Published: 24 Mar 2010
EEA Signals 2010: stories about people and
their environment
EEA Signals 2010
tells six stories about people and the environmental
issues they live with today. These ‘eyewitnesses’
invite you on a journey to both familiar
and distant places looking again at the
foundations of life on earth — water, soil
and air. Although their observations are
personal and local, their plight is common
and global.
These are not simply
anecdotes. The wisdom of ordinary people,
such as hunters, farmers, hill walkers and
sports enthusiasts, offer an often untapped
resource of information to complement our
satellite images and research. These people
also speak in plain language. They are easy
to listen to.
“We rely on the richness
of life on this planet for our food, shelter
and such basic needs as clean air. We are
a part of this diversity and cannot live
without it. In Signals ordinary people observe
how changes to their environment affect
not only animal and plant life, but also
their livelihood and lifestyle” said Prof.
Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of
EEA.
Biodiversity and Climate
Change are central themes and the stories
will be relevant throughout 2010 – United
Nations International Year of Biodiversity
– particularly on May 22, International
Day for Biological Diversity.
In the stories you can
follow the course of water from the summits
of the Alps to the streets of Vienna and
discover that climate change is affecting
an ancient water cycle in the mountains
with repercussions for tens of millions
of Europeans. Listen to a guide, a man who
has grown up in the mountains, as he describes
how the very make-up of the rock is changing
as temperatures increase and the frozen
core crumbles.
Learn about the reindeer
herders of the vast Arctic region facing
winters that are no longer consistently
cold. Travel to the Aegean Sea and listen
to locals, such as Saim Erol — who has been
fishing here for the past 20 years — describe
the changes. What do you do when you pull
a new fish out of the water? Where did it
come from? When no one will buy it, does
it have worth?
Signals 2010 will be
launched on Wednesday, 24 March 2010 by
Spanish Minister of the Environment and
Rural and Marine Affairs, Elena Espinosa
and EEA Executive Director, Jacqueline McGlade.
The Madrid event will coincide with the
launch of a Signals webpage: eea.europa.eu/signals
+ More
Everything about fresh
water in Europe
Document Actions
Published: 22 Mar 2010
Clean fresh water is essential to life.
Unfortunately, almost all human activities
affect water quality. On World Water Day,
22 March, the European Environment Agency
(EEA) is enriching the information on the
web-based Water Information System for Europe
(WISE) with two new sets of data on urban
waste water and pollutant releases.
Europe hosts several
million kilometres of rivers and streams
and more than a million lakes. Each body
of water has its own characteristics and
specific environmental problems.
WISE brings together
all the information collected at EU level
and on surface and ground water, including
data on bathing waters. It presents the
information in the form of data sets or
interactive maps.
For the first time,
urban waste water treatment data (the location
and type of treatment plants), which Governments
gather pursuant to the EU Urban Waste Water
Treatment Directive), are available as a
dataset and can be downloaded in WISE. The
second new feature is 'emissions' data sets
on the total amount of nutrients and some
hazardous substances released to water bodies.
Concrete plans to improve
European waters are on the way
Water resources frequently span geopolitical
boundaries. Truly sustainable use and protection
of resources thus often requires international
and regional cooperation. The key EU legislation
on water, the Water Framework Directive,
establishes a broad management approach
based on river basin districts.
World Water Day also
coincides with one of the key dates in the
implementation of the Directive. EU countries
are required to report their river basin
management plans to the European Commission
by 22 March 2010. These plans will detail
concrete measures to achieve a‘good chemical
and ecological status’ in 2015, as required
by the Directive.
+ More
Marine biodiversity:
life in seas under threat
Document Actions
Published: 17 Mar 2010
Climate change, pollution, acidification,
over-exploitation of fish stocks, invasive
alien species all threaten life in our seas
and consequently the services we obtain
from them. The European Environment Agency’s
(EEA) new short assessment of marine biodiversity
takes a closer look at the ‘less known half’
of EU territory.
It is not only about seafood or a romantic
sunset, our oceans are essential to us both
ecologically and economically. They regulate
our climate, produce oxygen and remove carbon
from the atmosphere through processes such
as photosynthesis. They are also home to
an incredible number of species, with many
new ones discovered on a regular basis,
living in almost unimaginable settings.
Today, biodiversity in Europe’s seas and
oceans faces an unprecedented range of pressures
and require urgent action.
The key threats are
known
Fourth in the series of '10 messages for
2010', the EEA's assessment highlights some
key pressures on marine ecosystems:
eutrophication — increased
concentrations of chemical nutrients, resulting
mainly from intensive agriculture on land,
continue to be a major problem affecting
most European seas;
pollution — although concentrations of hazardous
substances are decreasing, their persistence
and the large amounts already released mean
that negative effects will continue for
decades;
climate change — impacts on marine biodiversity
and ecosystems are becoming more and more
obvious: sea surface temperatures and sea
levels are rising; sea-ice cover is decreasing;
and the chemical, physical and biological
characteristics of the sea are changing;
invasive alien species
— combined with other pressures such as
overfishing, acidification and climate change,
introduction of invasive alien species can
alter entire ecosystems.
Marine protected areas
are effective
European marine biodiversity is primarily
protected by establishing Natura 2000 sites
under the Habitats and Birds Directives
but there are serious delays in identifying
areas and even longer delays in assessing
their status. Evidence suggests that marine
protected areas support marine biodiversity
and fisheries, and that the extent of recovery
increases with the age and size of the protected
area.
