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to snippets list...... "Faeces with lemming-like instincts ..... ! " The boffins in the United Nations Environment Programme have issued a report (summarised below) on global-scale sewage contamination effects in the Coastal Zone. Close examination of the arguments advanced in the report does not inspire confidence in the direction this project is apparently taking. A basic assumption that seems to be being made in defining ‘coastal regions of the world most at risk’ is that the population living within 60km of the coast and unconnected to any drainage or treatment is an index of local coastal contamination! In the absence of faeces with lemming-like instincts this line of reasoning seems a somewhat over-confident generalisation. |
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In our experience, the worst impacted coastal areas are where large cities in developing countries have taken on expensive sewer and treatment systems sold to them by the first world, but where the treatment systems have proved too expensive to maintain correctly thus there is an effective system for transporting raw sewage to the ocean. Two points may be made in relation to the UNEP objectives. Firstly, there needs to be a lot more intelligent effort used in defining coastal waters most at risk. Sustainability is all about effective use of available resources, and the first step in that process is to clearly focus on what and where the real problems actually are. Secondly, in a programme motivated by sustainability, we must learn the lesson from all the ‘connected but poorly operating’ sanitation systems in the world. Appropriate technology is needed in encouraging better public health, and this must be divorced from first-world profit margins. Seas In Asia, North West Pacific And West Africa At Highest Risk From Land-Based Pollution ( http://www.europaworld.org/week99/seasinasia41002.htm)The coastal habitats, fisheries, marine wildlife and the people of the Asian, North West Pacific and West African sea regions, are the most threatened in the world from untreated sewage discharged into coastal waters. A report, detailing the global threat to coastal populations and the environment from untreated sewage discharges, has been prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in response to a target on sanitation agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). It will assist the UNEP Regional Seas Programmes in taking appropriate action to contribute to achieving the WSSD-target. This aims, by the year 2015, to halve the number of people that have no access to basic sanitation services. Almost 40 % of the world population live in coastal areas, less then 60 km from the shoreline. Studies show that over 800 million people, or 40 per cent of the un-served population in coastal countries, are living in the South Asian Seas region. They have no access to basic sanitation services, putting them at high risk from sewage-related diseases and death. It also means that the level of untreated domestic wastes being discharged into South Asia's coastal waters are likely to be the highest in the world, increasing the risk of shellfish contamination and the chance of toxic, algal blooms poisoning fish and wildlife. Precious habitats, such as South Asia's coral reefs, are likely to be under increased stress as a result of the high levels of nutrients and suspended solids linked with the discharges. The report, unveiled this week, shows that the second most vulnerable region is the sea of East Asia. Here 515 million people, or 25 per cent of the un-served population in coastal countries, are without access to proper sanitation services, followed by the seas of the North West Pacific where 414 million people have no access to basic sanitation systems. The sea areas with the highest provision of sewage treatment, and thus the lowest threat to the health of coastal waters, include the North East Atlantic and the Arctic. Here, only a few people are ranked as being without proper sanitation services. Klaus Toepfer, UNEP's Executive Director, said: "Lack of adequate sanitation has been emerging as one of the biggest threats to human health. It is estimated that global economic burden due to ill-health, disease and death related to the pollution of coastal waters is running at $ 16 billion a year". "But this is also an environmental issue affecting the health of coastal waters, coastal wildlife and coastal habitats while impacting the livelihoods of fishermen and the tourist industry. An urgent effort is needed to reduce the risks by harnessing the will and finances of governments, local authorities, affected communities, business and industry. At the recently held WSSD, which closed on 4 September last month, nations agreed to halve the number of people without access to sanitation services by 2015 and back this up with increased funding," he said. "This new study highlights the regions where our efforts are most urgently needed. One way of doing this is to set realistic but ambitious Wastewater Emission Targets (WET), echoing those that have been developed in many parts of the world for emissions of toxic chemicals and noxious gases from power stations and factories," added Mr. Toepfer. "These, linked to a time table when the targets should be met, will allow us tackle this scourge once and for all so that the current and future generations can have access to safe, healthy, drinking water and enjoy coastal areas free from contaminated bathing waters and polluted natural resources," he said
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