Impacts of Pollution on Ecosystem Services for the Millennium Development Goals

The report assesses three primary stressors—air pollution, energy generation, and pesticides—and their capacity to degrade ecosystem services like crop production, pollination, and nutrient cycling. It argues that these pressures create significant barriers to achieving MDG 1, particularly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis highlights that while universal modern energy access is financially feasible and would reduce ecosystem pressure, current trends in air pollution and uncontrolled pesticide use pose severe risks to food security and biodiversity.

• Tropospheric ozone (O3) causes substantial global reductions in crop yields, with the most severe economic impacts occurring in Asia. In India, these annual losses are estimated at USD 4.4 billion and may increase by 5-15 per cent by 2030.
• Air pollutants including nitrogen oxides (NOx), ammonia (NH3), and sulphur dioxide (SO2) drive acidification and eutrophication, which threaten biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, especially in Asian ecosystems.
• The poor's heavy reliance on traditional biomass for energy leads to local ecosystem degradation and deforestation. The number of people dependent on traditional biomass is projected to increase from 2.5 billion in 2005 to 2.7 billion by 2030.
• Achieving universal modern energy access is financially viable, requiring an estimated annual investment of USD 36 billion to 40 billion between 2010 and 2030, which represents less than 5 per cent of current global annual energy-supply infrastructure investments.
• In Tanzania, transitioning from charcoal to ethanol gel fuel for cooking would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions (from 18 million tons of CO2e to 2 million tons) and reduce the land area required for fuel production from 2 million hectares (current practice) to 110,000 hectares.
• Uncontrolled pesticide use in Southeast Asia, specifically products like fipronil, carbaryl, and cypermethrin, poses a high risk to the supply of wild foods such as insects, frogs, crabs, fish, and snails collected from rice paddies.
• Pesticides can cause 'pest resurgence' by killing natural enemies of crop pests, which may eventually lead to crop failure and reverse initial yield gains, as seen with Bt-cotton in China.
• There is widespread exposure of pollinators, particularly honeybees, to multiple pesticides. While properly managed use may not be the primary threat, it acts as an additional stressor that could impair pollination and reduce crop yields in unregulated settings.
• Pesticide applications significantly affect soil micro-fauna, which are critical for nutrient and carbon cycling. For example, paraquat treatment of bean plants was found to almost completely remove heterotrophic soil bacteria.

APA

Persson, L., Arvidson, A., Lannerstad, M., Lindskog, H., Morrissey, T., Nilsson, L., Noel, S., & Senyagwa, J. (2010). Impacts of Pollution on Ecosystem Services for the Millennium Development Goals. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ProjectReport-LPersson-ImpactsOfPollutionOnEcosystemServices.pdf

Chicago

Persson, Linn, Anders Arvidson, Mats Lannerstad, Hanna Lindskog, Tim Morrissey, Linda Nilsson, Stacey Noel, and Jacqueline Senyagwa. Impacts of Pollution on Ecosystem Services for the Millennium Development Goals. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2010. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ProjectReport-LPersson-ImpactsOfPollutionOnEcosystemServices.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{persson2010impacts, author = {Persson, Linn and Arvidson, Anders and Lannerstad, Mats and Lindskog, Hanna and Morrissey, Tim and Nilsson, Linda and Noel, Stacey and Senyagwa, Jacqueline}, title = {{Impacts of Pollution on Ecosystem Services for the Millennium Development Goals}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2010}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ProjectReport-LPersson-ImpactsOfPollutionOnEcosystemServices.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }