United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) - Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA)

UNEP, established in 1972, is the voice for the environment within the United Nations system. UNEP's mission is: "To provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations".

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), launched 2005, represented a major international effort to assess trends and changes of ecosystem services and its consequences for human well-being from global to local levels. The MA concluded that the current degradation of ecosystem services represents a serious obstacle towards meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For more information on MA go to the official website. A global strategy for MA follow-up has been developed, with UNEP identified as the "anchor institution" for the follow-up work.

In support of the global MA follow-up strategy SwedBio provides funding to UNEP for the project " Implementing the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) findings and recommendations". The project runs from October 2007 until September 2010.

The overall goal of the project is to promote the implementation of the MA findings and recommendations. In line with the global strategy on MA follow-up, the project is designed to respond to the following three specific objectives:

1) Building and Maintaining the Knowledge Base - continue to build and improve the knowledge base on the links between biodiversity, ecosystem functioning, ecosystem services and human well-being, and develop tools for mainstreaming ecosystem services into development and economic decision-making.

2) Implementation - strengthen country capacity to operationalize methods and tools for integrating the MA approach and its findings and recommendations in national development planning and policy implementation processes, including MDG-based national development and poverty reduction strategies.

3) Outreach - disseminate the findings of the MA and its conceptual framework, tools and methodologies to relevant stakeholders through the development of media strategies and educational tools.

Material from "The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Follow-up Workshop", October 22-23, 2007, Ministry of the Environment, Stockholm , Sweden

• Final Report
• Presentation by Johan Rockström - Executive Director, Stockholm Resilience: "CentreFuture challenges: Linking the MA with Climate change, resilience and human wellbeing"
• Presentation by Harold Mooney - Professor of Environmental Biology, Stanford University
• Presentation by Bradnee Chambers - Senior Programme Officer, United Nations University/Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU/IAS): "Overview of Ongoing MA Follow-up Activities"
• Presentation by Alex Mulisa - Project Manager, Poverty & Environment Initiative - UNEP/UNDP: "Pilot Integrated Ecosystem Assessment - Bugesera Region, Rwanda"
• Presentation by Keisha Maria Garcia - Project Manager, The Cropper Foundation: "Follow-up to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment - The ' Trinidad ' Experience"
• "Strategy for MA Follow Up - A Proposal by UNEP"