Photo: Nigel Bowles/Alamy
A swan (above) swims in the rubbish and pollution thrown into the River Thames in London.
Damning new report on European waterways
The vast majority of Europe's rivers, lakes and estuaries have failed to meet minimum ecological standards for habitat degradation and pollution, with England one of the worst offenders. Only 40% of surface water bodies, of 130,000 waterways surveyed, were found by the EEA (European Environmental Agency) to be in good ecological states. Andreas Baumueller, WWF Europe's head of natural resources, states: "This report shows that we are nowhere near halting biodiversity loss by 2020". The EEA survey revealed a divide between chemical pollution in ground and surface water sites. Three-quarters of groundwater sites were of good quality, but 62% of rivers, estuaries and lakes were not. Mercury contamination was one of the most common problems, followed by pesticide overuse, inadequate waste treatment plants and tainted rainfall.
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Barry Wallace
1 comment:
This is SAD news. Hope we humans will do something about it.
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