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Complex challenges in an interconnected world

27 Jun 2011

One of the main conclusions in EEA's flagship report, SOER 2010, appears obvious: 'environmental challenges are complex and can't be understood in isolation'.

The Year of the Forest: celebrating forests for people

27 Jun 2011

1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihoods. Forests are home to 300 million people worldwide

Living in an interconnected world

27 Jun 2011

'…the sheer weight of the combined aspirations and lifestyles of 500 million Europeans is just too great. Never mind the legitimate desires of many other billions on our planet to share those lifestyles.... We will need to change the behaviour of European consumers. To work on people's awareness and to influence their habits.' Janez Potočnik, European Union Commissioner for Environment (March 2010).

Health in a changing climate

27 Jun 2011

In August 2007, local health authorities in Italy detected a high number of cases of an unusual illness in Castiglione di Cervia and Castiglione di Ravenna, two small villages divided by a river. Almost 200 people were affected and one elderly man died (Angelini et al., 2007).

Sharing nature's riches

27 Jun 2011

Of the 8.2 billion tonnes of materials consumed in EU-27 Member States in 2007, minerals accounted for 52 %, fossil fuels for 23 %, biomass for 21 % and metals for 4 % (SOER 2010)

Consuming unsustainably

27 Jun 2011

Key message: A major reason why consumption negatively affects the environment and causes over-use of resources is because the costs to society of environmental and resource degradation are not fully reflected in the prices of goods and services. Many goods are cheap even though they harm the environment, ecosystems or human health. (SOER 2010)

The Pollution Challenge

27 Jun 2011

Urban world

27 Jun 2011

Did you know? A city affects a large area outside its own boundaries. For example, London alone is thought to need an area of almost 300 times its geographical size to satisfy its demands and to dispose of its waste and emissions. (SOER 2010)

Eyewitness: the boy Chance

27 Jun 2011

Bisie is the biggest mine in the area. It is located approximately 90 kilometres inside dense forest and reaches 100 metres underground. The mines are often little more than a hole in the ground. Dozens of men and boys crowd each mine and conditions are atrocious.

Interview: Margot Wallström talks about sexual violence in conflicts

26 Jul 2011

This year as we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day, Congo Remains our Most Daunting Challenge

Interview: Mark Craemer on the Bisie mine in Congo

26 Jul 2011

Mark Craemer is a professional photographer based in New York City. His recent photography documents the conflict mineral and humanitarian situation in the D.R. Congo.