Prof. Garry Peterson,
Department of Geography and McGill School of Environment
April 9, 2008
Humanity dominates the world's ecosystems. Humanity has benefited from the many services provided by ecosystems, such as food, climate regulation, and places for recreation. We have successfully modified many ecosystems to give us huge benefits, such as food, but by doing so have reduced our supply of other benefits. The number and wealth of people living on Earth have substantially increased, while the ecosystems have been degraded. Does this mean that people no longer need ecosystems to sustain themselves? Recently the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a UN-endorsed 5 year project, brought together over 1300 scientists to assess the state of benefits that people receive from nature, and their possible futures. I discuss what this assessment found about the state of the world, and what ecological futures are possible.