Global Environmental Trends: Resources at Risk World Resources Institute http://www.wri.org/wri/

Forest Loss Is Severe in the Tropics Percentage of Tropical Forest Cleared by Region Between 1960 and 1990 Although public awareness of the impact of global deforestation has increased in recent years, it has not slowed the rate of deforestation appreciably. For more information see http://www.wri.org/wri/trends/deforest.html. Source: Dirk Bryant, Daniel Nielsen, and Laura Tangley, The Last Frontier Forests: Ecosystems and Economics on the Edge, available at http://www.wri.org/wri/ffi/lff-eng/ (World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C., 1997), p 14.

Amazon Deforestation Remains High Annual Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, 1988-96 In the Brazilian Amazon, the annual deforestation rate declined from a peak of more than 20,000 square kilometers in 1988 to just over 11,000 square kilometers in 1991. However, data from the Brazilian Government show that it rebounded to more than 29,000 square kilometers in 1995 before declining to 18,100 square kilometers in 1996. For more information see http://www.wri.org/wri/trends/deforest.html. Source: Brazilian Institute for Space Research (INPE), Average Annual Deforestation Rate in the Legal Amazon. Available online at http://www.inpe.br/amz-04.htm (January 29, 1998). Note: The 1988 value represents the average annual deforestation rate for 1978-88.

Many of Earth’s Forests Have Been Cleared or Degraded The Current State of the Earth’s Original Forests Over the past 8,000 years, nearly one half of the forests that once covered the Earth have been converted to farms, pastures, and other uses. According to a 1997 World Resources Institute (WRI) assessment, just one fifth of the Earth’s original forest remains in large, relatively natural ecosystems -- what are known as “frontier forests.” For more information see http://www.wri.org/wri/trends/deforest.html. Source: Dirk Bryant, Daniel Nielsen, and Laura Tangley, The Last Frontier Forests: Ecosystems and Economies on the Edge, available at http://www.wri.org/wri/ffi/lff-eng/ (World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C., 1997), p. 12.

Water Demand is Growing, But Supplies Are Limited Water Withdrawals by Region In some areas, water withdrawals are so high, relative to supply, that surface water supplies are literally shrinking and groundwater reserves are being depleted faster than they can be replenished by precipitation. For more information see http://www.wri.org/wri/trends/water.html. Source: Data Table “Freshwater Resources and Withdrawals, 1970-98”, available in PDF format through http://www.wri.org/wri/facts/data-tables.html. Note: Years of data vary by country from 1987 to 1995.

Agriculture Dominates Water Use, But Its Share Will Decline Water Withdrawals by Sector, 1987 Water use in agriculture is slated to increase as world food demand rises. Agriculture already accounts for about 70 percent of water consumption worldwide, and the United Nations projects a 50- to 100-percent increase in irrigation water by 2025. For more information see http://www.wri.org/wri/trends/water.html. Source: Data Table “Freshwater Resources and Withdrawals, 1970-98”, available in PDF format through http://www.wri.org/wri/facts/data-tables.html.

Low-Income Nations Are Especially Vulnerable to Water Scarcity Projected Water Vulnerability in 2025, Taking into Account National Economic Status Freshwater ecosystems have lost a greater proportion of their species and habitat than ecosystems on land or in the oceans; in addition, they are probably in greater danger of further losses from dams, pollution, overfishing, and other threats. In addition to being biologically rich, freshwater systems play a vital role in the lives of many people, providing a source of water, food, and employment. For more information see http://www.wri.org/wri/trends/freshwat.html. Source: Paul Raskin, Comprehensive Assessment of the Freshwater Resources of the World (Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, 1997), pp. 66-67. Note: Data for map taken from mid-range projections, Water Resources Vulnerability Index I, Conventional Development Scenario for 2025.

River Habitats Have Been Heavily Altered Waterways Altered for Navigation, 1680-1980 Dams and channelization remain the two most pervsive threats to freshwater ecosystems today, with dramatic effects on species abundance and diversity. The scale and extent of these human impacts on freshwater systems have risen precipitously in recent years. In 1950, there were 5,270 large dams; today, there are more than 36,500. For more information see http://www.wri.org/wri/trends/freshwat.html. Source: Janet N. Abramowitz, “Imperiled Waters, Impoverished Future: The Decline of Freshwater Ecosystems,” Worldwatch Paper No. 128 (Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C., 1996), p. 13.

How Much Are Nature’s Services Worth? Global GNP (US $18 trillion) Ecosystem Services (US $33 trillion) Estimates of Human Economic Activities and Ecosystem Services What are nature’s life-support services worth? Practitioners in the young field of ecological economics believe concrete numbers are required to help nations avoid unsustainable economic choices. In one of the first efforts to calculate a global number, a team of researchers has put an average price tag of US$33 trillion a year on these fundamental ecosystem services. That is nearly twice the value of the global gross national product of US$18 trillion. For more information see http://www.wri.org/wri/trends/ecoserv.html. Source: Adapted from R. Costanza et al., “The Value of the World’s Ecosystem Services and Natural Capital,” Nature, Vol. 387 (1997), p. 256, Table 2.

Reef Threats Are Extensive Percentage of Reefs at Risk from Individual Threat Factors Overexploitation (overfishing and destructive fishing practices) and coastal development pose the greatest potential threat to reefs, with each of these threats affecting about one third of all reefs. For more information see http://www.wri.org/wri/trends/coral.html. Source: Lauretta Burke, et al., Reefs at Risk: A Map-Based Indicator of Potential Threats to the World’s Coral Reefs, available at http://www.wri.org/wri/indictrs/reefrisk.htm (World Resources Institute, Washington, D.C., 1998).

Some Fish Stocks Have Collapsed from Overfishing Commercial Harvests in the Northwest Atlantic of Some Important Fish Stocks, 1950-95 According to an FAO analysis, based on fish harvest records from 1950 to 1994, 35 percent of the most important commercial fish stocks show a pattern of declining yields and require immediate action to halt overharvesting. Another 25 percent show steady yields but are being fished at their biological limit and are vulnerable to declines if fishing levels increase. For more information see http://www.wri.org/wri/trends/fishloss.html. Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Fishstat-PC (FAO, Rome, 1997). NON COD CATCH COD CATCH

Bird Populations Are Under Siege Worldwide Threatened Birds as a Percentage of Total Known Avian Species Approximately 11 percent of all known bird species are threatened with extinction. Habitat fragmentation or loss is the principal factor in this decline, but harvesting for food and trade and competition from nonnative species are important as well. Source: Data Table “Biodiversity: Globally Threatened Species; Mammals, Birds, and Higher Plants, 1990s”, available in PDF format through http://www.wri.org/wri/facts/data-tables.html.