1.
Climate change
The increase since the nineteenth century of greenhouse gas emissions in the
atmosphere by human activities is causing the Earth is undergoing climate change.
This environmental problem causes various "overwhelming" impacts on nature and
human beings. This is underlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), the international group of scientists organized by the United
Nations to study the problem, in its most recent report.
2. Pollution
Environmental pollution causes negative impacts on ecosystems and various
diseases, alterations and reduced life expectancy in millions of people around the
world. The pollutants are very diverse and increasingly cause more health
problems, even before birth. This is indicated by research groups to international
organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO).
3. Deforestation
The destruction of forests, or deforestation, has declined globally in recent years,
but continues at an "alarming" rate in many countries, especially in South America
and Africa, according to FAO (United Nations Organization for Agriculture and
food). Unsustainable agriculture or intensive logging are its main causes.
4. Soil degradation
Human activities cause serious phenomena of soil degradation. These include
erosion, a problem that, according to experts, is accelerating on all continents and
every year causes a loss of between 5 and 7 million hectares of arable land. In
Spain, threats as diverse as intensive agriculture, construction or pollution have
meant that their situation is bad in general.
5. Energy
The increasing consumption of energy worldwide and the continuity of fossil fuels
generate various environmental impacts and are worrying for the human
development of the coming decades. The use of renewable energy and the
increase in energy efficiency are some of the solutions to combat this problem.
6. Water shortage
Water, access to it in minimal quality conditions and its scarcity are increasingly
worrying. Some experts speak even that water will be the most valuable element of
the 21st century and the main cause of wars and conflicts. The United Nations
declared 2013 as the International Year of Cooperation in the Water Sphere to
raise awareness about the importance of protecting and guaranteeing this natural
resource.
7. Extinction of species and loss of biodiversity
Scientists have warned for years of the increase in endangered species and the
loss of biodiversity. This is evidenced by works such as the Red List of the World
Conservation Union (IUCN). Nick Nuttall, spokesman for the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP), says "we are witnessing a sixth human-driven
extinction." The loss of biodiversity not only causes damage to the environment,
but also to the economy, as the study "The Economics of Ecosystems and
Biodiversity (TEEB)" emphasizes.
8. Invasion and illegal trafficking of species
Invasive species, the introduction of living beings from outside their natural range,
represents, according to IUCN, the second cause of threat to biodiversity, following
the destruction of habitats. The number of introduced species has increased
markedly globally in recent decades. For its part, smuggling of species endangers
the survival of hundreds of endangered species worldwide and the ecosystems
from where they are taken.
9. Waste
The global generation of garbage in cities will be double that of the current one in
2025 and more than triple in 2100. This is indicated by a study in the journal
Nature, which states that it is the fastest environmental pollutant to occur. If the
waste is not treated properly, especially the hazardous ones, it can cause very
different damages to the environment and human beings. Recycling, in addition to
alleviating this problem, avoids the use of new raw materials and thus reduces the
environmental impact.
10. Overfishing
60% of the world's most important commercial species are overexploited or
depleted, and only 25% of current fishery resources are considered constant.
Overfishing, which affects both large seas and oceans and rivers, endangers the
survival of marine resources and, therefore, the availability of an important source
of food for the world population. The European Union has reformed its Common
Fisheries Policy to protect the marine environment through sustainable fishing.