World Resources 2000-2001: People and Ecosystems: The Fraying Web of Life

by World Resources Institute

• ISBN13: 9781569734438
• ISBN10: 1569734437
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Brookings Inst Pr

Summary

Ecosystems are the productive engines of the planet, providing us with everything from the water we drink to the food we eat and the fiber we use for clothing, paper, and lumber. Yet nearly every measure used to assess the health of ecosystems indicates that we are drawing on them more than ever, while degrading them at an accelerating rate.

How then can we best manage our vital ecosystems -- and reduce our own impacts -- so that they remain healthy and productive in the face of increasing human demands? Governments and businesses will first have to rethink some basic assumptions about how we measure and plan economic growth, taking into account the natural limits that sustain our ecosystems. This volume brings together the information about the condition and long-term prospects of our ecosystems that will be needed to make responsible decisions about their future.

Focusing on five critical systems (croplands, forests, coastal zones, freshwater systems, and grasslands) the book analyzes the value of goods and services currently provided by our ecosystems an

Table of Contents

Foreword	vii
Linking People and Ecosystems	3	(40)
How Viable Are Earth's Ecosystems?	5	(1)
Losing the Link?	5	(5)
Adopting a Human Perspective	10	(1)
Sources of Wealth and Well-Being	11	(1)
Direct and Indirect Benefits	11	(5)
Managing Ecosystems: Trade-Offs and Costs	16	(1)
How Are Ecosystems Degraded?	16	(6)
What Drives Degradation?	22	(11)
Who Owns Ecosystems?	33	(7)
Managing for Ecosystem Health	40	(3)
Taking Stock of Ecosystems	43	(104)
A Unique Approach	44	(1)
A Global Synthesis of Current Information	44	(2)
The ``Big Picture,'' but with Limitations	46	(2)
PAGE Findings: What Shape Are the World's Ecosystems In?	48	(3)
The Bottom Line	51	(5)
Agroecosystems	53	(3)
Characterizing Ecosystems	56	(4)
Assessing Goods and Services	60	(9)
Coastal Ecosystems	69	(1)
Extent and Modification	69	(10)
Assessing Goods and Services	79	(11)
Forest Ecosystems	87	(3)
Extent and Modification	90	(3)
Assessing Goods and Services	93	(10)
Freshwater Systems	103	(1)
Extent and Modification	103	(4)
Assessing Goods and Services	107	(12)
Grasslands Ecosystems	119	(1)
Extent and Modification	119	(6)
Assessing Goods and Services	125	(8)
Appendix
Mountain Ecosystems	133	(3)
Polar Ecosystems	136	(5)
Urban Ecosystems	141	(6)
Living in Ecosystems	147	(78)
Agroecosystems
Regaining the High Ground: Reviving the Hillsides of Machakos, Kenya	149	(10)
Cuba's Agricultural Revolution: A Return to Oxen and Organics	159	(4)
Coastal Ecosystems
Replumbing the Everglades: Large-Scale Wetlands Restoration in South Florida	163	(13)
Managing Mankote Mangrove	176	(2)
Bolinao Rallies Around Its Reef	178	(3)
Forest Ecosystems
Up from the Roots: Regenerating Dhani Forest through Community Action	181	(12)
Freshwater Systems
Working for Water, Working for Human Welfare in South Africa	193	(13)
Managing the Mekong River: Will a Regional Approach Work?	206	(4)
New York City's Watershed Protection Plan	210	(2)
Grassland Ecosystems
Sustaining the Steppe: The Future of Mongolia's Grasslands	212	(13)
Adopting an Ecosystem Approach	225	(15)
What Should We Do to Adopt an Ecosystem Approach?	226	(10)
What Does the Future Hold?	236	(2)
A Millennium Ecosystem Assessment	238	(1)
What Better Time Than Now?	239	(1)
Data Tables	240	(118)
Sources	358