Home>News Center>World
         
 

'Dead zones' top list of hazards
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-03-29 23:38

So-called "dead zones," oxygen-starved areas of the world's oceans that are devoid of fish, top the list of emerging environmental challenges, the United Nations Environment Programme warned Monday in its global overview.

The spreading zones have doubled over the last decade and pose as big a threat to fish stocks as overfishing, UNEP said its Global Environment Outlook Year Book 2003, released at the opening of the agency's 8th summit for the world's environment ministers.

The new findings tally nearly 150 dead zones around the globe, double the number in 1990, with some stretching 70,000 square kilometres, about the size of Ireland.

Dead zones have long afflicted the Gulf of Mexico and Chesapeake Bay, but are now spreading to other bodies of water, such as the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Adriatic Sea, Gulf of Thailand and Yellow Sea, as other regions develop, UNEP said.

They are also appearing off South America, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

The main cause is excess nitrogen run-off from farm fertilizers, sewage and industrial pollutants. The nitrogen triggers blooms of microscopic algae known as phytoplankton. As the algae die and rot, they consume oxygen, thereby suffocating everything from clams and lobsters to oysters and fish.

"Human kind is engaged in a gigantic, global, experiment as a result of inefficient and often overuse of fertilizers, the discharge of untreated sewage and the ever rising emissions from vehicles and factories," UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer said in a statement. "Unless urgent action is taken to tackle the sources of the problem, it is likely to escalate rapidly."

Dead zones are especially dangerous to fisheries because they afflict coastal waters where many fish spawn and spend most of their lives before moving to deeper water, said UNEP senior environmental affairs officer Marion Cheatle.

"It hasn't been something well known by policy makers," Marion said. "But it's been getting noticeably worse."

UNEP urged nations to co-operate in reducing the amount of nitrogen discharged into their coastal waters, in part by cutting back on fertilizer use or planting more forests and grasslands along feeder rivers to soak up the excess nitrogen.

The announcement comes as environment ministers from more than 150 nations gathered on the South Korean resort island of Jeju at UNEP's 8th Special Session of the Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum.

Increasingly frequent dust and sand storms and impending global water shortages will also headline the three-day summit.

UNEP warns that without concerted effort to improve access to safe drinking water, a third of the world's population is likely to suffer chronic water shortages within a few decades. About 1.1 billion people lacked access to safe drinking water in 2000, while another 2.4 billion lacked access to basic sanitation, UNEP said.

The growing frequency of dust and sand storms is another concern, especially storms caused by land degradation and desertification in Mongolia and northern China.

 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

First frozen egg babies to be born in May

 

   
 

EU plans new quota for China

 

   
 

Paper to review China's human rights

 

   
 

Invasive moth and beetle cause huge losses

 

   
 

"Taiwan election biggest joke in the world"

 

   
 

Improved ID cards issued in Shanghai

 

   
  Seven new allies shift NATO to Russia's borders
   
  UN security chief fired over Iraq security flaws
   
  19 killed in Uzbek bombs and shootouts
   
  Israeli prosecutor: Indict Sharon
   
  French voters punish Chirac
   
  Musharraf: Al Qaeda is taunting me
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  The evil root of all instability in the world today  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 欧美极品另类高清videos| 西西人体www44rt大胆高清| 女地狱肉之壶极限调教2| 久久丁香五月天综合网| 欧洲精品免费一区二区三区 | AV中文无码乱人伦在线观看| 成人毛片在线视频| 久久九九久精品国产日韩经典| 校花被扒开尿口折磨憋尿| 亚洲日本乱码在线观看| 激情人妻另类人妻伦| 免费又黄又爽的视频| 精品欧美一区二区精品久久 | 亚洲欧美精品中字久久99| 麻豆国产高清在线播放| 国产精品2018| 69av在线播放| 在公车上忘穿内裤嗯啊色h文| koreanbjneat| 小仙女app2021版最新| 中文亚洲av片不卡在线观看| 日操夜操天天操| 久久夜色精品国产亚洲| 日韩欧美在线播放| 亚洲av成人一区二区三区| 欧美va在线观看| 亚洲六月丁香六月婷婷色伊人| 欧美日韩国产高清视频| 亚洲福利视频一区| 波多野结衣久久| 亚洲综合精品香蕉久久网| 玄兵chinesemoney| 免费人成在线观看视频播放| 精品91自产拍在线| 免费观看欧美一级牲片一| 精品区卡一卡2卡三免费| 午夜精品久久久久久| 精品国产电影久久九九| 含羞草传媒旧版每天免费3次| 老子影院午夜伦不卡| 国产1区2区3区在线观看|