Formation 1982 (1982) Website WRI.org Founded 1982 Chairman of the Board James A. Harmon | President & CEO Andrew Steer Founder James Gustave Speth President & CEO Andrew Steer | |
Mission To move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations. Headquarters Washington, D.C., United States Similar World Wide Fund for Nature, Food and Agriculture Organization, Conservation International, The Nature Conservancy, Natural Resources Defense Profiles | ||
The World Resources Institute (WRI) is an independent, non-governmental global research organization which seeks to create equity and prosperity through sustainable natural resource management. It was established in 1982 with funding from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. WRI is an independent, non-partisan and nonprofit organization with a global staff of more than 450 scientists, economists, policy experts, business analysts, statistical analysts, mapmakers, and communicators developing and promoting policies with the intention of protecting the Earth and improving people’s lives.
Contents
WRI's activities are focused on six areas: climate, clean energy, food, forests, water, and sustainable cities. In 2014, Stephen M. Ross, an American real estate developer, gave the organization US$30,500,000 to establish WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities.
Energy
The world’s energy systems need a change, they have proved ineffective as well as posing a great threat to the entire population. With climate change due to human pollution and activity, as well as more than 1.3 billion people[1] still lacking access to electricity, something needs to be done. While subsidies still continue to support fossil fuel investment, there has been a global shift in more sustainable energy systems. World Resource works with the policymakers of the civil society to transform and change the global energy system. We focus on dramatically reducing greenhouse gas pollution while still providing energy to those in the most poverty-stricken situations.
Forests
Society, human activity, and the global economy are all linked to forests; More than 1 billion[2] people depend on forests for their livelihoods. Forest ecosystems play critical roles in stabilizing the climate; and providing food, water, wood products, and vital medicines. World Resource aims at curbing deforestation worldwide while helping to restore already-cleared land.
Climate
The impacts of an increasing global climate are being felt all around the world, as temperatures have exceeded global averages for 38 consecutive years[3]. Heat waves and extreme weather effects devastate many countries by, destroying agriculture increasing wildfires, and endangering lives. We are working on the national and international level to identify cost-effective solutions that reduce emissions in the short and long-term.
Water
The world’s water system face great threats more than 1 billion people live in water scarce regions with it reaching as many as 3.5 billion in nine years[4]. With problems like increasing pollution and climate change, the amount of water available is exponentially decreasing. Our Aqueduct Project[5] uses the most updated data to produce global risk maps and by conducting the most efficient ways to alleviate stress on the world’s water supply.
Food
The world is projected to have 9.6 billion people by 2050 and in order to sustain it the meeting of three great needs. We have to reduce agriculture’s impact, ecosystems, and water. At World Resource Institute we are developing solutions to meet these needs by first identifying and then advancing methods, such as climate-smart agriculture to solve them.
Cities
Traditional models of city development constrict us into congestion, sprawl and inefficient resource use. We aim at creating a compact, connected, and a more efficient city; As it can provide a better quality of life for the citizens. We accomplish this by collaborating with national decision-makers to implement our projects that overcome all of the challenges presented with urbanization.
Initiatives
Some of the major initiatives of WRI include: