Although the scale of problems has not been fully assessed, the key environmental problems in European seas and coastal areas have been identified as coastal zone pollution, eutrophication, overexploitation of resources, and the longer-term effects of climate change and sea level rise. In addition, important wildlife habitats in some coastal areas continue to be degraded or lost; one frequent consequence is the decline in populations that depend on these habitats for reproduction and other processes.
Europe has a range of different sea types, but its semi-enclosed and closed seas are a distinctive feature of the region. Their basins and shores are heavily affected by human activities. The physical characteristics of each sea, combined with the nature and intensity of the human activities changing it, determine which problem dominates. The seas most at risk from human activity are the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, and the Sea of Azov. The Mediterranean, with its heavy imbalance in population growth, economic development, and pollution loads between north and south shores, is also a cause for concern (UNEP, 1996). Least affected are the North Atlantic Ocean and the Norwegian and Barents seas (EEA, 1995a). West of the Urals, almost 30 per cent of the population lives within 50 kilometres of coastal waters (EEA, 1995a). It is estimated that 86 per cent of the coastal ecosystems in this part of the region are at high or moderate risk from development. (See Figure 2.12.) In FSU, 62 per cent of coastlines are in the same risk categories (WRI/ UNEP/UNDP/WB, 1996).
The most significant contaminants in the coastal zone are synthetic organic compounds, microbial organisms, oil, nutrients, litter, and, to a lesser extent, heavy metals and radionuclides. They originate from a wide range of land-based sources and activities in the marine catchment, sometimes hundreds or thousands of kilometres away from the sea, as well as from shipping and other offshore activities. Depending on type, the contaminant can harm marine organisms through physical damage or toxicity, turn bathing water and seafood into a human health hazard, and decrease the amenity value of beaches, thereby damaging local tourist industries.
The Black Sea and the Sea of Azov have the largest and most populated catchments in the region. Together with the Mediterranean, Baltic, and North seas, they consistently receive the highest loads of land-based contaminants-loads that are 10 to 100 times greater than those in the White, Barents, and Norwegian seas. In these areas, catchments and catchment populations are relatively small (EEA, 1995a).
Despite these differences and recent reductions in some of the riverine pollutant discharges [such as a 50-per-cent drop in phosphorus and heavy metal discharges by North Sea States between 1985 and 1995 (EEA, 1995b)], pollution of coastal waters is still considered to be a significant problem in all European seas (EEA, 1995a). Some consider the drying up of the Aral Sea to be the world s single greatest man-made environmental disaster (UNEP, 1996). (See Box 2.2.)
Box 2.2.
The Aral Sea Catastrophe
The Amu Dar'ya and Syr Dar'ya rivers, flowing from the mountains of Tian Shan and Pamirs, are the principal water sources for Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the southern part of Kazakstan. Traditionally, about half of the water was used for irrigation and the other half flowed into the Aral Sea. However, intensive development of irrigation, mainly for cotton, over the last few decades reduced the inflow of these rivers to around 3 per cent, causing severe shrinking of the Aral Sea.
Since 1960 the Aral Sea has lost two thirds of its volume, the surface area has halved, the water level has dropped by 16 metres, and the salinity level is now approaching that of sea water. (See Figures 1 and 2.) Almost all the native organisms have died out, devastating the sea-based portion of the economy.
The 3.3 million hectares of exposed seabed have become a source of aerosols containing salt and agricultural residues that are then deposited by wind over surrounding areas. The resulting poor drinking-water quality and exposure to toxic airborne substances is believed to account for a dramatic deterioration in the health of inhabitants in peripheral areas; significant increases in malnutrition, diarrhoeal and kidney diseases, anaemia, cancers, and several other health problems have all been recorded.
In 1992, the five republics came to a water distribution agreement. In 1994, for the first time since the sea started shrinking, there was no decrease in sea level in comparison to the previous year. In early 1995, implementation of the Aral Sea Programme began. It aims to:
• stabilize the environment of the Aral Sea,
• rehabilitate the disaster zone around the Sea,
• improve the management of international waters in
• the basin, and
• build the capacity of regional institutions to plan
• and implement these programmes.
Sources:
UNDP (1995), UNEP (1992b and 1994), and State Comm. for Nat. Prot. of the Rep. of Uzbekistan (1995).
Bathing waters in the region s tourist resorts tend to be closely monitored for compliance with microbial standards. Although there are many examples of beaches being closed to bathers because of contamination from inadequately treated sewage (EEA, 1995a), there are also indications of improvements. Nevertheless, bathing water contamination is still expected to result in more than 2 million cases of gastrointestinal diseases annually in Europe in a wide range of locations (WHO, 1995).
Eutrophication is considered a major problem in the Baltic, Black, and North seas and locally in the Mediterranean and Caspian. Recent evidence suggests that eutrophication of near-shore waters is occurring more frequently and seriously than in the past in many areas, including the Adriatic, Black, and Baltic seas; the west coast of Sweden; and the coast of Denmark (EEA, 1995a).
While some national marine fisheries have increased annual catches since the early 1980s, unsustainable harvesting of fish stocks and shellfish has led to the decline of many and the collapse of several fisheries in European seas. (See Figure 2.13.) North Sea catches, for example, were around 2 million tons in 1960; by the early 1970s, they had doubled to 4 million, but in recent years they have dropped back to around 2.5 million (EEA, 1995a). In addition to the direct economic repercussions of lower catches, overfishing and damaging fishing techniques have adverse impacts on non-target fish species such as benthic organisms and some cetaceans (EEA, 1995a). In the Caspian Sea, construction of numerous dams on the Volga and Kura rivers has prevented sturgeon fish from reaching their main spawning grounds. This has combined with waterway pollution and more damaging fishing methods to decimate the fish population. Landings decreased from 30,000 metric tons in 1985 to 2,100 metric tons in 1994 (UNDP/UNEP/WB, 1995). As the catch was formerly worth around US$6 billion annually, this has had a major impact on the economies of the riparian countries (UNDP/UNEP/WB, 1995).
The deterioration of the Caspian Sea area, the largest landlocked body of saltwater on earth, is a matter of great ecological and economic significance because of its extensive reserves of oil, gas, and populations of migrant birds and fish. The main factor affecting the state of the ecosystem is the sea level rise, a recurrent phenomenon throughout history, which is not yet understood. Since the late 1970s, the Caspian has risen by about 2.5 metres due to natural oscillations; surrounding countries are having problems coping with this rapid and continuous change (UNDP/UNEP/WB, 1995). All five countries of the Caspian Sea suffer from inundation of human settlements, roads, and other infrastructure (UNDP/UNEP/WB, 1995). The oil fields of Azerbaijan and Kazakstan are particularly at risk, and flooding of these areas, of agricultural land, and of waste dumps is posing a water pollution problem (UNDP/UNEP/WB, 1995).
Of more general concern is the potential sea level rise throughout the region from global warming, as the costs of protecting coastlines against inundation are likely to far outweigh any benefits from increased agricultural yields and tourism. Additionally, changes in sea surface temperatures and a reduction in sea ice as a result of global warming would have profound effects on fish migration and production patterns, particularly in the Nordic Seas (EEA, 1995a; IPCC, 1996).
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