TITLE:
From the Challenges Imposed by Climate Change to the Preservation of Ecosystem Processes and Services
AUTHORS:
Rita Anastácio, Mário Jorge Pereira
KEYWORDS:
Roads to Dignity, Essential Biodiversity Variables, Kyoto Protocol, IPCC, Ecosystem Services Profile, SDG’s
JOURNAL NAME:
Natural Resources,
Vol.8 No.12,
December
29,
2017
ABSTRACT:
Today, especially in countries that offer a satisfactory
quality of life, it is easy to forget that we depend directly and indirectly on
services provided by ecosystems such as quantity and quality of water, energy,
food, health, and shelter. In less developed
countries, the daily struggle for essential goods makes this dependency
more real, despite the lack of knowledge, organization and/or financial
resources to deal with the problems imposed on ecosystems by climate and anthropogenic changes. Protecting ecosystems
by ensuring the services they provide has become highly dependent on our
management capacity, our understanding of its functioning, and our capacity for
persuasion. Demographic pressure and
individualism compromise the survival of various species, including our own, and create pressures under
governments and the stability of nations. The notion of facing a global challenge has awakened in the scientific
community the need to focus on
developing global strategies that change the mind-sets of decision makers, industry, governments and
markets. Global knowledge networks
and experts are being built to mitigate problems on a global scale. In this mini review, the authors make a brief visit to documents,
intergovernmental initiatives, and platforms that have been built with the aim
of contributing to promote a resolution for the global problems.