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NATURE

Ecosystem report invites collaborators

ENN



A Heinz Center report focuses on United States' cropland, forest and coastal and ocean ecosystems.
A Heinz Center report focuses on United States' cropland, forest and coastal and ocean ecosystems.  

November 2, 1999
Web posted at: 12:11 p.m. EST (1711 GMT)

It is a work in progress, documenting the condition of natural resources in the United States, and everyone is being invited to participate.

A wide range of experts from industry, conservation groups, academia and government agencies are collaborating on an environmental report for the United States organized by The Heinz Center for Science, Economics and the Environment. The report is a prototype, intended to elicit comments, criticism and suggestions on its format and preliminary findings. The Heinz Center plans to issue an expanded report covering all ecosystems of the U.S. by 2001.

"This is the first step toward truly reliable and regular reports on the condition of our natural resources," said William Merrell, president of the Heinz Center.

  MESSAGE BOARD
Saving the environment
 

The Heinz Center is a non-profit institution that fosters collaboration among industry, environmental organizations, government and academia to improve the scientific and economic foundation for environmental policy.

Under the leadership of Professor William Clark of Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, the Heinz Center project brought together more than 100 individuals who joined various committees and working groups, contributed information or reviewed the work in progress.

The report, Designing a Report on the State of the Nation's Ecosystems, focuses on croplands, forests, coasts and oceans. It includes charts and graphs that illustrate the extent of these ecosystems, the human uses of those systems and their basic condition. The 2001 version of the Report on the State of the Nation's Ecosystems will include information on three additional systems: freshwater; arid and range lands; and cities and suburbs, in addition to updating the 1999 report.

The need for this report stems from the fact that there is no comprehensive database of environmental information and the people who make decisions about our environment need the best information to make the best policies, according to Robin O'Malley, project manager for the report.

"This report will benefit the people who make decisions that affect the environment, the people in business and government and by their political activities who help change the way policies get made," said O'Malley.

Environmental information is produced by public agencies and private interests, but is rarely compiled to improve overall understanding of broad trends in forests, croplands or coastal resources. In addition, different interests often report only what they find most useful, according to the center.

graphic
Of the ecosystems covered in the report, coasts, especially the rugged Alaskan coast, and oceans suffer most from a lack of comprehensive and consistent information on key ecosystem goods, services and properties.  

"I get opinions every day," said Rep. Jim Saxton, R-New Jersey, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife and Oceans. "But I need timely, accurate information in a meaningful context, and that is why I support this project and applaud its report."

Project participants were often unable to find reliable information on key eco-system topics like recreation in croplands and how the oceans are changing. The report includes conspicuous blanks to highlight these key unmet needs.

"We went to the public and private institutions that have the information and sometimes the data just wasn't there," said O'Malley. "We're hoping that our pointing out that there's a gap and a group as diverse as this group of people from business, environmental groups, the private sector and government are all people who believe it's important to fill that gap, that other people will fill the gap."

The report is a work in progress and The Heinz Center welcomes comments and critiques of the prototype, which will be updated and modified as data on the additional ecosystems is being compiled for the final report.

The Heinz Center is in charge of the report until 2001, but the future of the report is uncertain. A foundation or Congress could take it over, but the organization would have to be credible and neutral toward environmental issues, said O'Malley. A steering committee was organized to deal with this aspect of the report.

Copyright 1999, Environmental News Network, All Rights Reserved



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RELATED SITES:
Designing a Report on the State of the Nation's Ecosystems
The Heinz Center's
William Clark's homepage at the Kennedy School of Government

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