[pf] State of The World's Grasslands (Freshwater Systems last month)

by David MacClement

09 December 2000 23:58 UTC

· (PR for the second of 5 reports; last month: freshwater systems )

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From: APFEJ <sobacine@sri.lanka.net>
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Date: Sat, 09 Dec 2000 08:14:03 +0600
Subject: New WRI Report Shows Striking Declines in World's Grasslands  

Embargoed for release on Monday, Dec. 11, 2000

For more information, journalists can contact: 
Adlai J. Amor, WRI Media Director
Tel: 1-202-729-7736,  Email: aamor@wri.org
Or visit http://www.wri.org/wri

>From Dec. 8 to 15, journalists in Bonn, Germany, can contact
Robin White at Hotel Kaiserhof, tel: 49-228-957050

An advance copy of the report is available at:
http://www.dooleyonline.net/media_preview/index.cfm

BONN, Germany, Dec. 11, 2000 - As negotiators convene in Bonn to implement
the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, a report released
today by the World Resources Institute (WRI) warns that the world's
grasslands have declined in their extent and condition, as well as their
ability to support human, plant, and animal life.  

Grasslands cover 40 percent of the world's land surface. These ecosystems
provide livelihoods for nearly 800 million people, along with forage for
livestock, wildlife habitat, carbon and water storage, renewable energy,
recreation, and tourism.  

"Grasslands and other ecosystems are the productive engines of the planet,"
said Jonathan Lash, president of the World Resources Institute (WRI),
commenting on the report, Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems (PAGE):
Grassland Ecosystems. "Grassland ecosystems remain the primary source of
genetic material for improving our food crops and an increasing number of
pharmaceuticals. Unfortunately, measures scientists used to assess the
health of grasslands tell us that we are drawing on them more than ever and
degrading them at a rapid pace."
        
The decline of the world's grasslands is due mainly to human-induced
modifications. These include agriculture, urbanization, excessive fire,
livestock grazing, fragmentation, and invasive plants and animals.  
 
Changes in grasslands have been brought about primarily by conversion of
these ecosystems to agriculture, and more recently, the growth of towns and
cities. This is especially true in central United States, Canada, and
Europe.  

North American prairies have declined by an average of 79 percent over the
past century. The greatest declines are in the tall grass prairies,
including those in the Canadian province of Manitoba, and the U.S. states
of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.  

"Grasslands have been a gold mine of grains for food," said Robin White,
one of the report's three authors. "They are the original source of the
world's major cereal crops like rice, wheat, barley, rye, and millet."

Grasslands include the savannas of Africa, the steppes of Central Asia, the
prairies of North America, and the llanos and cerrados of South America.
The largest stretches of grasslands are found in Sub-Saharan Africa and
Asia. The five countries with the largest areas of grasslands are
Australia, Russia, China, the United States and Canada - each supporting
over 3 million square kilometers of grasslands.
           
"We need to value grasslands not only for the goods they produce, like
cereals and grains, but also for the services they provide, like wildlife
habitat," said White. She also cited tourism in many African countries,
which are highly dependent on grasslands. A study concluded that 90 percent
of the tourists who visit Kenya go on safari in its savannas. In South
Africa, tourism generated as much as $1.9 billion in the mid-1990s.

The PAGE report on grassland ecosystems (http://www.wri.org/wri/wr2000) is
the second in a series of five technical reports. Future reports will cover
agroecosystems, coastal areas, and forests. A report on freshwater systems
was released last month. Taken together, these reports are the first such
comprehensive assessment of the state of the world's ecosystems. 
        
The PAGE reports set the stage for the Millennium Ecosystems Assessment
(MEA) that will be launched next year by WRI, the United Nations, the World
Bank, governments, and non-governmental organizations. The MEA is expected
to fill in the data gaps identified by the PAGE reports through the
participation of hundreds of the world's leading scientists who will be
mobilized for this  $20 million, four-year effort.
        
"If concluded successfully, the MEA will generate new information, develop
methodological tools, change public policies, and increase public
understanding of the world we live in," said Jonathan Lash.