A timely response is essential in solving environmental problems

Findings

1. Urban air quality is a continuing problem. Improvements have occurred since the 1970s for sulphur dioxide, particulate matter and lead. However, emissions of nitrogen oxides are not decreasing (due especially to road transport). Furthermore, tropospheric ozone is an increasing concern as a result of emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic chemicals.
2. Short-term air pollution levels of one or more pollutants exceed the WHO Air Quality Guidelines (AQG) at least once in a typical year in about 70 to 80 per cent of the 105 European cities with more than 500 000 inhabitants.
3. Long-term exposure to sulphur dioxide and particulate matter exceeds WHO AQGs in 24 of the 61 cities studied monitoring these pollutants and included in the study for this report.
4. Short-term peak levels of ozone during summer photochemical smog episodes are estimated to exceed WHO AQG values in 60 large European cities, concerning over 100 million inhabitants. These episodes also affect areas outside the cities from where the pollution originates.
5. Europe accounts for about 25 per cent of global sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions. Emissions of these gases from power plants contribute most to total acid deposition (30 to 55 per cent). Nitrogen oxides are providing a growing contribution to environmental acidification. The highest acid deposition levels are found in the highly populated and industrialised belt extending between Poland and the United Kingdom. Agriculture is the main source of ammonia emissions to the atmosphere, which also contribute to acid deposition. In 60 per cent of Europe's area, critical loads for acidification are exceeded. Very strong emission reductions of all acidifying compounds are needed to reduce deposition below these critical loads (about 90 per cent for sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides and more than 50 per cent for ammonia).
6. The European contribution to global emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons, which threaten stratospheric ozone, is 35 to 40 per cent.
7. Europe accounts for about 25 per cent of carbon dioxide and 16 per cent of methane emissions from human activities world wide. An increase in such greenhouse gases equivalent to a doubling of the carbon dioxide concentration is expected sometime during the 21st century and is estimated to produce warming exceeding 4 to 5 times the limits of natural variability. The rate of temperature increase would be about 0.3°C per decade. Overall precipitation and evaporation would increase by 3 to 15 per cent. Sea level would rise about 22 cm in 2050 and 50 cm by 2100. This would cause permanent flooding, and increased frequency of temporary flooding, in many low-lying areas of Europe, as well as coastal erosion changes.

Responses/policy options

1. Promoting energy conservation, increased use of renewable energy resources, good housekeeping practices, reductions in road transport emissions, increased use of clean technologies.
2. Improving urban air quality through substitution of coal and heavy fuel oils and by controlling nitrogen oxides emissions from stationary sources and in motor vehicles and reducing emissions from diesel engines.
3. Implementation by all countries of existing international conventions such as the Geneva Convention on long-range transboundary air pollution.
4. Implementation of the recent volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) protocol under the Geneva Convention to tackle the problems of tropospheric photochemical oxidants.
5. Implementation by all countries of the Copenhagen Amendment to the Vienna Convention which will put a stop to global emissions of CFCs, carbon tetrachloride and methyl chloroform before 1996. A faster mandatory reduction scheme has already been adopted in the EU aiming at phase-out before 1995.
6. Implementing the Rio Framework Convention which sets the ultimate objective of stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Reductions of CO₂ emissions are technically feasible, by increasing efficiency and energy savings, by increased use of renewable energy sources and ­ temporarily ­ by shifting fossil fuel energy generation from coal and oil to natural gas. A tax on CO₂ energy, as proposed by the European Commission, would stimulate actions in this direction.
7. Development and implementation of integrated emission inventories and integrated pollution, prevention and control (as for water and soil).

Findings

1. The temporal and regional distribution of water resources creates scarcity problems in several Central, Eastern and Southern European countries.
2. On average, 15 per cent (the world average is 8 per cent) of the total renewable resource is abstracted per year, ranging from 0.1 per cent in Iceland to more than 70 per cent in Belgium.
3. European industry abstracts more water (53 per cent) than agriculture (26 per cent) and the domestic sector (19 per cent). Water abstraction for domestic and agricultural purposes is increasing, whereas industrial abstraction is decreasing or has stabilised.
4. Sixty-five per cent of Europe's population is supplied from groundwater, the quality of which is threatened in many places. Overexploitation of groundwater is a serious problem in nearly 60 per cent of European industrial and urban centres, threatening also 25 per cent of major wetlands. In coastal regions of the Mediterranean, Black and Baltic seas, intrusion of saltwater into groundwater reservoirs is restricting the use of groundwater.
5. Nitrate concentrations in the soil water at one metre depth are estimated to exceed the EU guide level (25 mg NO₃/l) and the maximum admissible concentration (50 mg NO₃/l) in 85 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively, of agricultural land. Nitrate problems in groundwater are most conspicuous in the northwestern parts of the continent.
6. The EU standard for total pesticides (0.5 µg/l) is estimated to be exceeded in soil water in 75 per cent of agricultural land in EU-EFTA and in 60 per cent in Central and Eastern Europe.
7. River and lake eutrophication caused by excess phosphorus and nitrogen from agriculture, domestic and industrial effluents is a pan-European problem of major concern. The domestic sector and industry are the main contributors of phosphorus, agriculture the main contributor of nitrogen.
8. Nutrient concentrations in rivers and lakes are highest in a belt from the southern UK to the Balkans and Ukraine, with high population density and/or intensive agriculture. However, due to improved sewage treatment and substitution of phosphorus in detergents, contamination of large rivers with organic matter, ammonia and phosphorus has generally decreased over the last 10 to 15 years apart from in Central and Eastern Europe. Nitrate concentrations on the other hand continue to increase in most rivers. Water quality has improved markedly in several of the largest lakes in Nordic, Western and Southern European countries. Small shallow lakes, however, continue to be eutrophic due to high nutrient loadings.
9. Acidification of rivers and lakes on sensitive soils is causing widespread fish-kills in large parts of the Nordic countries. To a lesser extent, surface waters in Northwestern and Central Europe and in the northwestern part of the Russian Federation are also affected.
10. The concentration of heavy metals in the great majority of rivers, such as the Rhine, no longer exceeds the norms. However, concern still remains for the levels of metals, organic micropollutants, salts, radionuclides and pathogens, in particular in Central and Eastern Europe.
11. Channelisation, impoundment and other regulation works are major threats to the maintenance of natural physical conditions and functional integrity of river ecosystems. Highly intensive regulation works on a river system may increase the risk of flooding and thus add threats to human life and livestock.

Responses/policy options

1. Preventing leakage from water distribution systems. Reducing sectoral water demand by water-saving and improvement of reuse/recycling techniques.
2. Introducing or strengthening integrated water resource management.
3. Reducing the application of fertilisers (especially nitrogen as required by the EC Nitrate Directive) and pesticides to the precise level needed for optimal plant production and pest management to restrict the loss of these chemicals in order to safeguard drinking water and the ecological balance of surface waters.
4. Ceasing the dumping of mobile chemicals at sites overlaying important groundwater reservoirs. Initiation of clean-up operations at sites already severely contaminated and threatening the quality of groundwater.
5. Increasing and improving advanced sewage treatment (as asked for in the EC Directive on Urban Waste Water Treatment) and application of cleaner technologies in industry.
6. Development and implementation of integrated emission inventories and integrated pollution prevention and control (as for air and soil).
7. Establishment of improved set of base-line data for emissions of contaminants, contamination levels and ecological effects using appropriate methods producing reliable and comparable results.

Findings

1. Europe's seas display a wide range of environmental conditions and impacts. The Black Sea, in general, is most affected by human activities and the northern seas (White, Barents, Norwegian seas and the North Atlantic Ocean) the least affected.
2. Lack of effective catchment management creates problems particularly in the Black and the Caspian seas, but the Mediterranean, the Baltic, the Barents and the White seas also face localised problems.
3. Coastal zone pollution and conflicting uses of the coastal zone are issues of growing concern in all areas. The biggest problems are found in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the North Sea and the Baltic.
4. All seas, except for the northern seas, are facing eutrophication problems in some areas with related adverse effects such as algal blooms. Nitrate has increased by a factor of two to three, and phosphorus by as much as seven in some coastal areas of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. In the Baltic, nitrogen and phosphorus have increased by a factor of four and eight, respectively.
5. Insufficient control of offshore activities is creating localised pollution problems in the Black Sea, the North Sea and the Caspian Sea.
6. Introduction of non-indigenous species (eg, comb jelly) has recently had severe ecological impacts on the Black Sea.
7. Contamination by organic micropollutants impacts the fauna in almost all Europe's seas. Concentrations of DDT residues and PCBs in fish are three to ten times higher in the Baltic than in the Northern Altantic. In the North Sea, high concentrations of PCBs and tributyl tin have impaired the reproductive success of seals and dogwhelks.
8. Overexploitation of fish and shellfish stocks is a common problem in all European seas.
9. The Mediterranean shows low biological productivity but high biodiversity (about 10 000 species) with many endemics, some of which (eg, monk seal and loggerhead turtle) are very endangered.
10. Of particular concern in the Barents Sea are the large amounts of radioactive waste dumped by the former USSR. So far, however, there have been no signs of radioactive contamination of water and biota.
11. Large changes in sea level have occurred over the last 60 years in the Caspian Sea, for which natural cycles are thought to be mainly responsible. Since 1977 sea level has risen by 1.5 metres.

Responses/policy options

1. Strengthening international cooperation by full implementation of existing conventions (eg, Barcelona, Helsinki, Oslo, Paris), and complementing these with others for those seas not yet covered.
2. Pursuing the responses and policy options for inland waters, which will have important impacts on the conditions of Europe's seas.

Findings

1. Soil erosion is increasing in Europe. An estimated 115 million ha (12 per cent of the total land area is threatened by water erosion, 4 per cent by wind erosion) are affected. causing important loss of fertility and water pollution. More than 90 per cent of the eroded land is located in the Mediterranean zone.
2. Critical values for acidification are estimated to be exceeded in about 75 million ha of the forest soils of Europe.
3. Widespread overapplication of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilisers results in leaching and runoff, leads to contamination of drinking water and causes eutrophication.
4. It is estimated that 3.2 million ha suffer from organic matter loss in Europe and 42 million ha from compaction. Salinisation is estimated to affect 3.8 million ha. Waterlogging, which occurs mainly in the North, is estimated to involve 0.8 million ha.
5. There are 200 000 ha of derelict industrial land inventoried in the EU; remediation costs are estimated at ECU100 billion.

Responses/policy options

1. Implementing an integrated approach to fight soil erosion from improper farming or forestry practices, tourism, sport and other recreational activities, by linking socio-economic factors with soil vulnerability ­ technical solutions are well known but have often been unsuccessful because socio-economic factors are ignored. Giving preference to prevention methods.
2. Reducing acidic deposition to soils by lowering emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxides (implementing the Geneva LRTAP Convention).
3. Adopting measures and practices which mitigate effects of nitrogen leaching, eg, timing of fertiliser and manure application at correct doses; sowing winter crops; identification of vulnerable zones deserving protection; banning very mobile and broad-spectrum pesticides together with integrated pest management systems. Revising EC limit values of heavy metals in sludge and soils.
4. Compilation of a systematic register of contaminated sites, defining standardised limit values, and adopting appropriate legal and technical measures and clean-up plans for most contaminated sites.
5. Development and implementation of integrated emissions inventories and integrated pollution prevention and control (as for air and water).

Findings

1. Europe's landscapes are diverse and rich in natural and cultural dimensions.
2. In many places European landscapes are undergoing changes or disappearing because of agricultural intensification or abandonment, urban expansion, infrastructure, transport, etc, adversely affecting important values and functions.
3. Six per cent of Europe's land area is under landscape protection, but generally with a weak legal status.

Responses/policy options

1. Making landscape considerations an important factor in promoting sustainable development and the conservation of biodiversity by complementing species and site-specific approaches. Involvement of farmers and landuse management authorities in landscape restoration
2. Reinforcement of international landscape protection.
3. Protecting outstanding landscapes through site designation and effective landuse planning mechanisms.
4. Improving information on landscapes and landscape changes.

Findings

Ecosystems

1. Europe's ecosystems comprise a large diversity of habitats and include a rich fauna and flora. Their distribution, size, ecological value and legal status are extremely varied.
2. A comprehensive and integrated database on the distribution of Europe's main natural or semi-natural ecosystems does not exist. The current assessment was thus based on 'representative' sites (1750 sites in total) identified and analysed for seven ecosystem groups: forests, scrub and grasslands, inland waters, wetlands, coastal and marine ecosystems, mountains, deserts and tundras.
3. Forests once covered 80 to 90 per cent of the territory and now account for 33 per cent of land cover. The 156 identified most natural sites cover about 2 per cent, and only a tenth of the larger examples (>10000 ha) can be found in Central and Western Europe. Most large forest and wetland ecosystems are located in the North and East.
4. Large and important (especially dry) grassland sites are concentrated in the South (mostly in Spain).
5. Natural river sites are small and threatened, and, since 1900, 75 per cent of sand dunes have been lost in France, Italy and Spain. Most river ecosystems lack naturalness due to regulation works, pollution and loss of riparian ecosystem functions.
6. Bogs, fens and marshes have disappeared in large numbers, mainly in Western and Southern Europe (Spain has lost 60 per cent). Oligotrophic and calcium-rich bogs and fens are highly endangered.

Fauna and flora

7. Many plant and animal species groups are currently declining and threatened with extinction: fish with 53 per cent under threat, reptiles 45 per cent, mammals 42 per cent, and amphibians 30 per cent. Marine mammals are affected by water pollution, fishing and hunting. The Mediterranean monk seal is among the 10 most threatened species in the world. More than 50 per cent of all threatened birds are coastal or wetland species.
8. 21 per cent of Europe's 12 500 higher plant species are threatened; 27 species have actually become extinct. Aquatic, calcareous and acidic plants are at special risk. More than 30 per cent of previously rare, but not threatened, aquatic plants have become endangered.
9. Europe is a centre of international (often illegal) species trade.

Nature conservation

10. There has been a rapid increase in the total area of protected sites in Europe; two thirds have been added since 1972. However, most areas are small and fragmented: only 3000 (7 per cent) of the 45 000 European nature reserves are larger than 1000 ha. Landscape protection dominates (57 per cent), followed by national parks and nature reserves (32 per cent) and international designations (23 per cent) (with a 12.5 per cent overlap). The EC-Bird Directive covers 7 million ha, the UNESCO Biosphere Reserves about 10 million ha and Ramsar wetlands more than 5 million ha (some sites hold multiple designations).
11. Implementation and control is a problem in most international and national protection areas due most frequently to a lack of funds and staff.

Responses/policy options

1. Improvement of the implementation of existing protection schemes on national and international level, by monitoring threats and stresses in a systematic manner, and by providing funds and adequate management mechanism in protected areas. Developing strategies to integrate nationally protected areas into international nature conservation schemes.
2. Improvement and harmonisation of red species lists to achieve comparability on national and international levels.
3. Identification, maintenance and protection against impacts and outside stresses of all remaining large natural and semi-natural ecosystems, especially alluvial and lowland (ancient) forests, lowland dry grass- and heathlands, natural riparian corridors, wetlands and natural coastlines.
4. Establishment of ecological networks (buffer zones, corridors linkages) that integrate landuse activities outside protected areas.
5. Improvement of the ecological conditions of freshwater ecosystems (especially rivers) through adequate floodplain management, reduced emissions of pollutants within the catchment area, restoration of damaged components (eg, banks), reintroduction of native fish species, etc.
6. Application of an integrated approach to management of coastal zones, with special attention being given to overgrazing of saltmarshes, destruction of dunes and contamination of estuaries.

URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Findings

1. Two thirds of the European population live in urban areas, which cover about 1 per cent of the total land area. Almost all European cities are experiencing decentralisation of population, independent of population density and city growth.
2. The changes in urban structure have affected mobility patterns and trends in the last decades. Traffic flows have increased in all European cities in terms of the number and length of trips. The share of public transport has fallen in most cities by 20 per cent. However, some important initiatives have been taken in some cities (eg, Zurich) to reverse this trend.
3. Despite some improvements, urban air quality is frequently unsatisfactory in large and medium-sized cities due to sulphur dioxide, particulate matter and ozone. Most cities exceed short-term WHO Air Quality Guideline (AQG) levels (24-h) for sulphur dioxide and/or particulate matter/black smoke (winter smog). Most Central and Eastern European cities exceed WHO guidelines for combined exposure to sulphur dioxide and particulate matter of 50+50 µg/m³ (annual average) and 125+125 µg/m³ (24-h average).
4. Exceedances of 65 dB(A) noise level occur in most cities, affecting between 10 and 20 per cent of inhabitants in Western Europe and up to 50 per cent in some cases in Central and Eastern Europe.
5. A European city of one million inhabitants typically consumes on average each day about 11 500 tonnes of fossil fuels, 320 000 tonnes of water and 2000 tonnes of food.It produces 300 000 tonnes of wastewater and 1600 tonnes of solid waste, plus 25 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
6. Urban water supply is not allocated and managed efficiently. Only 5 per cent of all piped water used in houses is for drinking. Leakages from the distribution system of 30 to 50 per cent are frequently reported.

Responses/policy options

1. Promoting sustainable urban patterns through a balanced landuse and efficient use of space.
2. Reducing demand for travel through landuse planning, focusing on encouraging development near points of high transport accessibility, proximity to public transportation nodes, mixed use development.
3. Promoting efficient transport management through urban road pricing, integrated public transportation, vehicle priority schemes, traffic calming, traffic bans in designated areas, parking controls.
4. Reducing energy consumption in urban areas through efficiency and conservation measures, including building design and materials, district heating and cogeneration, rational use of energy sources, efficient public transportation.
5. Reducing atmospheric emissions and exposure to noise pollution.
6. Orienting urban renewal projects towards improving quality of urban life, reducing the use of water, energy and materials.
7. Implementing programmes for separate waste collection, recovery and recycling.

HUMAN HEALTH

Findings

1. Excessive levels of air pollutants affect a significant proportion of the European urban population. Suspended particulate matter is estimated to pose the greatest burden to health, provoking asthma and obstructive airway disease.
2. Indoor exposure to radon is estimated to cause about 10 000 cancer deaths annually in Europe.
3. Contamination of drinking water and food by chemicals (eg, nitrates) and by microbiological agents is a problem in several areas. Bathing water contamination is estimated to result in over 2 million cases of gastro-intestinal diseases annually.
4. Lead remains a health problem. It may be responsible for mental impairment in at least 400 000children in eastern parts of Europe.
5. The significant figures from road traffic accidents (over 350 people killed and 6000 injured daily in Europe) dominate accident casualty statistics, for which the road traffic environment is certainly partly responsible.
6. Major chemical accidents caused 1100 fatalities between 1980 and 1991.
7. Life expectancy at birth is several years lower and infant mortality rate higher in Central and Eastern Europe, but there is no clear evidence that this is related to environmental quality as such.

Responses/policy options

1. Performance of European-wide epidemiological studies to relate health to environmental conditions.
2. General reduction of population exposure to chemicals through all routes (air, water, food). Control of urban air pollution to respect the WHO Air Quality Guidelines.
3. Reducing nitrate in drinking water and treating sewage water.
4. Phasing out lead from petrol.
5. Cleaning up the most contaminated sites.

POPULATION - PRODUCTION - CONSUMPTION

Findings

1. Europeans represent 12.8 per cent of the world population (1990) and this proportion is decreasing. A strong decline in fertility has occurred in most countries.
2. Europe, and OECD countries, account for 82 per cent of world commercial energy consumption(40 per cent in Europe), and generate over 70 per cent of the world's industrial waste.
3. Between Eastern and Western Europe, adjusted living standards vary by more than a factor of 5.
4. Western Europe produces cereal surpluses but imports large quantities of animal feed from America and Asia. Most East European countries rely on food imports.

Responses/policy options

1. Aiming for greater convergence in the economies of Western and Eastern Europe, and for sustainable production and consumption.

EXPLOITATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Findings

1. Europe has 8 per cent of world wide renewable freshwater resources but accounts for 15 per cent of withdrawals. Some European countries are already using a significant proportion of their water resources.
2. Although Europe (excluding Iceland and the former USSR) had 1.9 million hectares more forest and wooded land in 1990 than in 1981, atmospheric pollution and uncontrolled logging (Russian Federation) are causing forest loss and damage.
3. Tropical deforestation is to some extent linked with Europe's demand and supply of natural resources. European countries contribute indirectly to deforestation in tropical regions through the use of wood and wood products from these regions.
4. Energy consumption in Europe (excluding the former USSR) is greater than production, implying that Europe contributes to the depletion of energy resources in other regions of the world.
5. Europe has depleted most of its high-grade mineral reserves and now relies mostly on imports, mainly from Africa. Unlike the rest of Europe, the former USSR is still a major producer and consumer of many minerals.

Responses/policy options

1. Reducing consumption of non-renewable resources and improved care of renewable ones to reach sustainability.

EMISSIONS

Findings

1. Emerging air and water pollution problems in the last two decades have been addressed separately. However, this approach has proven inadequate to face the cross-media nature of environmental problems.

Emissions to air (see also Air)

2. About 25 per cent of global sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions arise from Europe.
3. 35 to 40 per cent of global chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and halon emissions come from Europe.
4. Europe accounts for 25 and 16 per cent respectively of global carbon dioxide and methane emissions arising from human activities world wide.

Emissions to water

5. Intensive agriculture and livestock farming, combined with increasing use of chemicals, add an enormous pressure on the aquatic environment from non-point source emissions.
6. In densely populated areas of Europe, 43 to 64 per cent of the phosphorus input to inland surface waters is related to sewage discharges. Industrial effluent makes up only 3 to 12 per cent of the total. In these areas 22 to 41 per cent of the phosphorus discharge stems from agricultural activities.

Responses/policy options

1. Development and implementation of integrated pollution and prevention control and integrated emissions inventories.
2. Implementation of national and international legislation and conventions for the reduction of emissions of certain contaminants.
3. Adoption of special measures and practices in the energy, industry, agriculture and transport sectors in particular for the reduction of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides emissions to air, and nitrogen, phosphorus and pesticide emissions to water.

WASTE

Findings

1. Waste generation has increased in all European countries. On average about 350 kg of municipal waste are produced per capita per year, but there are large differences between countries. The rate of increase in OECD Europe was 3 per cent per year between 1989 and 1990. Waste composition varies considerably among countries.
2. Industrial waste production per year in the late 1980s reached 330 million tonnes per year in OECD Europe and 520 million tonnes in Central and Eastern Europe. An increasing amount of industrial waste is considered hazardous.
3. Most waste is disposed in landfills. In some countries, incineration increased considerably during the 1970s but has remained constant since mid-1985 due to public opposition combined with increasing capital and operation costs. Increased effort towards waste minimisation and recycling are still offset by high production rates.
4. A significant amount of hazardous waste is transferred across European countries and from Europe to developing countries.
5. All European countries are faced with the current and potential risk of old waste dumps, which are estimated to cover between 1200 and 2700 km², while there are 2000 km² of derelict industrial land.

Responses/policy options

1. Waste reduction through product re-design, process reformulation, substitution of raw materials, restrictions on products and packaging.
2. Materials reuse, recovery and recycling; closing material cycles; requirement of best available technologies for production processes; restrictions on products and packaging; separate collection.
3. Safe waste management through integrated waste management plans, restrictions on landfills, requirements of best available technologies for waste treatment facilities, emissions standards for incineration plants, systematic monitoring of disposal facilities.
4. Reduction of transfrontier movements of hazardous waste through full implementation of Basel convention, harmonisation of hazardous waste standards, monitoring transfrontier movements.
5. Clean-up of contaminated sites through inventories of potential contaminated sites, establishing legal frameworks, lists of priority clean-up sites and actions, design and implementation of clean-up plans.

NOISE AND RADIATION

Findings

1. It is estimated that 65 per cent of the European population is exposed to environmental noise levels exceeding L_eq 24-h 55 dB(A) (causing annoyance and disturbance of sleep), 17 per cent to levels exceeding L_eq 24-h 65 dB(A) (serious impact), and 1.4 per cent to levels above 75dB(A) (unacceptable).
2. There are indications of a 5 per cent increase in UV-B radiation in winter in the northern hemisphere; overexposure to ultraviolet radiation is so far due mostly to lifestyle (exposure to sun and sun lamps).
3. The average annual exposure from natural sources of ionising radiations to the average person varies in Europe between 2 and 7 mSv (17 Western European countries) compared with the world wide average of 2.4 mSv. Radon concentrations may vary dramatically from one locality to another and from house to house; in certain areas exposure is excessive (see Health).
4. Comparing doses from ionising radiation resulting from artificial human induced sources (such as medical uses, radioactive emissions and waste disposal) to natural radiation indicates that the increased exposure from such activities is, on the whole, not a great cause for concern. However, artificial radiation may contribute a significant fraction of the dose over which there is some control.
5. Improved working practices now means that the level of radiologically significant discharges to the Irish Sea is about 1 per cent of peak levels in the 1970s.
6. The Chernobyl accident had the most widespread effect in Europe for increasing exposure to ionising radiations. Areas of severe environmental contamination are found in the vicinity of the plant and also, from other sources, around the Techa river in the southern Ural Mountains. Potential unquantified threats of environmental contamination are found in the Barents and Kara seas from the dumping of radioactive objects by the former USSR.

Responses/policy options

1. Application of engineering and legal measures to reduce exposure to noise, supported by research and improved public information.
2. For UV exposure: promoting increased public awareness of the hazards of UV; implementing existing and stricter controls on the release of ozone-depleting substances leading to their eventual elimination; and 'active adaption' to an environment of greater exposure to UV radiation.
3. For ionising radiations: reducing all unnecessary exposures; controlling occupational safety and exposure to the general public according to international recommendations and against approved exposure limits; improving diagnostic medical applications; in high radon areas, application of the necessary measures to prevent accumulation in dwellings.

CHEMICALS AND GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS

Findings

1. About 100 000 chemicals are marketed in the EU, and between 200 and 300 new ones appear each year.
2. The state of knowledge on the toxicity and ecotoxicity of chemicals in use and circulation is unsatisfactory.
3. Between 1991 and 1994, nearly 300 notifications of field releases of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were made in the EU.

Responses/policy options

1. Implementation and coordination of international programmes for the data collection, risk assessment and risk management of new and existing chemicals (eg, EC Directives, IRPTC/UNEP, OECD, ECETOC, ECDIN, IARC, FAO).
2. Notification schemes for new chemicals (eg, EU legislative control system).
3. Classification and labelling of chemicals.
4. For GMOs: preventative approach (EC Directives) to establish a common set of environmental risk assessment requirements and safety measures, circulation of information and notification for deliberate releases.

NATURAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL HAZARDS

Findings

1. From a major industrial accident reporting system, it appears that most accidents occurred in the petroleum industry, and that highly inflammable gases and chlorine were the substances most often involved.
2. Tanker accidents contribute only about 10 to 15 per cent of all the oil that reaches the sea as a result of human activity.
3. Precise knowledge of the full consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear accident is unlikely, but some unexpected effects have already emerged.
4. Natural hazards are having an increased impact on human settlements, probably because of the greater number of settlements and their increased vulnerability due to their uncontrolled extension into high risk areas.

Responses/policy options

1. Good planning, management and control of routine activities, and implementation of codes of good practice (HAZOP studies, EC Seveso Directives).
2. Emergency response plans (fixed installations) and transport planning (routing, vehicle choice and timing) ­ implementation of EC Seveso Directives, UNECE Convention on Transboundary Effects of Industrial Accidents, and awareness and preparedness programmes such as APELL.
3. Improved monitoring and reporting of accidents and spills to assess long-term impacts.
4. Good landuse and emergency planning to reduce potential impacts of natural hazards and their interaction with human activities.
5. For enhancing the safety of nuclear reactors: the preparation of an integrated, international approach to all aspects of nuclear safety (possible international convention), research and development on advanced reactor design, and the implementation of a strategic international assistance programme to tackle the specific problems in Central and Eastern Europe.

ENERGY

Findings

1. In 1990, primary production of energy in Europe (excluding the former USSR) (1040 Mtoe) was 62 per cent of gross inland consumption (which was 37 per cent of total world gross consumption). Contribution to GDP is 5 per cent in the EU.
2. In 1990, for all Europe, energy use was split 41 per cent for industry, 22 per cent for transport, and 37 per cent in the domestic and commercial sectors. Transport and domestic/commercial energy use is increasing steadily.
3. In Europe as a whole, the mix of fuels has shifted away from solid fuels and nuclear towards increased use of gas. In Central and Eastern Europe, solid fuels are still the main indigenous energy resource. Renewable energy is a particularly significant contributor in EFTA countries.
4. Energy consumption and GDP have been decoupled since the energy crises of the 1970s. Large gains have been made in energy efficiency in Western Europe but little or no progress has been made recently; in Central and Eastern Europe high energy intensity is being reduced through industrial restructuring.
5. Electricity use is highest in Western Europe (especially EFTA). In the EU, 35 per cent is generated from nuclear power; EFTA relies for 63 per cent of electricity generation on renewables (particularly hydropower); in Central Europe, solid fuels provide nearly two thirds of electricity produced; in the former USSR, over one third of electricity was generated from gas in 1990.
6. The main impacts arising from energy use are local air pollution, acidification, tropospheric ozone and climate change. There are also more local impacts on water, soil and land. Energy consumption accounts for around 95 per cent of human induced sulphur dioxide emissions and 97 per cent for nitrogen oxides in 20 European countries in 1990.

Responses/policy options

1. Incorporating 'external' environmental costs into energy prices to make them better reflect real market prices (especially true in Central and Eastern Europe). Use of economic instruments, such as pollution charges, taxes (eg, carbon dioxide/energy tax), and tradeable permits. Removal of restrictive rules (inappropriate subsidies).
2. Energy efficiency programmes (for example, least cost planning, energy efficiency standards for appliances, products and vehicles); focus on operating efficiencies of power stations and energy distribution networks, and energy savings in the transport and household sectors.
3. Fuel switching to natural gas, which produces less carbon dioxide per unit energy generated.
4. Awareness building, education, and incentives aimed at sustainable energy use and behavioural change. Codes of conduct and agreements developed with energy industries.
5. Investments in research and development programmes, for example, 'clean coal technologies' and renewable energies.

INDUSTRY

Findings

1. Manufacturing industry contributes about 25 per cent of GDP in the EU and closer to 50 per cent in some Central and Eastern countries. Some of the main sectors having significant environmental impacts are chemicals, pulp and paper, cement, steel and non-ferrous metals.
2. There has been a reduction in the amount of energy consumed per unit output (particularly in Western Europe). For example, energy consumption per unit output in the chemical industry fell by 30 per cent between 1980 and 1989.
3. Industry leads to environmental impacts through emissions (to air, water, soil), waste production, and resource use (water, energy, raw materials).
4. For 20 European countries in 1990, 25 per cent of sulphur dioxide and 14 per cent of nitrogen oxides were emitted by industry. Dust emissions are a problem in Central and Eastern Europe. Industrial use of water (which accounts for 53 per cent of total water withdrawals in Europe) is declining through water recycling and process modification. There is a trend towards reduction of all emissions from industrial plants.

Responses/policy options

1. Developing integrated inventories of emissions to air and water, and wastes.
2. Introducing integrated pollution prevention and control systems in industries (eg, encouraging clean, low waste technologies). Applying Best Available Technology (BAT). Moving from 'end of pipe' solutions to the development of clean technologies.
3. Changing operating framework with the Polluter Pays Principle, licensing arrangements, emissions limits, tradeable permits and fiscal incentives (such as tax differentials). Creating more flexible regulatory frameworks for small and medium-sized enterprises.
4. Performance of environmental impact assessments (for projects, plans and programmes), eco-management and audit schemes, ecolabels; providing better consumer information.
5. Developing voluntary care agreements, and codes of good practice.
6. Implementation of industrial clean-up schemes (soil excavation, washing and disposal), adding immobilising additives, soil and groundwater protection and reducing air emissions.

TRANSPORT

Findings

1. The transport sector accounts for 7 to 8 per cent of GDP in the EU. The growth rate of passenger transport was 3.1 per cent per year between 1970 and 1990 (3.4 per cent for road passenger transport). There has been a doubling of private car ownership in Western Europe between 1970 and 1990 and a sixfold increase in Hungary over the same period . The annual average growth rate of freight transport was 2.5 per cent between 1970 and 1990 (4.1 per cent for road freight). A doubling of road transport for both passengers and freight is likely between 1990 and 2010 unless measures are taken.
2. The change in modal split towards road transport and the strong growth of this sector are exacerbating environmental impacts.
3. In the EU, transport accounts for about 25 per cent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, with road transport making up 80 per cent of the total. If current trends continue, carbon dioxide emissions from transport will increase by a further 25 per cent between 1990 and 2000. Relative increases will be even greater in Central and Eastern Europe.
4. In 1990, about 45 per cent of total nitrogen oxide emissions in 20 European countries were attributed to road transport. The greatest volumes of toxic emissions from road transport are of carbon monoxide, accounting for up to 90 per cent of total carbon monoxide emissions in some countries. VOCs from transport account for about 35 to 40 per cent of total VOC emissions in Europe. Particulate matter from diesel engines is also a cause for concern. The total emissions of pollutants will increase in the next few years, although emissions per vehicle will be reduced. Emissions from aircraft of nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide are a cause for concern. The main source of noise is from road traffic.
5. Over the past 20 years, in the EU alone, more than 1 million people have died in traffic accidents, and more than 30 million have been injured and/or permanently handicapped.
6. The road network in the EU consumes 1.3 per cent of the total land area, compared with 0.03 per cent for the railway network.
7. The social and environmental costs of transport have been put at 2.5 per cent of GDP in Germany alone and near 5 per cent in the OECD area.

Responses/policy options

1. Investigating options for decoupling transport and economic growth, aimed at inhibiting increases in passenger and road freight transport. If this is not achieved, benefits arising from technological improvements are unlikely to occur at the same rate as disbenefits from increased transport growth.
2. Improving technical solutions for better vehicles (catalytic convertors and noise reduction measures), fuels (alternative and cleaner fuels, better efficiency) and final disposal.
3. Introduction of economic instruments to reduce transport demand and improve modal split (for example, road pricing).
4. Developing appropriate transport infrastructure (for example, combined transport) and landuse planning (for example, banning traffic in city centres).
5. Improvement of user behaviour (for example, better driver information on a more rational use of the car).

AGRICULTURE

Findings

1. Agriculture accounts for about 42 per cent of the total land area in Europe, varying between 10 per cent in the Nordic countries to 70 per cent in Hungary, Ireland, Ukraine and the UK. There is a wide diversity in farm holdings size, but the overall trend over time is an increase in average size. In most countries, the importance of agriculture in the economy is declining: in the EU, the average GDP share of agriculture was 2.8 per cent in 1991; it is lowest in former West Germany (1.1 per cent), and highest in Greece (16.1 per cent); in Eastern Europe the contribution from agriculture and forestry was between 10 and 16 per cent to Gross Material Product (GMP).
2. There have been consistent gains in agricultural production and labour productivity. Total European production of cereals increased by 42 per cent, from 199 million tonnes in 1970 to 283 million tonnes in 1990. As a result, surpluses have been created. However, much of Central and Eastern Europe remains a net importer of food.
3. The most important impacts of agricultural practices on the environment are water pollution, decline of soil quality, loss of biodiversity, and landscape changes. The loss of natural habitats such as hedgerows and wetlands has had significant effects on European landscapes and wildlife.
4. In some areas of Europe, agriculture is estimated to be responsible for up to 80 per cent of the nitrogen loading (mainly from fertilisers) and 20 to 40 per cent of the phosphorus loading (mainly from animal manure) of surface waters, threatening the quality of drinking water and triggering eutrophication. Imports of animal feed disrupts the nutrient cycle on European farms. Over one third of the world's grain is now fed to livestock. This livestock excretes much more manure than the land can absorb. The average load of nitrogen has more than doubled since 1960, from 110 to 241 kg/ha per year in 1988. Ammonia emissions have become a serious problem.
5. There are considerable variations in application rates of pesticides (1000 types) with resulting impacts such as resistance build-up, pollution of surface and groundwater, reduction in biodiversity and ecotoxicological impact on non-targeted wildlife. Residues can be detected in food long after the use of the compound has been banned.
6. Agriculture is also a victim of environmental degradation: atmospheric pollution may reduce yield and contaminate food crops; erosion decreases productivity; agricultural soils can become contaminated by chemicals.

Responses/policy options

1. Reformulation of agricultural policies taking full consideration of environmental matters. Favouring extensification and reduction of surpluses by removing land from production, and by reducing applications of fertilisers to agricultural land in selected areas. Providing support to farmers for long-term land set-aside in environmentally sensitive areas and ensuring that agri-environmental measures are properly implemented.
2. Bringing into effect legal instruments and economic incentives aiming at lowering rates of fertiliser applications (good agricultural practices) and implementation of integrated pest management to optimise the efficiency of pesticide use.

FORESTRY

Findings

1. Forests cover 33 per cent of the total European land area; there has been a 10 per cent increase of forest cover over the last 30 years. The composition of the forest has changed, with the introduction of non-indigenous fast-growing species in pure plantations.
2. ;Wood production has increased in Europe since 1965 by a total of 18 per cent due to intensification of forest management and extension of the total forested area. Consumption has increased by 28 per cent over the same period (sawn-wood and panel products, pulpwood for paper and board, and fuelwood); only fuelwood has experienced a sharp decline over recent decades. In general, non-wood functions of the forest, such as recreation, water and soil protection, nature and landscape diversity have taken increasing importance.
3. In 1993, it was estimated that 24 per cent of European trees were measurably affected by adverse weather conditions, insects and fungi, air pollution and forest fires. Fires are increasing in Southern Europe (about 60 000 fires are damaging an average of 700 000 ha of forest each year).

Responses/policy options

1. Improvement of forest management favouring multiple use of forests and limiting environmental pressures. Achieving better balance between hardwood and conifers
2. Implementation of international agreements on critical thresholds of pollution (critical loads) and reduction of acidic deposition through coordinated abatement strategies (LRTAP convention and EC Directives)
3. Taking full consideration of socio-economic, legal, structural, and cultural factors in the formulation of action measures to combat fires and integrate them in a global land management policy.
4. Bringing into effect the four Helsinki Resolutions giving general guidelines for the sustainable management of forests in Europe based on the recommendations from the UNCED.

FISHING AND AQUACULTURE

Findings

1. Overfishing of certain stocks of fish and shellfish is occurring in the Northeast Atlantic (eg, Atlantic herring in the 1960s and 1970s) and Mediterranean (eg, swordfish), due to overcapacity of the fishing industry and use of certain fishing methods.
2. Fixed and drift nets have an impact on marine animals (eg, dolphins, monk seals, and possibly porpoises and seabirds).
3. Effluent from aquaculture causes water pollution. The introduction of exotic species through aquaculture may compete with or replace native species.

Responses/policy options

1. Adoption of more 'environmentally-orientated' approaches to fishing policy; use of Exclusive Economic Zones, Total Allowable Catches and other policy measures (eg, by EU); strengthening policy regime for the control of fishing methods (particularly the implementation of existing policies in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea and improving the regime for the Black Sea).
2. Reduction of the size of the fishing fleet. Restricting the length of surface drift nets, or banning them outright.

TOURISM AND RECREATION

Findings

1. Tourism, which represented about 5.5 per cent of GDP in 1990 in the EU, has become one of the most important social and economic activities in Europe.
2. The impacts of tourism are exacerbated by the concentration of tourist activity into short holiday seasons and in relatively small areas (natural parks, mountains, coastal areas and cities).
3. In mountain areas, the cumulative environmental impacts from skiing are considerable. The worst impacts are in the Alps, which receive 100 million tourists each year in an area of about 190 thousand km².
4. In coastal areas, the greatest pressures are still felt in the Mediterranean (157 million tourists in 1990).
5. In cities and heritage sites, visitor numbers will increase in the future, as urban based tourism travel becomes more popular.

Responses/policy options

1. Broad policies, regional plans and local management actions are important in determining whether tourism and recreation lead to unsustainable environmental impacts (for example, management of traffic flows, and investment in local infrastructures such as wastewater treatment plants).
2. Measures to reduce overload in fragile places (eg, different levels of protection in national parks).
3. Improving tourist behaviour through, for example, raising awareness to encourage a better seasonal spread of tourists; encouraging eco-tourism.

HOUSEHOLDS

Findings

1. Consumption by households accounts for 70 per cent of industrial production in Europe (ranging from 56 per cent in the former USSR to 89 per cent in Greece).
2. An increase in the total number of households (167 million in 1980 to 183 million in 1990 excluding the former USSR) combined with a reduction in household size is leading to increased demand for resources.
3. The growth in consumer spending power, particularly in Western Europe, has increased demands for goods and services, some of which have caused significant environmental disruption. Western European households now own on average at least one car each, an increase of 20 per cent between 1980 and 1990. In Central and Eastern Europe, fewer than one in three households owns a car.
4. The volume of waste from households continues to increase. Studies in Western Europe indicate that although 50 per cent of household waste could be recycled, less than 10 per cent is recovered for recycling.
5. European households account for about 20 per cent of total water supplied for all purposes. This fraction is increasing.

Responses/policy options

1. Legal measures: for example, to restrict activities or consumption of products (eg, reducing air pollution from the domestic sector).
2. Financial regulations: for example, imposing levies on certain products, to discourage their usage
3. Training and information: for example, environmental education, and better consumer information through eco-labels, publicity and media campaigns about insulating houses.
4. Institutional instruments: for example, establishing domestic recycling schemes and reducing the production of post-consumer waste, metering of domestic water and energy use.
5. Technical measures: for example, greater energy efficiency of household appliances.