The World Environment 1972–1992 : Two Decades of Challenge

Our planet is under siege. Assaults on the atmosphere -the greenhouse effect, the depletion of the ozone layer and increasing air pollution - pose a still­ unquantified threat to human life. The dumping of hazardous wastes, and land­ based sources of pollution, present a similar threat to the oceans. On land we are destroying a tropical forest the size of Austria every year, and more than a hundred species of wild plants and animals are lost forever each day. When the General Assembly of the United Nations established UNEP it charged us with reporting on the changing state of the world's environment, tracking the underlying causes of change, and working with governments to develop responses to those changes. Every year since 1974, UNEP has produced a State of the Environment report, focusing on one or more emerging environmental issues and always stressing the human factor -the impact of environmental quality on people and society. Three times since its inception (1982, 198 7 and 1992) UNEP has undertaken a more wide-ranging study. The results of the present study are the most disturbing of the three. However, not all the signs are negative. Throughout the 19 70s and into the 1980s, UNEP was able to report progress in some important areas. Environmental monitoring capacity was being rapidly improved in many parts of the world, and Ministries of the Environment were being set up in an attempt to deal with environmental threats in a more coherent way. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Front Matter....Pages 1-3 Air Pollution....Pages 5-31 Ozone depletion....Pages 33-59 Climate change....Pages 61-81 Availability of fresh water....Pages 83-103 Coastal and marine degradation....Pages 105-130 Land degradation....Pages 131-155 Deforestation and habitat loss....Pages 157-182 Loss of biological diversity....Pages 183-214 Environmental hazards....Pages 215-245 Toxic chemicals and hazardous wastes....Pages 247-275 Front Matter....Pages 277-279 Agriculture and fisheries....Pages 281-320 Industry....Pages 321-371 Energy....Pages 373-403 Transport....Pages 405-447 Tourism....Pages 449-471 Population and resources....Pages 473-503 Human settlements....Pages 505-527 Health....Pages 529-567 Peace and security....Pages 569-597 Front Matter....Pages 599-601 Understanding the environment....Pages 603-657 Front Matter....Pages 599-601 Perceptions and attitudes....Pages 659-692 National responses....Pages 693-736 International responses....Pages 737-798 Front Matter....Pages 799-799 Challenges and opportunities....Pages 801-823 Back Matter....Pages 825-884