With Assessment Outlines Finalized, Scientists Begin Writing Reports

Wednesday, April 23, 2003

Having finalized the assessment outlines, over 400 natural and social scientists from 66 countries have started to assess the relations between ecosystems and human well-being. Divided into four working groups, scientists are assessing the current and future capacity of ecosystems to provide services to humankind, including the impacts of ecosystem change on well-being. The scientists are also assessing human responses to ecosystem change, and how integrated assessments can be conducted at all scales, from the village level to the country, river basin, regional and global scales. The draft reports are expected to be distributed for review in December 2003.