World Resources Institute (WRI)
The World Resources Institute (WRI) is a nonprofit organization established on June 3, 1982, with a mission to promote sustainable management of the world's natural resources and protect the environment for current and future generations. Founded by James Gustave Speth, WRI has since evolved its focus from policy research to addressing global environmental challenges through various programs and initiatives. The organization operates twelve international offices and collaborates with partners in over fifty countries, employing more than 1,700 staff members.
WRI's primary program goals encompass climate protection, governance, markets and enterprise, and the well-being of people and ecosystems. The institute actively works to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, advocating for environmentally responsible investments, and supporting the development of international agreements. Notable initiatives include the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative, which provides essential tools for greenhouse gas accounting, and the Clean Air Catalyst partnership, aimed at addressing air quality and climate solutions.
Additionally, WRI produces key publications and online resources, such as the biennial "World Resources" assessment and "Global Forest Watch," which monitors forest conditions. The organization seeks to ensure that natural resource management decisions reflect the needs of communities dependent on these resources, thus fostering social equity and environmental sustainability. Through its research, partnerships, and advocacy, WRI plays a significant role in global efforts to address environmental issues and promote sustainable development.
World Resources Institute (WRI)
IDENTIFICATION: Nonprofit organization devoted to protecting the environment by supporting sustainable management of the world’s resources
DATE: Established on June 3, 1982
Through its many programs, the World Resources Institute works to develop international agreements to protect the environment and promotes responsible investments in environment-friendly energy and transportation technologies.
The World Resources Institute (WRI) was launched in 1982 by James Gustave Speth with a $15 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and $10 million seed money from the Andrew K. Mellon Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation. WRI was founded to be a center that would address policy research on and analysis of global resources, but it has since shifted its mission and goals. The stated mission of the World Resources Institute is to “move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.” The organization has twelve international offices, partners in more than fifty countries, and staff of more than 1,700. A good portion of WRI funding comes from US government agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Departments of Agriculture and Energy.
WRI program goals are centered on four primary areas: climate protection, governance, markets and enterprise, and people and ecosystems. The organization seeks to be a in the development of international agreements and US policies to protect the environment, to promote responsible investments in energy and transportation technologies that are friendly to the environment, and to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions through clean alternatives supported by all stakeholders. More specifically, WRI works to empower people and institutions to do the following: mitigate climate change (particularly by reducing greenhouse gas emissions) and adapt to climate change as needed; make informed, socially equitable decisions to ensure environmental sustainability; expand economic opportunities while protecting the environment and harnessing markets; and stop and reverse land degradation and other environmental problems to ensure productivity for generations to come.
WRI sponsors and supports research, workshops, conferences, and related activities to address the world’s environmental problems. In addition, WRI produces a number of publications and offers online resources, some of the most important of which are World Resources (launched in 1986), a biennial country-by-country assessment of environmental conditions and trends; Global Forest Watch (launched in 2000), an independent online network for forests; and Earth Trends (launched in 2001), a comprehensive online database of information on the world’s social, economic, and environmental trends. The NextBillion.net, an online initiative launched by WRI in 2004, is the result of the first conference held for the purpose of finding ways in which the business can help alleviate and reduce global poverty by addressing and meeting the needs of the world’s poorest people at the “base of the economic pyramid.”
WRI played an important role in the creation of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the adoption of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), as well as many other international environment-related efforts. Over the years, WRI has joined with other nonprofit organizations as well as with international agencies and other institutions to address the protection of the world’s natural resources. WRI seeks to ensure that decisions made about the use and management of natural resources and ecosystems reflect the needs and values of the people who are dependent on those resources and ecosystems.
WRI developed the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative in collaboration with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. This comprehensive tool provides accounting information and information on standards on nearly every greenhouse gas program in place in the world. WRI is also a founding member and supporter of the US Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), an alliance of businesses and environmental groups that promotes the enactment of US legislative action on the reduction of greenhouse emissions. The “blueprint for legislative action” developed by USCAP members and issued on January 15, 2009, supports the implementation of a cap-and-trade system, investment in carbon capture and storage technology, and free allowances for certain businesses. Initiatives to address twenty-first century issues include the Clean Air Catalyst partnership to address climate solutions and air quality, Beijing Low-Emission Zone to reduce air pollution and address public health issues, and Defending Earth's Defenders Initiative to help peaceful environmental activists. The organization also provides information such as the Global Forest Review and Forest Pulse, which analyze and provide data on important topics such as forest loss and forest biodiversity conservation.
In 2021, the World Resources Institute worked with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to create forest carbon flux maps. These maps provide detailed information about carbon fluctuations in forests throughout the world. The information provided by the forest carbon flux map may assist researchers in tracking the impact of global climate change.
Bibliography
"Global Forest Review." World Resources Institute, 2023, research.wri.org/gfr/global-forest-review. Accessed 23 July 2024.
"Initiatives." World Resources Institute, 2023, www.wri.org/initiatives. Accessed 23 July 2024.
Irwin, Frances, et al. Restoring Nature’s Capital: An Action Agenda to Sustain Ecosystem Services. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute, 2007. Print.
"NASA Satellites Help Quantify Forests' Impacts on the Global Carbon Budget." NASA, 3 Feb. 2021, www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-satellites-help-quantify-forests-impacts-on-the-global-carbon-budget. Accessed 23 July 2024.
Pearce, Fred. “People Power Will Save the World.” New Scientist 2 Aug. 2014: 14–15. EBSCO Discovery Service (EDS). Web. 5 Jan. 2016.
Speth, James Gustave. Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment. New Haven: Yale UP, 2004. Print.
Weatherer, Laura, et al. Building Climate Equity: Creating a New Approach from the Ground Up. Washington, DC: WRI, 2015. World Affairs Online WAO. Web. 5 Jan. 2016.
World Resources Inst. World Resources Institute. WRI, 2016. Web. 5 Jan. 2016.