Millenium ecosystem Assessment

• A study on the methods best suitable to conserve biodiversity.
• It concluded that total protection only would not conserve biodiversity in the long term.
• Published using $15 million in grants.
• ·      Over the past 50 years, humans have changed ecosystems rapidly, largely to meet rapidly growing demands for food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel. This has resulted in a substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on Earth.
• ·      The changes that have been made to ecosystems have contributed to substantial net gains in human well-being and economic development, but these gains have been achieved at costs in the form of the degradation of many ecosystem services, the exacerbation of poverty for some groups of people. These problems, will diminish the benefits we obtain from ecosystems. 
• ·      The degradation of ecosystem services could grow significantly worse during the first half of this century and is a barrier to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. 
• Provisioning: physical goods and services that humans can gain direct benefit from
• Regulating: The benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes e.g. the regulation of climate (air quality, shade, rainfall), water, carbon sequestration, crop pollination.
• Supporting: Ecosystem services that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services. include: photosynthesis (primary production), soil formation, nutrient cycling.
• Cultural: non material benefits that humans gain from ecosytems.
• found that ecosystem degradation disproportionally effects those most vulnerable who rely more directly on them