U.S. Leadership Critical in Global Effort
to Realize Opportunities in Combating
Degradation of Environment Outlined in
‘Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
Report’
Washington, D.C., March
30 – The expertise and technological
capabilities of the United States can
make significant contributions toward
realizing the opportunities that come
in arresting the pace of environmental
degradation worldwide, said former Senator
Timothy E. Wirth, who is President of
the United Nations Foundation.
“The Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment is an exhaustive, landmark
report surveying how humans have changed
the ecosystems more rapidly and more extensively
over the last 50 years than during any
other period,” Wirth said. “Future
demands on our planet’s ecosystems
cannot be sustained without devastating,
irreversible damage on the ability to
sustain life on earth. Our future is absolutely
dependent on our success in reversing
the degradation of our ecosystems while
satisfying growing demand for food, fresh
water, energy, and other resources.
“The report makes
clear that it is still possible to ease
the strains on our planet by making significant
changes in policies, institutions, behavior,
technology, and knowledge. U.S. leadership
is critical in providing much-needed expertise,
technological capabilities, and ingenuity
to restore eco systems.
“We can take steps
at home to reduce our nation’s adverse
impact on the global environment. We can
encourage businesses to realize the opportunities
to save ecosystems. We can work with the
United Nations and others to develop an
effective set of responses to ensure sustainable
management of ecosystems. We can provide
capital and share our knowledge, thereby
addressing two key barriers to reversing
ecosystem degradation.
“Climate change is
a primary example of a problem that should
be viewed as an opportunity to transform
our energy sector and our economy, to
provide access to energy for the world’s
poor, and to slow the rate of carbon into
the atmosphere – while developing
a strong job base at home.
“A staggering $16
trillion will be needed in world energy
investments, for example, over the next
25 years. This may be the largest job
creation opportunity for the United States
in the 21st century. Let us realize these
opportunities by addressing head on the
challenges today’s report outlines.”
The Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment report, funded partly by the
United Nations Foundation, was designed
by a partnership of U.N. agencies, international
scientific organizations, and development
agencies, with guidance from private and
public sectors.
The report warns that the
ongoing degradation of 15 of the 24 ecosystems
it examined will increase the likelihood
for potentially abrupt changes, including
the emergence of new diseases, inadequate
safe drinking-water supplies, the collapse
of fisheries, and dramatic shifts in regional
climate.
The report calls for responses
that would influence the level of production
and consumption of ecosystem goods services,
including changes in institutional and
environmental governance frameworks, the
implementation of economic and financial
incentives to protect the environment,
the creation of new technologies, and
improvements in knowledge.
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