiliated scientific organizations, over
600 individual reviewers worldwide provided around 18,000 individual comments. The
review process was overseen by an independent Board of Review Editors, composed of
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Chapter Review Editors who ensured that all review comments were adequately handled and responded to by MA authors.
It should however be noted that the MA did not conduct new research. It is however the
first assessment to focus on the impacts of ecosystem changes for human well-being.
The MA synthesized the findings of already existing research to make them available in
a form that is linked to current policy questions. However in cases where there was lack
of data, new research was conducted
The MA focuses on:
1.
2.
Ecosystem services:
o
Provisioning: e.g. food, water, fiber, fuel wood
o
Regulating: e.g., flood control, disease control
o
Cultural: e.g. spiritual, recreational, aesthetic
o
Supporting: e.g. pollination, soil formation
The consequences of changes in ecosystems for human well-being.
3. The consequences of changes in ecosystems for other life
Fig .1 shows the benefits people obtain from ecosystem services
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Ecosystem services and its multiple influences on human well being
Ecosystem services
Constituents of human well being
Fig. 2. the linkages between ecosystem services and human well being
Figure 2 shows various connections between ecosystem services and the linkages they
have on the constituents of human well being. There can be very strong effects on human well being and vice versa, based on the region of the ecosystem. So that in places
where there can be degrading effects on the ecosystem, substitutes are purchased and
mediation is necessary.
Main findings:
The assessment brings to light four facts that show that ecosystem degradation is fast
reaching dangerous levels.

The past 50 years have faced far more serious change to the world's ecosystems
than has ever been seen before. The process is only accelerating as humanity's
need for resources grows exponentially.

While ecosystem services that have increased human development have grown,
there are others that have been severely damaged as a result. The damage to
these services will have future repercussions.
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
Degradation is a barrier to UN development goals. Plans to eradicate famine and
disease worldwide cannot be accomplished as expected with such environmental
damage occurring.

There are possible changes which could resolve many of these problems and
keep development on par with demand, but there is simply not enough effort
made to include such policies.
The bottom line of the MA findings is that human actions are depleting Earth’s natural
capital, putting such strain on the environment that sustainable development can no
longer be taken for granted.
Impact of the MA
A report on the MA’s initial impact assessment was released on March 21 2006. It was
edited by Walt Reid, the director of the MA. The survey showed that some organizations
and countries have been significantly influenced by the MA while others have not been
moved at all.
Future of the MA
Due to the awareness created by the MA, plans are underway to increase outreach and
communication to ensure that the MA’s findings reach as broad an audience as possible. It is however still too early to determine whether such an exercise should be repeated in the future. At least not until the MA’s impact are fully evaluated.
Partners:
The MA was funded by the following organizations

Global Environment Facility (GEF)

United Nations Foundation (UNF)

David and Lucille Packard Foundation, USA

The World Bank

United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)

Government of Norway

Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN)

Swedish International Biodiversity Program (SwedBio), Sweden

Rockefeller Foundation, USA

US National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA)

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), UK

International Council for Science (ICSU), France

The Christensen Fund, USA
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
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
References:
1. Achim Paetzold, Philip Warren and Lorraine Maltby. (2008). An Ecosystem Service Centred Approach To Assess The Ecological Quality. Salzau Worshop – Ecosystem Services.
2. Benard C. Patten. (2008) Global Change and Human Change: The Nonzero Imperative. Salzau
Workshop - Ecosystem Services
3. John R Porter, Robert Constanza, Lene Sigsgaard, Harpinder S. Sandhu and Stephen D. Wratten.
(2008).The Value of Producing Food, Energy and Ecosystem Services – Salzau Workshop –
Ecosystem Services
4. Jeffrey Sayer and Bruce Campbell 2004: The Science of Sustainable Development.Local livelihoods
and the Global Environment
5. Harris, J.M. 2000. Basic Principles of Sustainable Development. Global development and environment institute working paper 00-04. Retrieved from:
http://ase.tufts.edu/gdae/publications/working_papers/Sustainable%20Development.PDF at:
10/06/2006
6. Thomas Koeller. (2008). International Payments for Ecosystem Services (IPES)-Salzau Worshop
7. Tanya From. (2008). Millennium Ecosystem Assessment-Basics Ecosystem Analysis.
8. Prof. A. H. Zakri. United Nations Institute for Advanced Studies. Extracted from the paper, Integrated
Assessment Through the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment(2003)
Some useful links:
1. http://rs.resalliance.org/2006/03/28/survey-of-initial-impacts-of-millennium-ecosystem-assessment/
2. www.MAweb.org
3. www.wikipedia.org
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