Introduction - Ecological Governance - page 3

Analyses of ecological conditions that have been conducted during the
last decade emphasise the importance of ecosystem services, and there-
fore of the functioning of ecosystems from which they are derived, for
humanity s well-being. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, a global

survey of ecosystem health, describes humans as being

'

'

fully dependent

. 11 The World

on Earth ' s ecosystems and the services that they provide '

Wildlife Fund advises that humanity is ' wholly reliant on well function-

ing ecosystems to supply services, many of which could not be replaced

by technology if they were to be lost. 12 The UK

'

s national ecosystem
assessment stresses that the functioning of ecosystems underpins

'

' our

. 13 This makes their consistent identi very existence cant

deterioration in the ability of ecosystems to provide services all the more
disturbing. TheMillenniumEcosystemAssessment reports that 60 per cent
of the ecosystem services that it examines are being degraded or used
unsustainably, and that the condition of ecosystems is expected to worsen
during the coming decades. 14

' cation of signi

Its supporting studies also suggest that

humanity s alteration and disturbance of ecosystems may be increasing

the likelihood of non-linear changes in their states that can result not only
in the deterioration of services, but also in the abrupt and irreversible
withdrawal of their capacity to continue providing them. 15
Direct human drivers such as the excessive exploitation of ecosystem
services and changes to media (e.g., atmospheric composition) with
which they interact are immediately responsible for ecological degrada-
tion. In turn, these are the product of indirect drivers including require-
ments for resources to support economic growth, unsustainable levels
of consumption, population increases and technological change. It may
be dif

'

cult to establish the proportional responsibility of indirect driving
forces in particular instances of impaired ecosystem functionality because
they are . 16 However, it can be said with con-

' multiple and interactive '

dence that unprecedented economic growth since the SecondWorld War
is the predominant cause of environmental decline, and therefore that the
world

s developed states, whose economies and high standards of living
have driven this unbridled expansion, have been the major contributors to

'

11 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment,

' Ecosystems and Human Well-Being ' ,p.49.

12 WorldWildlife Fund,

' Living Planet Report 2012: Biodiversity, biocapacity and better choices '

(2012), p. 70, http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/about_us/living_planet_report_2012/ .
13 UK National Ecosystem Assessment,

' The UK National Ecosystem Assessment:

,UNEP-WCMC,Cambridge(2011),p.5.
14 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment,

Synthesis of Key Findings '

' Ecosystems and Human Well-Being ' ,p.1.

15 16

Ibid ., p. 1, pp. 88 - 91. Ibid ., p. 64.