Land degradation, water issues, and po0llution due to oil production and industrial activities in Azerbaijan. About 30 000 hectares of soil on Azerbaijan’s Absheron peninsula is polluted by oil products and various forms of industrial waste.

Illustration in a set of graphics prepared for a pilot assessment report on the Black Sea drainage basin, for the UNEP Global Impact on Waters Assessment (GIWA). All data and information were prepared in close collaboration with the GIWA Black Sea team and the GIWA secretariat. The graphics were not used in this form in the final report on the Black Sea, published in 2005.

As the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere increases, the temperature in the European part of the Caspian Sea region will continue to rise, at least at first. Some researchers have recently expressed fears that the warm Gulf Stream current in the Atlantic Ocean may slow down due to the changes in the Artic environment and oceanic circulation.

Most areas of North America that have any economic significance - for agriculture, habitation or siliviculture has been converted and modifiedf for human use. Areas with lower degrees of disturbance and fragmentation are found in the vast Arctic areas of Canada and Alaska, as well as in the mountain ranges.

The management and enforcement of the protection regime in Indonesia is insufficient, and illegal activities - such as logging and mining, is rampant. The RAPPAM methodology, developed by WWF, has been used to assess the relative pressures and threats using questionnaires and workshops. Borneo and Sumatra are home to the Orangutan, and the protected areas represent vital habitat for the survival of the species.

Physical alteration and the destruction of habitats are now considered one of the most significant threats to coastal areas. Half of the world’s wetlands, and even more of its mangrove forests, have been lost over the past century to physical alterations, the major causes being accelerating social and economic development and poor-planning (UNEP, 2002). There are currently about one billion people living in coastal urban areas. It is estimated t...