The Millennium Development Goals in 2010 – threats to ecosystem services from air pollution, energy generation and pesticide use

The document argues that the degradation of ecosystem services—approximately 60 per cent of those examined by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment—poses a significant barrier to eradicating hunger and poverty. It specifically highlights how air pollutants like ground-level ozone threaten crop yields in South Asia, how slow progress in energy access in sub-Saharan Africa and developing Asia may lead to increased forest clearing, and how uncontrolled pesticide use in Southeast Asia risks the health of farmers and the supply of wild foods. The brief recommends integrated pest management, stricter chemical legislation, and pro-poor energy policies to mitigate these environmental pressures.

• Air pollutants, including ground-level ozone (O3), nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3), and sulphur dioxide (SO2), significantly impact ecosystem services, potentially hindering the MDGs by reducing crop growth and damaging natural ecosystems.
• Tropospheric ozone pollution is identified as a potential major obstacle to alleviating hunger in South Asia, where the proportion of underweight children under five is highest (46 per cent) and crop yield losses are expected to be severe.
• Progress toward basic energy access has been slow in sub-Saharan Africa and developing Asia, with the energy-poor likely to be concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Indonesia by 2015, and sub-Saharan Africa and Indonesia by 2030.
• Failure to provide basic energy access may indirectly harm ecosystem services through increased forest clearing and directly impede MDG targets by limiting social services and agricultural productivity.
• Uncontrolled pesticide use, specifically chemicals like carbaryl and cypermethrin in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, threatens the health of farming families and reduces the supply of wild foods such as insects, frogs, crabs, fish, and snails.
• Pesticide use has unintended negative effects on critical ecosystem services including pollination, nutrient cycling, natural pest control, and wild food supplies.

APA

Persson, L., & Noel, S. (2010). The Millennium Development Goals in 2010 – threats to ecosystem services from air pollution, energy generation and pesticide use. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PolicyBrief-LPersson-MillenniumDevelopmentGoals.pdf

Chicago

Persson, Linn, and Stacey Noel. The Millennium Development Goals in 2010 – threats to ecosystem services from air pollution, energy generation and pesticide use. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2010. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PolicyBrief-LPersson-MillenniumDevelopmentGoals.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Persson |first1=Linn |last2=Noel |first2=Stacey |title=The Millennium Development Goals in 2010 – threats to ecosystem services from air pollution, energy generation and pesticide use |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2010 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PolicyBrief-LPersson-MillenniumDevelopmentGoals.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{persson2010millennium, author = {Persson, Linn and Noel, Stacey}, title = {{The Millennium Development Goals in 2010 – threats to ecosystem services from air pollution, energy generation and pesticide use}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2010}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-PolicyBrief-LPersson-MillenniumDevelopmentGoals.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }