WASHINGTON, DC USA, February 17, 2005 -- The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) will release its findings and reports starting March 30, 2005 during press conferences at the The Royal Society in London, the National Press Club in Washington, DC, and in six other cities.

There will be a total of seven synthesis and summary reports, and four technical volumes. An additional set of about 16 sub-global assessments will also be released separately.

The first set of reports will be the synthesis reports and a statement from the MA Board. They will be from 20 to 120 printed pages each, in full color and measuring 8.5 x 11” or 9 x 12”. These are being published by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the World Resources Institute.

The second set of reports comprises the technical volumes, three of which will be about 500 printed pages and the fourth will be about 800 printed pages. A volume of summaries will be about 120 printed pages. They will be published by Island Press.

A third set of reports, comprising about 16 sub-global assessments will be released from late 2005 to 2006. This includes assessments of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas; the Laguna Lake Basin, Philippines; the Arafura and Timor Seas; Western China; the Mekong Wetlands; Vietnam; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Russia’s Altay Sayan Ecoregion; several regions within India; Indonesia; Saudi Arabia and Colombia. An assessment of southern Africa was released in 2004.

The reports will be released as follows:

March 30, 2005
The findings and the reports will be released at The Royal Society in London and the National Press Club in World Resources Institute in Washington, DC. The London release will focus on the reports’ scientific conclusions and its implications. The Washington, DC release will focus on the reports’ implications for the USA, business, and international financial institutions. Additional releases will be held in Tokyo, Brasilia, Cairo, Beijing, Nairobi, and New Delhi.

• “The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Synthesis Report”
• “The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment: A Board Statement”

The final drafts of the MS Word version of these documents and final press materials will be available online, on an embargoed basis, by March 1, 2005 from www.millenniumassessment.org and http://newsroom.wri.org The synthesis reports and the board statement will be subject to final approval during the MA Board’s final meeting on March 22-23 at the United Nations in New York. Printed copies will be available by May 9.

May 19, 2005
The MA’s biodiversity synthesis report will be released before the May 22 celebration of International Biodiversity Day of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

• “The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Biodiversity Synthesis Report”
  The .pdf version of the paginated final report will be available on an embargoed basis from the MA and WRI sites by April 22, 2005. Printed copies will be available by May 9.

June 17, 2005
The MA’s desertification synthesis report will be released during the June 17 celebration of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.

• “The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Desertification Synthesis Report”
  The .pdf version of the paginated final report will be available on an embargoed basis from the MA and WRI sites by April 22, 2005. Printed copies will be available by May 9.

Releases to be scheduled
Arrangements for the release of the following reports are still being finalized.

• “The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Wetlands Synthesis Report”
  “The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Business and Industry Report”
  “The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Health Synthesis Report”
  The .pdf versions of the paginated final reports will be available on an embargoed basis from the MA and WRI sites by July 1, 2005. Printed versions will be available by July 19.

The Technical Reports
In addition to the synthesis reports, there will be five technical reports published under the series title “Ecosystems and Human Well-being.” .Pdfs will be available on July 15, 2005 and printed copies by September 2005.

This includes:

• "Current State and Trends: Findings of the Conditions and Trends Working Group” (~800 pages)
• “Scenarios: Findings of the Scenarios Working Group” (~500 pages)
• “Policy Responses: Findings of the Responses Group” (~500 pages)
• “Multi-scale Assessments: Findings of the Sub-global Assessments Working Group” (~500 pages)
• “Our Human Planet: Summary for Decision-makers” (~120 pages)

For more information, contact:

World Resources Institute
Paul Mackie, senior media officer, +1(202)729-7684, pmackie@wri.org
Adlai Amor, World Resources Institute + (1-202) 729-7736, aamor@wri.org Visit www.millenniumassessment.org or http://newsroom.wri.org