Projects in People & Ecosystems

Supporting the sustainable management of coral reefs and mangroves by quantifying their economic value.

The Corporate Ecosystem Services Review (ESR) is a structured methodology for corporate managers to proactively develop strategies for managing business risks and opportunities arising from their company’s dependence and impact on ecosystems.

The goal of this project is to change how decision makers think about ecosystem services: from protecting ecosystems from development to investing in ecosystems for development.

Developing a rigorous set of frameworks, indicators, and data to help integrate the ecosystem services approach into public- and private-sector policy processes.

Eutrophication—the over-enrichment of water by nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus—is a leading threat to water quality around the world. Also known as “nutrient pollution,” eutrophication upsets the natural balance of aquatic ecosystems, which can lead to algal blooms, red tides, hypoxic or “dead” zones, fish kills, and, eventually, ecosystem collapse.

The World Resources Institute is partnering with the University of Maryland and the Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration to map where forest and landscape restoration is possible, to understand the conditions necessary for success and to evaluate the magnitude of potential benefits.

WRI seeks to increase the ability of governments, businesses, and civil society to protect intact forest landscapes, manage working forests more effectively, and restore deforested lands.

Ecosystems provide many tangible benefits–or “ecosystem services”–to people around the world. WRI is helping governments, businesses, and multilateral development banks include these ecosystem services in their decision-making, with the ultimate goal of reducing ecosystem degradation around the world.

Increase effectiveness of poverty reduction efforts through spatial analysis of ecosystem services. Policymakers will understand and act on linkages between poverty and ecosystem services and improve implementation of national strategies and plans.

Diverting oil palm plantations onto degraded lands in Indonesia to combat illegal logging, protect the environment, and create sustainable livelihoods.

Raising awareness of threats to coral reefs and providing information and tools to manage coastal habitats more effectively.

WRI’s Southern Forests for the Future project seeks to raise awareness of the threats facing the forests of the southern United States and lay the foundation for increasing the acreage that is conserved or managed in a sustainable manner.

Research and design payments for ecosystem services that can improve water quality more efficiently and cost-effectively.

The World Resources Report (WRR) provides policymakers around the world—government, civil society, and business—with analysis and insight about major environmental and development issues.