Benchmark Ecosystem Assessment wins Award
December 22, 2005. The 1,360 scientists whose research contributed to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment were awarded the prestigious Zayed Prize, worth $300,000, for Scientific and Technological Achievement.
“This award recognizes the importance of the assessment to our understanding of trends in the health of the world’s ecosystems," said Leonard Good, CEO and Chairman of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which provided $7.3 million towards the MEA. "The work of these scientists will be enormously valuable to the GEF as it tackles the threats to the planet's biodiversity, climate, land, and water resources."
The benchmark assessment is the most extensive study ever conducted on the world’s ecosystems and the effects humans have had on these natural goods and services. It provides policymakers with a clearer understanding of risks to earth’s life support system. Moreover, it can be the basis for improved approaches to achieving on-the-ground results and enhancing country efforts toward solving global environmental challenges.
The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment started in 2001 as a response to a call by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan for global support of the Millennium Development Goals.
GEF Progress Report on Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment website