|
|
| Regional highlights:
Africa |
| The increasing numbers of African countries
facing water stress and scarcity, and land degradation, are
major environmental issues in the region. The rising costs of
water treatment, food imports, medical treatment and soil conservation
measures are not only increasing human vulnerability and health
insecurity but are also draining African countries of their
economic resources. The expansion of agriculture into marginal
areas and clearance of natural habitats such as forests and
wetlands has been a major driving force behind land degradation.
The loss of biological resources translates into loss of economic
potential and options for commercial development in the future.
These negative changes, however, have been tempered by Africa's
impressive wildlife conservation record, including a well-established
network of protected areas and the region's commitment to multilateral
environmental agreements. African countries also participate
in many regional and sub-regional initiatives and programmes.
Notable achievements include the 1968 African Convention on
the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (currently
being updated) and the 1991 Bamako Convention on the Ban of
the Import into Africa and the Control of Transboundary Movement
and Management of Hazardous Waste within Africa. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Regional highlights:
Asia and the Pacific |
| Overpopulation, poverty and lack of enforcement
of policy measures have compounded environmental problems in
many parts of the region. Biological resources have long been
of subsistence importance, and have been increasingly exploited
for trade. About three-quarters of known or suspected species
extinctions have occurred on isolated islands in the region.
Protected areas constitute only 5 per cent of the total area,
compared to the IUCN benchmark of 10 per cent. Discharge of
sewage and other wastes has heavily polluted freshwater. Sedimentation
in rivers and reservoirs caused by large-scale deforestation
has also resulted in big economic losses. Urbanization, industrialization
and tourism, coupled with a growing coastal population, have
degraded many coastal areas. More than 60 per cent of Asia's
mangroves have been converted to aquaculture farms. Air pollution
levels in some cities are among the highest in the world. While
most environmental trends have been negative, positive changes
have included improvement in governance by public authorities,
growing environmental awareness and public participation, and
increasing environmental awareness in industry. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Regional highlights:
Europe |
| The environmental situation is mixed: there
have been some noticeable improvements over the past 30 years
(for example, emissions to air); the state of biodiversity and
forests has not changed greatly; and other situations have undergone
marked degradation (freshwater, and some coastal and marine
areas). By the 1990s, the European atmosphere had generally
improved significantly. Increasing efforts to safeguard natural
areas and biodiversity may signal a turnaround in species protection.
Freshwater stocks are unevenly distributed, with parts of southern,
western and southeastern Europe being noticeably water stressed.
The health of coastal and marine areas has noticeably worsened,
particularly in southern and western Europe and the Mediterranean
coastline. Geographically, there has been an amelioration of
some environmental problems in Western Europe, and a common
(but far from universal) deterioration in Central and Eastern
Europe, with recent signs of a broad recovery in many countries.
The development of strong environmental policies in the European
Union promises continuing progress in the area. |
|
|
|
| Regional highlights:
Latin America and the Caribbean |
| Environmental degradation in Latin America
and the Caribbean has increased over the past 30 years. The
main pressures on the environment and natural resources are
the rising population, increasing inequality of incomes, limited
planning, especially in urban areas, and the high dependence
of many economies on natural resources exploitation. More than
300 million ha of land have been degraded and almost 30 per
cent of the reefs in the Caribbean are considered to be at risk.
Of the more than 400 million ha of natural forest lost worldwide
over the past 30 years, more than 40 per cent was in the region.
Urban environmental problems, especially air pollution, water
contamination and inadequate waste disposal, are having severe
health impacts on people living in citites, currently 75 per
cent of the population. The increasing frequency and intensity
of natural disasters, possibly linked to climate change, is
having a high human and financial cost. The poorest populations,
especially urban ones, are the most vulnerable to such disasters. |
|
|
|
| Regional highlights:
North America |
| North America is a major consumer of
the world's natural resources and producer of its wastes, and
its per capita impact on the global environment is larger than
that of any other region. Resource conservation in North America
has been less successful than pollution abatement, and per capita
consumption has increased steadily since 1972. There has been
significant progress in controlling some forms of air and water
pollution and in continuing a trend to set aside protected areas.
During the 1990s, North American free trade strengthened the
economic ties between Canada and the United States. At the same
time, regional environmental degradation led to an increased
recognition of the interdependent nature of cross-border ecosystems.
The two countries strengthened cooperative measures to address
transboundary pollution, agreeing to more aggressive NOX
emission controls, for example. They also undertook to conserve
the continent's wetland habitats to protect waterfowl and other
migratory species. The impact of introduced exotic species on
biological diversity became of increasing environmental concern
with the liberalization of trade. |
|
|
|
| Regional highlights:
West Asia |
| Conservation and protection of freshwater
resources is a top priority, particularly on the Arabian Peninsula
where water deficits are being met mainly through exploitation
of groundwater resources. Countries are developing water policies
to manage water scarcity by increasing both water supply and
conservation, and introducing more efficient irrigation. Land
degradation and food security continue to be key environmental
issues. The region's seas include some of the busiest shipping
areas of the world, making the marine environment susceptible
to pollution events such as oil spills. Per capita hazardous
waste production is among the highest in the world due to the
types of industry in the region. Air emissions from power stations,
desalination plants and industrial installations are also of
concern. |
|
|
|
| Regional highlights:
the Polar Regions |
| The major environmental issues in the polar
regions include the depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer,
the long-range transport of air pollutants, warming associated
with global climate change, the decline of several bird, mammal
and fish species, and pollution of major rivers. In the Arctic,
average yearly ozone levels in the 1990s had declined by 10
per cent from the late 1970s, increasing the risk of snow blindness
and sunburn. Climate change is expected to be more extreme in
the polar regions than anywhere else. Human activities are major
threats to biodiversity in the Arctic. The warming trend is
reducing the ice habitat for species such as the polar bear
and walrus. In the Antarctic, sealing and whaling have reduced
populations in the Southern Ocean. Eutrophication is a recent
problem in several lakes in Scandinavia. One of the major developments
in the Arctic is public opposition to dam construction, particularly
in the Nordic countries. For example, in 2001 Iceland's National
Planning Agency rejected plans for a hydroelectric power project
that would have dammed two of the three main rivers flowing
from Europe's largest glacier and destroyed an extensive wilderness. |
|
|
