"Only by understanding the environment and how it works, can we make the necessary decisions to protect it. Only by valuing all our precious natural and human resources can we hope to build a sustainable future. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment is an unprecedented contribution to our global mission for development, sustainability and peace." —KOFI ANNAN, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE UNITED NATIONS

Launched in June 2001 and involving more than 1,300 leading scientists from over 100 nations, The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) is a groundbreaking study on how humans have altered ecosystems, and how changes in ecosystem services affect human well-being, both now and in the future. Integrating findings at the local, regional, and global scales and as well as from alternative intellectual traditions, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment offers the first truly comprehensive picture of the health of the planet.

This five-volume set, comprising four technical volumes and one summary volume, provides an indispensable baseline of information for researchers, scholars, and students, and will inform public decision making for decades to come.

Set includes the following volumes of Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Current States and Trends; Scenarios; Policy Responses; Multiscale Assessments; Our Human Planet.