The global issues that the World Resources Institute worked to put on the international agenda 20 years ago have emerged as major challenges of the Twenty-First Century: climate change, the loss of biodiversity, desertification, forest and reef destruction, and growing stress on freshwater resources.
This drives our work at WRI and produced some remarkable results in 2003:
- Global Forest Watch. In Central Africa, Global Forest Watch established a groundbreaking partnership with the Interafrican Forest Industries Association to create tools for monitoring the private sector’s voluntary commitments and compliance with forest laws. It’s an important step in the fight against illegal logging.
- Water Quality Trading. When the U.S Environmental Protection Agency adopted a first-ever market-based trading policy in waterborne pollutants, it was based in part on WRI’s groundbreaking research and analysis demonstrating the cost-effectiveness of such trading programs in meeting regulatory limits for nutrient run-off.
- Access to Information. Working with a global coalition of civil society groups, the Access Initiative is helping NGOs assess public access to information and decisions regarding natural resources and the environment. Such an assessment persuaded the Government of Uganda to consult the public when formulating a national policy on biotechnology and biosafety, and to collaborate with NGOs to develop new Freedom of Information legislation.
- Greenhouse Gas Emission Protocol. Businesses and organizations around the world are using the Protocol, a voluntary accounting and reporting mechanism that helps them to more effectively manage and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions—a primary cause of global climate change.
- Building a Market for Green Power.
This report is intended to reach an eclectic array of people and institutions interested in WRI—partner organizations, research colleagues, government and inter-governmental agencies, nongovernmental organizations, funding institutions, corporations—as well as individuals who support WRI or are considering doing so.
Whatever brings you to us, I deeply appreciate your interest in WRI and I believe you will find the results-oriented information in this Annual Report very compelling—not just about the challenges we face, but about the smart solutions WRI is constantly developing to protect the Earth and improve people’s lives.
