MEDIA KIT: World Resources 2000-2001: People and Ecosystems: The fraying web of life

News releases

• 2001 May 14. "WRI study reveals how cheap water causes scarcity, ecosystem decline". WRI study reveals that water policies in most of the world are failing to protect the world's freshwater systems, resulting in growing water scarcity and alarming declines in the numbers of aquatic plants and animals.

• 2000 November 30. "Landmark report warns that degradation of Africa's ecosystems does not stop at national borders". A landmark assessment of the world's ecosystems, including those in Africa, warns that the accelerating degradation of the continent's lakes, forests, grasslands and other ecosystems does not stop at national borders.

• 2000 November 3. "Landmark report urges new approach to stem decline of inner Asia's grasslands". A landmark report by more than 175 scientists concludes that the world's grasslands and other ecosystems are being degraded at an accelerating pace.

• 2000 September 15. "Landmark report urges new approach to stem widespread decline in world's ecosystems". A landmark assessment released during a meeting of the world's top environment officials called for a new approach to managing ecosystems in order to stem the widespread decline of the processes that sustain life on earth.

• 2000 May 22. "Estudio global revela nuevas señales de peligro: la degradación de las tierras agrícolas amenaza la capacidad del mundo para producir alimentos". El análisis de los agroecosistemas del mundo se basa en series de datos tabulados y otros provenientes de satélites y mapas.

• 2000 April 17. "New report reveals widespread decline in world's ecosystems". Summary findings of a new report reveal a widespread decline in the condition of the world's ecosystems due to increasing resource demands. Warns of devastating implications for human development and the welfare of all species.

• 2000 April 17. "Nuevo informe revela el deterioro generalizado de los ecosistemas del mundo". Los ecosistemas comprenden comunidades de organismos interactuantes y el medio ambiente en que viven: son los motores biológicos del planeta.

Publications and papers

Authors: United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, World Bank, World Resources Institute. 2000. World Resources 2000-2001: People and ecosystems: The fraying web of life. This millennial edition focuses on five critical ecosystems that have been shaped by the interaction of physical environment, biological conditions, and human intervention: Croplands, forests, coastal zones, freshwater systems, and grasslands.