Evaluation the cost of environmental degradation and management

ENG / walled Hassan AL- Ashwah 2017

Environmental concepts and terminology.

Environment: The biosphere, which includes living organisms and their contents, and surrounding areas of air, water, soil, and human facilities.

Air: The mixture of gases that make up it with its natural characteristics and its known proportions.

Environmental Pollution: Any change in the characteristics of the environment that directly or indirectly leads to harm to human health and influence the exercise of

its natural life, or damage to natural habitats, living organisms or biological diversity.

Environmental degradation: Affecting the environment in such a way as to diminish its value, distort its environmental nature, drain its resources, or damage living organisms.

Environment protection :

Preserving the components of the environment and upgrading them, preventing their degradation or pollution and reducing pollution.

These components include air, sea and inland waters, including the

Nile River, lakes, groundwater and land, natural reserves and other natural resources.

air pollution: Any change in the characteristics and specifications of natural air entails a danger to human health or the environment, whether this pollution is due to natural factors or human activity, including noise and unpleasant odors.

Water pollution: enter of any material or energy into the aquatic environment in a voluntary or involuntary manner, directly or indirectly, which results in damage to living or non-living resources, threatens human health, impairs water activities, including fishing, tourism activities, or corrupts the seawater's use or depletion To enjoy or change their properties. hazardous substances: Hazardous substances that are harmful to human health or have harmful effects on the environment such as infectious, toxic, explosive, ignition or ionizing radiation.

Hazardous Wastes: Residues of various activities and processes or their ashes that retain the properties of hazardous substances that do not have the following original or alternative uses such as clinical waste from the treatment activities and wastes resulting from the manufacture of any pharmaceutical preparations, organic solvents, or inks, dyes and paints.

Waste disposal: Processes that do not lead to the extraction or reuse of materials, such as landfill, deep injection, discharge to surface water, biological treatment, physical treatment, permanent storage or incineration.

Waste Recycling: Processes that allow the extraction or reuse of materials, such as fuel, mineral extraction, organic matter, soil treatment or oil recycling.

Environmental impact assessment: Study and analyze the environmental feasibility of the proposed projects, which may affect the establishment or exercise of its activities on the safety of the environment and the aim of protecting it .

Green Technology: "Green" technology includes products and practices that reduce environmental impacts by reducing net emissions or reducing waste from original products.

Green Economy: A system of economic activities that would improve the quality of human life in the long term, without endanger future generations to serious environmental or ecological scarcity Sustainable development: Development that meets the needs of the present without prejudice the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Introduction: If growth in GDP is the standard of prosperity, Arab countries have achieved good results over the last 50 years, making the Arab region nearly bankrupt for its natural resources as a result of the increasing demands of the population on the Earth's biosphere beyond its innovative capabilities or biological capacity. Environmentalists and researchers need to find a composite statistical index that measures the amount of consumption and the amount of natural resources .

Main reasons of environmental degradation.

1 2

3 4 5 6 7 8

Categorization of environmental degradation.

• Global Overpopulation • Unsustainable consumption of natural resources • Increase waste

1

• Unsafe waste disposal

2

• Increase pollution rates

3

• Green house effect and climate change

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• Economic crises

5

• Degradation of natural resources

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• Indoor and outdoor air pollution.

• Land degradation.

• Water degradation.

• Coast zone degradation.

• Waste management.

• Global environment.

Global Overpopulation

Average annual rate of population change, per cent, 2010-2017: 1.2 Total population in millions, 2017: 7,550

The rapid increase in global population, which increases by 1.2% per year, has led to increased consumption of natural resources, resulting in increased waste and pollution rates.

Unsustainable consumption (Earth Overshoot Day)

Unsustainable consumption (Earth Overshoot Day) The population's consumption of their natural resources in less than a year exceeds the ability of the planet to renew itself and absorb its carbon footprint.

Increase Waste

Waste definitions hazardous substances: Hazardous substances that are harmful to human health or have harmful effects on the environment such as infectious, toxic, explosive, ignition or ionizing radiation.

Hazardous Wastes: Residues of various activities and processes or their ashes that retain the properties of hazardous substances that do not have the following original or alternative uses such as clinical waste from the treatment activities and wastes resulting from the manufacture of any pharmaceutical preparations, organic solvents, or inks, dyes and paints.

Waste types

Chemical waste

Hazard waste

Solid waste

Electronic waste

Medical waste

Solid waste

the useless and unwanted products in the solid state derived from the activities of and discarded by society. It is produced either by - product of production processes or arise form the

domestic or commercial sector when objects or materials are discarded after use.

Medical waste

All types of waste generated by health facilities in addition to research institutes and laboratories related to the health sector.

Electronic waste

The products that consist of the consumption of electronic devices include all the devices that contain electronic board and cathode tube. The electronic waste differs from the rest of the waste as it contains dangerous and valuable materials and elements up to 60 items from the periodic table.

Chemical waste

Hazardous substances that are harmful to human health or have harmful effects on the environment such as infectious, toxic, explosive, ignition or ionizing radiation.

Environmental Pollution Any change in the characteristics of the environment that directly or indirectly leads to harm to human health and influence the exercise of its natural life, or damage to natural habitats, living organisms or biological diversity.

212121 Air degradation Outdoor air pollution

Indoor air pollution

Effect

Effect

Air pollution

Pollution types and impacts Soil pollution

Land degradation

Water pollution

Effect

Water and coste degradation

Indoor air pollution contains a variety of health-damaging pollutants: • particles (complex mixtures of chemicals in solid form and droplets) • carbon monoxide • nitrous oxides • sulphur oxides (mainly from coal) • formaldehyde • carcinogens (chemical substances known to increase the risk of cancer) such as benzene.

• Small particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns (PM2.5) or less are able to penetrate deep into the lungs and appear to have the greatest effects on health.

Around 3 billion people cook and heat their homes using solid fuels (i.e. wood, charcoal, coal, dung, crop wastes) on open fires or traditional stoves. Such inefficient cooking and heating practices produce high levels of household (indoor) air pollution which includes a range of health damaging pollutants such as fine particles and carbon monoxide.

In poorly ventilated dwellings, smoke in and around the home can exceed acceptable levels for fine particles 100-fold. Exposure is particularly high among women and young children, who spend the most time near the domestic hearth.

According to WHO, 4.3 million people a year die from the exposure to household air pollution.

5 Scary Facts About Your Indoor Air

1. The EPA Ranks Indoor Air Pollution as a Top 5 Environmental Danger the EPA estimates that our indoor air has nearly 5x as much pollutants than outdoor air.

2. Secondhand Smoke Is One of the Top Indoor Air Pollutants smoke is considered one of the worst indoor air pollutants around the world. It is known to contain more than 200 different types of poisons, including formaldehyde and carbon dioxide. It also includes at least 60 chemicals known to cause cancer.

3. Pediatric Asthma Rates Have Jumped 72% 4. Hundreds of Harmful Chemicals Are Released Every Day Hundreds of potentially harmful chemicals are admitted or released by household cleaning agents, personal care products, paint, and solvents used on a regular basis. These chemicals have been tied to causing dizziness, allergic reactions, skin irritation, cancer, and nausea.

5. The Quality of Indoor Air Can Be Up To 100x More Polluted Than Outside Air.

Indoor air pollution causes a number of respiratory diseases and other health effects. It accounts for 18 per cent of ischaemic heart disease and 33 per cent of all lower respiratory infections globally.

Outdoor air pollution

In 2010, estimated worldwide emissions from human activities totaled nearly 46 billion metric tons of greenhouse gases, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents. This represents a 35 percent increase from 1990 (see Figures 1 and 2). These numbers represent net emissions, which include the effects of land use and forestry.

Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions by gas, 1990 – 2010.

Between 1990 and 2010, global emissions of all major greenhouse gases increased (see Figure 1). Net emissions of carbon dioxide increased by 42 percent, which is particularly important because carbon dioxide accounts for about three-fourths of total global emissions. Nitrous oxide emissions increased the least—9 percent— while emissions of methane increased by 15 percent. Emissions of fluorinated gases more than doubled.

Energy production and use (including fuels used by vehicles) represent the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide (about 71 percent of the total in 2010), followed by agriculture (13 percent in 2010) While land-use change and forestry represent a net sink for emissions in the United States, absorbing carbon dioxide and offsetting emissions from other sources these activities are a net source of emissions on a global scale, largely because of deforestation.

Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions by sector, 1990 – 2010.

Carbon dioxide emissions are increasing faster in some parts of the world (for example, Asia) than in others. The majority of emissions come from three regions: Asia, Europe, and the United States, which together accounted for 88 percent of total global emissions in 2012.

Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions by region, 1990 – 2010

Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts for an extended period of time (i.e., decades to millions of years). Climate change may refer to a change in average weather conditions, or in the time variation of weather within the context of longer-term average conditions. Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. Certain human activities have been identified as primary causes of ongoing climate change, often referred to as global warming.

Scientists actively work to understand past and future climate by using observations and theoretical models. A climate record— extending deep into the Earth's past—has been assembled, and continues to be built up, based on geological evidence from borehole temperature profiles, cores removed from deep accumulations of ice, floral and faunal records, glacial and periglacial processes, stable-isotope and other analyses of sediment layers, and records of past sea levels. More recent data are provided by the instrumental record. General circulation models, based on the physical sciences, are often used in theoretical approaches to match past climate data, make future projections, and link causes and effects in climate change.

The term "climate change" is often used to refer specifically to anthropogenic climate change (also known as global warming).

Anthropogenic climate change is caused by human activity, as opposed to changes in climate that may have resulted as part of Earth's natural processes.

In this sense, especially in the context of environmental policy, the term climate change has become synonymous with anthropogenic global warming. Within scientific journals, global warming refers to surface temperature increases while climate change includes global warming and everything else that increasing greenhouse gas levels affect.

Green House Gases

A greenhouse gas (abbrev. GHG) is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range, This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect.

The primary greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Without greenhouse gases, the average temperature of Earth's surface would be about −18 °C (0 °F),[2] rather than the present average of 15 °C (59 °F).

Human activities since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution (taken as sometime between the years 1740 and 1754) have produced a 40% increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide, from 280 ppm in 1750 to 406 ppm in early 2017.

This increase has occurred despite the uptake of a large portion of the emissions by various natural "sinks" involved in the carbon cycle.[7][8] The vast majority of Anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (i.e., emissions produced by human activities) come from combustion of fossil fuels, principally coal, oil, and natural gas, with comparatively modest additional contributions coming from deforestation, changes in land use, soil erosion, and agriculture (including animal agriculture), though some of the emissions of this sector are offset by carbon sequestration.

Carbon dioxide (CO2): Fossil fuel use is the primary source of CO2. CO2 can also be emitted from direct human-induced impacts on forestry and other land use, such as through deforestation, land clearing for agriculture, and degradation of soils.

Likewise, land can also remove CO2 from the atmosphere through reforestation, improvement of soils, and other activities.

Methane (CH4): Agricultural activities, waste management, energy use, and biomass burning all contribute to CH4 emissions.

Nitrous oxide (N2O): Agricultural activities, such as fertilizer use, are the primary source of N2O emissions. Fossil fuel combustion also generates N2O. Fluorinated gases (F-gases): Industrial processes, refrigeration, and the use of a variety of consumer products contribute to emissions of F-gases, which include hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).

Black carbon is a solid particle or aerosol, not a gas, but it also contributes to warming of the atmosphere.

Global green house by gas

Global green house by sector

Water Degradation

Water degradation it means one or more substances have built up in water to such an extent that they cause problems for animals or people.

Oceans, lakes, rivers, and other inland waters Types of fresh water . surface waters oceans, lakes, and rivers.

Groundwater rock structures known as aquifers, which we cannot see and seldom think about.

Water stored underground in aquifers is feed our rivers and supply much of our drinking water Types of degradation . point-source pollution. comes from a single location, such as a discharge pipe attached to a factory, it is known as Other examples of point source pollution include an oil spill from a tanker, a discharge from a smoke stack (factory chimney), or someone pouring oil from their car down a drain. nonpoint-source pollution A great deal of water pollution happens not from one single source but from many different scattered sources. transboundary pollution pollution that enters the environment in one place has an effect hundreds or even thousands of miles away.

Sewage Oil pollution

Waste water

Plastics

Chemical waste

Radioactiv e waste

Sewage billions of people on the planet, disposing of sewage waste is a major problem, According to 2015 and 2016 figures from the World Health Organization, some 663 million people (9 percent of the world's population) don't have access to safe drinking water 2.4 billion (40 percent of the world's population) don't have proper sanitation (hygienic toilet facilities.

Sewage disposal affects people's immediate environments and leads to water-related illnesses such as diarrhea that kills 525,000 children under five each year. the World Health Organization estimated that water-related diseases could kill as many as 135 million people by 2020.) In developed countries.

• sewage can be a fertilizer it returns important nutrients to the environment, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which plants and animals need for growth.

The trouble is, sewage is often released in much greater quantities than the natural environment can cope with. Chemical fertilizers used by farmers also add nutrients to the soil, which drain into rivers and seas and add to the fertilizing effect of the sewage.

• fertilizer it returns important nutrients to the environment, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which plants and animals need for growth. The trouble is, sewage is often released in much greater quantities than the natural environment can cope with. Chemical fertilizers used by farmers also add nutrients to the soil, which drain into rivers and seas and add to the fertilizing effect of the sewage.

• Causes a massive increase in the growth of algae or plankton that overwhelms huge areas of oceans, lakes, or rivers. This is known as a harmful algal bloom (also known as an HAB or red tide, because it can turn the water red).

• it removes oxygen from the water that kills other forms of life, leading to what is known as a dead zone.

• The Gulf of Mexico has one of the world's most spectacular dead zones.

Each summer, according to studies by the NOAA, it grows to an area of around 5500–6000 square miles (14,000–15,500 square kilometers), which is about the same size as the state of Connecticut.

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Waste water Around half of all ocean pollution is caused by sewage and waste water.

Each year, the world generates perhaps 5–10 billion tons of industrial waste, much of which is pumped untreated into rivers, oceans, and other waterways Factories are point sources of water pollution, but quite a lot of water is polluted by ordinary people from nonpoint sources. everyone pours chemicals of one sort or another down their drains or toilets. detergents used in washing machines and dishwashers eventually end up in our rivers and oceans. pesticides we use on our gardens A lot of toxic pollution also enters waste water from highway runoff.

Highways are typically covered with a cocktail of toxic chemicals spilled fuel and brake fluids to bits of worn tires (themselves made from chemical additives) and exhaust emissions. When it rains, these chemicals wash into drains and rivers. It is not unusual for heavy summer rainstorms to wash toxic chemicals into rivers in such concentrations that they kill large numbers of fish overnight estimated that, in one year, the highway runoff from a single large city leaks as much oil into our water environment as a typical tanker spill. Some highway runoff runs away into drains; others can pollute groundwater or accumulate in the land next to a road, making it increasingly toxic as the years go by.

Chemical waste • Detergents are relatively mild substances. At the opposite end of the spectrum are highly toxic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). They were once widely used to manufacture electronic circuit boards, but their harmful effects have now been recognized • estimated half million tons of PCBs were discharged into the environment during the 20th century.

• heavy metals, such as lead, cadmium, and mercury. Lead was once commonly used in gasoline (petrol), • Mercury and cadmium are still used in batteries (though some brands now use other metals instead) • highly toxic chemical called tributyltin (TBT) was used in paints to protect boats from the ravaging effects of the oceans. Ironically, however, TBT was gradually recognized as a pollutant: boats painted with it were doing as much damage to the oceans as the oceans were doing to the boats.

Radioactive waste People view radioactive waste with great alarm and for good reason. At high enough concentrations it can kill; in lower concentrations it can cause cancers and other illnesses. The biggest sources of radioactive pollution in Europe are two factories that reprocess waste fuel from nuclear power plants.

Oil pollution • 12 percent of the oil that enters the oceans comes from tanker accidents; over 70 percent of oil pollution at sea comes from routine shipping and from the oil people pour down drains on land. However, what makes tanker spills so destructive is the sheer quantity of oil they release at once • 12 million gallons (44 million liters) of oil were released into the pristine wilderness enough to fill your living room 800 times over • Estimates of the marine animals killed in the spill vary from approximately 1000 sea otters and 34,000 birds to as many as 2800 sea otters and 250,000 sea birds.

Several billion salmon and herring eggs are also believed to have been destroyed

Plastics According to the World Economic Forum that the plastic industry consumes 20% of oil production in the next 35 years, while it consumes 5% now, where production has increased 20 times since 1964 to 311 tons in 2014 and is expected to increase to 4 By 2050, where only 5% and 40% are disposed of in waste dumps, sea and ocean, equivalent to 8 tons per year in seas and oceans. This is equivalent to a waste truck in the ocean every minute which will reach 4 trucks In 2050, by 2020, we will reach a ton of plastic for every 3 tons of fish, and because plastic contains carcinogenic and toxic chemicals Fish are digested and accessed by humans through the food chain Where he found about 5 tons of plastic beds not more than 5 mm, which represents a danger to sea turtles and endangered and seals

Ocean and sea degradation Ocean facts • Oceans cover three quarters of the Earth’s surface, contain 97 per cent of the Earth’s water, and represent 99 per cent of the living space on the planet by volume.

• Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods.

• Oceans contain nearly 200,000 identified species, but actual numbers may lie in the millions.

• Oceans absorb about 30 per cent of carbon dioxide produced by humans, buffering the impacts of global warming.

• Oceans serve as the world’s largest source of protein, with more than 3 billion people depending on the oceans as their primary source of protein.

• Marine fisheries directly or indirectly employ over 200 million people.

• As much as 40 per cent of the world oceans are heavily affected by human activities, including pollution, depleted fisheries, and loss of coastal habitats.

Sea surface temperature

In three different data analyses, the long-term trend shows that the oceans have become warmer since 1955 (see Figure 1).

Although concentrations of greenhouse gases have risen at a relatively steady rate over the past few decades (see the Atmospheric Concentrations of Greenhouse Gases indicator), the rate of change in ocean heat content can vary from year to year (see Figure 1). Year-to-year changes are influenced by events such as volcanic eruptions and recurring ocean-atmosphere patterns such as El NiĂąo.

Sea level global average sea level rose at an average rate of 0.06 inches per year from 1880 to 2013 . Since 1993, however, average sea level has risen at a rate of 0.11 to 0.14 inches per year—roughly twice as fast as the long-term trend.

Ocean Acidity Measurements made over the last few decades have demonstrated that ocean carbon dioxide levels have risen in response to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, leading to an increase in acidity (that is, a decrease in pH) Historical modeling suggests that since the 1880s, increased carbon dioxide has led to lower aragonite saturation levels in the oceans around the world, which makes it more difficult for certain organisms to build and maintain their skeletons and shells The * largest decreases in aragonite saturation have occurred in tropical waters; however, decreases in cold areas may be of greater concern because colder waters typically have lower aragonite saturation levels to begin with.

This indicator describes changes in the chemistry of the ocean that relate to the amount of carbon dioxide dissolved in the water.

Measurements made over the last few decades have demonstrated that ocean carbon dioxide levels have risen in response to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, leading to an increase in acidity (that is, a decrease in pH) Historical modeling suggests that since the 1880s, increased carbon dioxide has led to lower aragonite saturation levels in the oceans around the world, which makes it more difficult for certain organisms to build and maintain their skeletons and shells The largest decreases in aragonite saturation have occurred in tropical waters (see Figure 2); however, decreases in cold areas may be of greater concern because colder waters typically have lower aragonite saturation levels to begin with.

This indicator focuses on surface waters, which can absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere within a few months.

It can take much longer for changes in pH and mineral saturation to spread to deeper waters, so the full effect of increased atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations on ocean acidity may not be seen for many decades, if not centuries. Studies suggest that the impacts of ocean acidification may be greater at depth, because the aragonite saturation level is naturally lower in deeper waters.

Ocean chemistry is not uniform around the world, so local conditions can cause pH or aragonite saturation measurements to differ from the global average. For example, carbon dioxide dissolves more readily in cold water than in warm water, so colder regions could experience greater impacts from acidity than warmer regions. Air and water pollution also lead to increased acidity in some areas.

Marine species affected by climate change include plankton - which forms the basis of marine food chains - corals, fish, polar bears, walruses, seals, sea lions, penguins, and seabirds.

• The problems affecting the ocean are bad news for the 3 billion people who rely on fish (from marine and inland fisheries) as an important part of their diet, and more than 520 million more who rely on fishing-related activities for income and food.

• 61% of fish stocks are fully fished (fishing pressure is close to, or at the maximum limit of what can be sustained before overfishing will likely occur) and 29% are overfished (which means they are taken out of the water at biologically unsustainable levels) • Less than 4% of the ocean benefits from some kind of protection • When multiple threats interact—some local (such as removing mangroves) with global ones the impacts can be disastrous., are worsening because of steadily warming temperatures, acidification and pollution among others.

Coral reefs are home to 25% of all marine life on the planet. The total area of the world's coral reefs amounts to less than one quarter of 1% of the entire marine environment. some estimates put the total diversity of life found in, on, and around all coral reefs at up to 2 million species.

For many coastal areas, coral reefs also provide an important barrier against the worst ravages of storms, hurricanes, and typhoons.

As thousands of communities across the world will tell you, coral reefs are essential not only to ocean health, but also to human health and well-being.

Coral bleaching One of the most visually dramatic effects of climate change is coral bleaching, a stress response caused by high water temperatures that can lead to coral death.

Recent years have seen widespread and severe coral bleaching episodes around the world, with coral mortality reaching 70% in some regions.

North polar degradation • In the North Coast, losses occurred at 0.5 m per year due to the collapse of glaciers, permafrost and increased flooding • Sea and ocean level rise 0.7 inches / year • The polar region is growing at a higher and faster rate because it is rich in carbon dioxide, where the oceans absorb 24 million tons of carbon dioxide • As a result of increasing ocean temperatures and acidity rates led to a decrease in the concentration of dissolved oxygen in water • Increasing ocean temperatures will result in coral reefs not being affected by calcium carbonate Molluscs and sea grasses are the most affected by increased acidity and began to extinction where they can not reproduce under these conditions • The decline in polar ice cover in the Arctic is more severe in recent years, resulting in 1.3 million square miles in 2012, 5 times the area of ​Texas, and land ice is declining and permafrost continues to melt.

• The melting of permafrost will contribute to warming with the melting of the stored organic matter of 1,700 Gt carbon across the northern hemisphere - in turn, and decompose it, releasing carbon stored in the form of CO2 and methane.

• The temperature increases twice as high as the global warming, resulting in the loss of about 30 to 85% of the surface layer and thus will lead to increased emissions of carbon and frozen methane frosts contribute about 39% of the emissions

Land Degradation

Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land.

It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.

Natural hazards are excluded as a cause; however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and bush fires.

This is considered to be an important topic of the 21st century due to the implications land degradation has upon agronomic productivity, the environment, and its effects on food security.

It is estimated that up to 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded.

The world’s food and water supply is greatly dependent upon good quality soil. about 30 per cent of global land area has already experienced significant degradation that is, a reduction in the capacity of land to provide ecosystem services and assure its functions over a period of time.

One third of grasslands, a quarter of croplands, and almost a quarter of forests experienced degradation over the last three decades.

The annual cost of land degradation is estimated to be about US$300 billion.

This includes losses to both agricultural production and other ecosystem services .

Main reason for soil degradation poor agricultural management practices.

Reduction of the quality and fertility of soils.

lowers agricultural productivity and associated yields According to the FAO, the situation is most acute in Africa, two-thirds of agricultural lands are degraded and per capita food production is declining as a result of soil quality loss (FAO, 2011a).

Land degradation also reduces carbon fixation since above and below ground biomass is compromised.

In the period 1981-2003 this led to a loss of nearly a billion

tonnes of carbon (Bai et al., 2008).

Deforestation Deforestation is the conversion of forest to another land use or the long-term reduction of the tree canopy cover. This includes conversion of natural forest to tree plantations, agriculture, pasture, water reservoirs and urban areas but excludes timber production areas managed to ensure the forest regenerates after logging.

An estimated 7.6 million hectares of forests are lost each year. In tropical rainforests particularly, deforestation continues to be an urgent environmental issue that jeopardizes people’s livelihoods, threatens species, and intensifies global warming. Forests make a vital contribution to humanity, but their full potential will only be realized if we halt deforestation and forest degradation.

Between 1990 and 2015, the world lost some 129 million ha of forest, an area the size of South Africa. When we take away the forest, it is not just the trees that go. The entire ecosystem begins to fall apart, with dire consequences for all of us.

Effects of deforestation and forest degradation Reduce biodiversity Deforestation and forest degradation can cause wildlife to decline. When forest cover is removed, wildlife is deprived of habitat and becomes more vulnerable to hunting. Considering that about 80% of the world's documented species can be found in tropical rainforests, deforestation poses a serious threat to the Earth’s biodiversity.

Release of green house gases Release of greenhouse gas emissions: Forests are the largest terrestrial store of carbon, but deforestation is the largest source of carbon dioxide emissions after fossil fuel burning, causing 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Distributed water cycle As a result of deforestation, trees no longer evaporate groundwater, which can cause the local climate to be much drier.

Increased soil erosion Deforestation accelerates rates of soil erosion, by increasing runoff and reducing the protection of the soil from tree litter.

Distributed livelihood Millions of people rely directly on forests, through shifting cultivation, hunting and gathering, and by harvesting forest products such as rubber. Deforestation continues to create severe social problems, sometimes leading to violent conflict.

Effect of land degradation • 842 million people do not have enough to eat, and about 98 percent live in developing countries.

• South Asia and the Pacific region is home to more than half of the world's population, and also has about two-thirds of the world's hungry. (Source: FAO Press Release, 2010) • Women account for just over half of the world's population, but also account for more than 60% of the world's hungry. (Source: Report on Strengthening Efforts to Eliminate Hunger, Economic and Social Council, 2007) • Around 65% of the world's hungry live in just seven countries: India, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia. (Source: FAO Press Release, 2010) • Undernourishment leads to 5 million deaths among children under the age of five each year in developing countries. (Source: Cause of Death among Children Under Five, UNICEF, 2006) • One out of every four children has around 146 million underweight.

(Source: The State of the World's Children 2007, UNICEF

• More than 70% of underweight children (aged 5 or under) live in just 10 countries, with more than 50% of them in South Asia alone. (Source: Progress for Children 2006, UNICEF • 10.9 million children under the age of five die each year in developing countries, and malnutrition and hunger-related diseases account for 60% of these deaths. (Source: The State of the World's Children 2007, UNICEF • The number of hungry people in the world during the period from 2011 to 2013 reached 842 million people • The number of hungry in the developing regions reached 827 million people and should be reduced to 498 million • Global Undernourishment Rate 11.8% • Undernourishment reached 23.6% during the period from 1990 to 1992 in the developing regions and in the period from 2011 to 2013 reached 14.3% • 1.1 billion people live on less than $ 1 a day, 1.6 billion people are in the range of $ 1-2 per day, the world is suffering from many diseases, loss of development opportunities, scarcity of natural resources and more.

Biodiversity degradation

Mean reasons for Biodiversity degradation 1- Habitat loss and degradation This refers to the modification of the environment where a species lives, by either complete removal, fragmentation or reduction in quality of key habitat characteristics. Common causes are unsustainable agriculture, logging, transportation, residential or commercial development, energy production and mining. For freshwater habitats, fragmentation of rivers and streams and abstraction of water are common threats.

2- Species overexploitation There are both direct and indirect forms of overexploitation. Direct overexploitation refers to unsustainable hunting and poaching or harvesting, whether for subsistence or for trade. Indirect overexploitation occurs when nontarget species are killed unintentionally, for example as by catch in fisheries.

3- Pollution Pollution can directly affect a species by making the environment unsuitable for its survival (this is what happens, for example, in the case of an oil spill). It can also affect a species indirectly, by affecting food availability or reproductive performance, thus reducing population numbers over time.

4-Invasive species and disease Invasive species can compete with native species for space, food and other resources, can turn out to be a predator for native species, or spread diseases that were not previously present in the environment. Humans also transport new diseases from one area of the globe to another.

5- Climate change As temperatures change, some species will need to adapt by shifting their range to track suitable climate. The effects of climate change on species are often indirect. Changes in temperature can confound the signals that trigger seasonal events such as migration and reproduction, causing these events to happen at the wrong time (for example misaligning reproduction and the period of greater food availability in a specific habitat).

The Global Living Planet Index The LPI measures biodiversity by gathering population data of various vertebrate species and calculating an average change in abundance over time. The LPI can be compared to the stock market index, except that, instead of monitoring the global economy, the LPI is an important indicator of the planet’s ecological condition (Collen et al., 2009). The global LPI is based on scientific data from 14,152 monitored populations of 3,706 vertebrate species (mammals, birds, fishes, amphibians, reptiles) from around the world

Effect of degradation on human health air pollution 6.5 million people die annually as a result of to poor air quality including 4.3 million due to household air pollution Lower respiratory infections: 51 million years lost or lived with disability annually due to household Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases: 32 million years life lost or lived each year with disability because of household air pollution and workers’ exposure freshwater pollution 58 per cent of the cases of diarrheal disease due to lack of access to clean water and sanitation 57 million years of life lost or lived with disability annually due to poor water, sanitation, hygiene land/soil pollution Open waste dumps and burning impacts lives, health and livelihoods and affect soil chemistry and nutrition Health impacts of chronic exposure to pesticides for men, women and children Salinization of land and ground water affects health, especially of pregnant women and infants

marine and coastal pollution 3.5 billion people depend on oceans for source of food yet oceans are used as waste and waste water dumps Close to 500 ‘dead zones’, regions that have too little oxygen to support marine organisms, including commercial species Plastics (75% of marine litter) transport persistent bio accumulative and toxic substances to all parts of the world chemicals Over 100,000 die annually from exposure to asbestos Lead in paint affects children’s intelligence quotient (IQ) Many impacts of chemicals such as endocrine disruptors and developmental neurotoxicants and long-term exposure to pesticides on human health and well-being and biodiversity and ecosystems are still to be fully assessed waste 50 biggest active dump sites affect the lives of 64 million people, including their health and loss of lives and property when collapses occur; 2 billion people are without access to solid waste management and 3 billion lack access to controlled waste disposal facilities

Number of deaths attributable to environmental factors in 2012 by region

Ecological accounting

Ecological accounting is concerned with providing information to assist managers with performance appraisal, control, decision-making and reporting for an organization or region.

It is based on ecological concepts and on ecological measures and values in addition to the familiar economics ones.

The implementation of sustainable development requires a cultural change and ecological accounting would represent a part of this change within both organizations and wider society.

In many ways, ecological accounting could help bring sustainable development into common sense and give it a place as a day-to-day business goal.

Ecological footprint

System Environmental Economic Accounting

water footprint

Types of ecological account

System of Environmental Economic Accounting The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting (SEEA) is a framework that integrates economic and environmental data to provide a more comprehensive and multipurpose view of the interrelationships between the economy and the environment and the stocks and changes in stocks of environmental assets, as they bring benefits to humanity. It contains the internationally agreed standard concepts, definitions, classifications, accounting rules and tables for producing internationally comparable statistics and accounts. The SEEA framework follows a similar accounting structure as the System of National Accounts (SNA). The framework uses concepts, definitions and classifications consistent with the SNA in order to facilitate the integration of environmental and economic statistics. The SEEA is a multipurpose system that generates a wide range of statistics, accounts and indicators with many different potential analytical applications. It is a flexible system that can be adapted to countries' priorities and policy needs while at the same time providing a common framework, concepts, terms and definitions.

SEEA framework elaborate on specific resources or sectors, including:

Fisheries, forestry and Agriculture Energy Water Ecosystem accounts Air Emissions Accounts Environmental Activity Accounts Land Accounts Material Flow Accounts

Fisheries, forestry and Agriculture The System of Environmental-Economic Accounting for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries integrates information on the environment and economic activities of agriculture, forestry and fisheries using the structures and principles laid out in the SEEA Central Framework. These activities depend directly on, as well as have an impact upon, the environment and its resources. Integrating information about agriculture, forestry and fisheries facilitates understanding of the trade-offs and dependencies between these activities and their related environmental factors.

Understanding this complex relationship is critical for the analysis of sustainable food and agriculture.

The accounts in SEEA Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are most commonly compiled at the level of the individual product and use two main types of accounts to capture relevant agriculture, forestry and fisheries information: Flow accounts: In physical terms, these accounts record physical flows of agriculture, forestry, and fishery products between the environment and the economy.

Parallel monetary accounts then record the monetary flows associated with agriculture, forestry and fishery transactions for products.

Asset accounts: These accounts measure the quantity of agriculture, forestry and fishery resources and changes in these resources over an accounting period. These accounts can be compiled in physical terms, which provide important information on the stock of environmental assets. Parallel monetary accounts then record the monetary flows associated with transactions for the agriculture, fishery or forest products.

Energy SEEA-Energy is a multi-purpose conceptual framework for organizing energy-related statistics. It supports analysis of the role of energy within the economy, the state of energy inputs and various energy-related transactions of environmental interest. It is fully consistent with the SEEA Central Framework. Energy information is typically presented in physical terms, but the SEEA-Energy also applies monetary valuations to various stocks and flows, based on the SEEA accounting approach. Two main types of accounts capture relevant energy information in a systematic way: Flow accounts: In physical terms these accounts record physical flows of energy between the environment and the economy. Physical flows are recorded in joules to provide a common unit to aggregate across energy sources. Parallel monetary accounts then record the monetary flows associated with energy-related transactions for energy products.

Asset accounts: These accounts measure the quantity of mineral and energy resources and changes in these resources over an accounting period. These accounts can be compiled in physical terms, which provide valuable information about energy resource availability. They can also be compiled in monetary terms to show the contribution and depletion to natural capital of energy resources.

Water SEEA-Water is an integrated approach to water monitoring, bringing together a wide range of water related statistics across sectors into one coherent information system. It serves as a conceptual framework and set of accounts which presents hydrological information alongside economic information in a consistent manner. It is fully consistent with the SEEA Central Framework and was adopted by the United Nations Committee of Experts on Environmental-Economic Accounting (UNCEEA) as an interim standard in 2007.

International Recommendations for Water Statistics The International Recommendations for Water Statistics (IRWS) provides agreed definitions and classifications of water data to help develop and strengthen water information systems and IWRS in countries. IRWS was adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) at its 41st session in 2010. The recommendations contain guidelines on the collection, compilation and dissemination of water statistics and recognize the need to improve basic water data. The IRWS is completely aligned with SEEA-Water and provides inputs for SEEA-Water accounts. IRWS also includes an agreed list of data items for deriving indicators within a coherent conceptual framework.

Air Emissions Accounts The air emissions account in the System of Environmental-Economic Accounts (SEEA) provide information on emissions released to the atmosphere by establishments and households as a result of production, consumption and accumulation processes using the structures and principles laid out in the SEEA Central Framework. The SEEA Air Emissions Account record the generation of air emissions by resident economic units according to type of gaseous or particulate substance.

SEEA Air Emissions Accounts consist of three main groups to record the supply and use of air emissions: Generation of emissions: The SEEA Air Emissions Accounts describe the generation of specific emissions by type of industry or household.

Emissions from accumulation: The SEEA Air Emissions Accounts provide information emissions generated from landfills and total emissions.

Environmental Activity Accounts The environmental activity accounts in System of Environmental-Economic Accounts (SEEA) provide information on transactions concerning activity undertaken to preserve and protect the environment. These accounts follow a purpose-based approach and use the structures and principles laid out in the SEEA Central Framework. Understanding environmental activity is critical to understanding whether economic resources are being used effectively to reduce pressures on the environment and maintain the capacity of the environment to deliver benefits.

How it works The SEEA Environmental Activity Accounts cover the three main environmental activity areas of environmental protection expenditures, environmental goods and services, and taxes and subsidies:

Environmental Protection Expenditure Accounts: These accounts record information on the supply and use of environmental protection goods and services by type of good or service and financing unit. These accounts can be used to analyze the extent of environmental protection activities and how expenditures on environmental protection are financed.

Environmental Goods and Services Sector Accounts: These accounts provide information on the production of environmental goods and services from the supply perspective. These accounts classify production of environmental goods and services by type of output and type of producer and can be used to understand the economic response to the challenges of environmental degradation. In addition, they may provide valuable source data for the SEEA Environmental Protection Expenditure Accounts.

Tax and subsidy accounts: These accounts provide information on taxes and subsidies for which transactions take place between institutional units.

These accounts record payments to and from government as well as transactions of a similar nature recorded in the national accounts that may be of interest in the analysis of environmental matters (i.e. donations by households to nonprofit environmental groups).

Land Accounts The System of Environmental-Economic Accounts (SEEA) for land provide information on land use and land cover using the structures and principles laid out in the SEEA Central Framework. The SEEA Land Accounts can provide an assessment of the changing shares of different land uses and land cover within a country. Understanding these characteristics and changes is critical to understanding the impacts of urbanization, the intensity of crop and animal production, afforestation and deforestation, the use of water resources and other direct and indirect uses of land.

SEEA land accounts consist of two main types of accounts to record land use and land cover and their links to the economy: Physical asset accounts: These accounts describe the area of land over an accounting period by land use and land cover or landownership (by industry or institutional sector). They show the various additions and reductions in land stocks associated with human activity and natural processes.

Monetary asset accounts: This set of accounts provides information on the overall value of land for agriculture, forestry, aquaculture and human activity, among other usages, primarily due to the revaluation of land.

Material Flow Accounts The System of Environmental-Economic Accounts (SEEA) for material flow provide information on material inputs and outputs of an economy using the structures and principles laid out in the SEEA Central Framework.

The SEEA Material Flow Accounts can provide an aggregate overview of the inputs and outputs in terms of inputs from the environment, outputs to the environment, and the physical amounts of imports and exports.

Understanding economy-wide material flow is critical to understanding resource use by the economy and eco-efficiency.

SEEA Material Flow Accounts complement and balance other data sets and accounts. The economy-wide material flow accounts are created by organizing different accounts (i.e. forestry, water, air emissions accounts, etc.) in a consistent accounting framework. This set of staged accounts together represents the full material balance of the economy, and there is flexibility in choosing the most nationally relevant accounts when compiling SEEA Material Flow Accounts.

Ecological footprint

Ecological footprint Measure the area of ​land and biologically produced water used by an individual or a whole city to produce resources that consume and absorb carbon according to the techniques and methods of management Biocapacity The ability of ecosystems to produce biological materials is useful and the absorption of carbon dioxide from humans, using existing management schemes and extraction techniques.

Ecological Deficit Occurs when a country's environmental footprint exceeds its biological potential

Ecological footprint determinants 1. Number of consumer population 2. The quantity of goods and resources consumed by the individual 3- Density of waste Biocapacity determinants 1- The amount of area produced 2. The amount of production per hectare

Ecological Footprint accounting is based on six assumptions (adapted from Wackernagel et al. 2002)

fundamental

The majority of the resources people consume and the wastes they generate can be quantified and tracked.

An important subset of these resource and waste flows can be measured in terms of the biologically productive area necessary to maintain them. Resource and waste flows that cannot be measured are excluded from the assessment, leading to a systematic underestimate of humanity‘s true Ecological Footprint.

Because a single global hectare represents a single use, and each global hectare in any given year represents the same amount of bioproductivity, they can be added up to obtain an aggregate indicator of Ecological Footprint or biocapacity.

Human demand, expressed as the Ecological Footprint, can be directly compared to nature‘s supply, biocapacity, when both are expressed in global hectares.

Area demanded can exceed area supplied if demand on an ecosystem exceeds that ecosystem‘s regenerative capacity.

Ecological Footprint in Arab countries Today most Arab countries suffer an ecological debt. Compared to 1961, the average Ecological Footprint of the region has increased by 78 percent, from 1.2 to 2.1 global hectares per capita. There are two main drivers which have led to this sharp jump: The first is a 3.5-fold increase in population size, leading to higher overall consumption; the second is a sharp rise in the amount of resources and services consumed per person as a result of higher incomes and changing lifestyle patterns.

The available average bio capacity per capita in Arab countries decreased by 60 percent over these 50 years, from 2.2 to 0.9 gha. This sharp decline is mainly attributed to the vast increase in population size and the decline in the productive capacity of the region’s ecological systems due to pollution, habitat destruction, and overall inadequate resource management The vast deficit in the region’s ecological resources is largely bridged by imports and an over-exploitation of finite local resources. This is an unsustainable strategy, the AFED report warns, as in the long term, overuse will lead to an even greater depletion of natural resources and degradation of the environment.

On the one hand, the dependence on global trade imports introduces concerns of economic insecurity, often driven by soaring food prices, disruptions in global supply chains, and trade restrictions. For oil-importing countries, carrying debt to finance imports imposes burdens on their economies and places a limit on future wellbeing.

‫‪Country‬‬

‫‪Ecological footprint‬‬ ‫‪Global hectare per capita‬‬

‫‪Biocapacity‬‬ ‫‪Global hectare per‬‬ ‫‪capita‬‬

‫انبحريه‬ ‫انكويج‬ ‫عمان‬ ‫قطر‬ ‫انسعوديت‬ ‫االماراث انعربيت انمخحذة‬ ‫مجهس انخعاون انخهيجي‬ ‫انيمه‬ ‫مجهس انخعاون انخهيجي‪ +‬انيمه‬ ‫انعراق‬ ‫األردن‬ ‫نبىان‬ ‫فهيسطيه‬ ‫سوريت‬ ‫انمشرق‬ ‫مصر‬ ‫انسودان‬ ‫وادي انىيم‬ ‫انجزائر‬ ‫نيبيا‬ ‫موريخاويا‬ ‫انمغرب‬ ‫حووس‬ ‫شمال افريقيا‬ ‫جزر انقمر‬ ‫جيبوحي‬ ‫انصومال‬ ‫انقرن ا ألفريقي‬ ‫جامعت انذول انعربيت‬

‫‪6.6‬‬ ‫‪9.7‬‬ ‫‪5.7‬‬ ‫‪11.7‬‬ ‫‪4‬‬ ‫‪8.9‬‬ ‫‪5.7‬‬ ‫‪0.9‬‬ ‫‪4‬‬ ‫‪1.4‬‬ ‫‪2.1‬‬ ‫‪2.8‬‬ ‫‪0.5‬‬ ‫‪1.5‬‬ ‫‪1.5‬‬ ‫‪1.7‬‬ ‫‪1.6‬‬ ‫‪1.7‬‬ ‫‪1.6‬‬ ‫‪3.2‬‬ ‫‪2.9‬‬ ‫‪1.3‬‬ ‫‪1.8‬‬ ‫‪1.7‬‬ ‫‪1.1‬‬ ‫‪1.9‬‬ ‫‪1.4‬‬ ‫‪1.5‬‬ ‫‪2.1‬‬

‫‪0.7‬‬ ‫‪0.4‬‬ ‫‪2.2‬‬ ‫‪2.1‬‬ ‫‪0.7‬‬ ‫‪0.6‬‬ ‫‪0.8‬‬ ‫‪0.6‬‬ ‫‪0.7‬‬ ‫‪0.2‬‬ ‫‪0.2‬‬ ‫‪0.4‬‬ ‫‪0.1‬‬ ‫‪0.6‬‬ ‫‪0.3‬‬ ‫‪0.7‬‬ ‫‪2.3‬‬ ‫‪1.2‬‬ ‫‪0.6‬‬ ‫‪0.7‬‬ ‫‪5.2‬‬ ‫‪0.7‬‬ ‫‪1‬‬ ‫‪0.8‬‬ ‫‪0.3‬‬ ‫‪1.1‬‬ ‫‪1.4‬‬ ‫‪1.3‬‬ ‫‪0.9‬‬

‫‪Ecological Deficit‬‬ ‫‪Global hectare per‬‬ ‫‪capita‬‬ ‫‪-5.9‬‬ ‫‪-9.3‬‬ ‫‪-3.5‬‬ ‫‪-9.6‬‬ ‫‪-3.3‬‬ ‫‪-8.3‬‬ ‫‪-4.9‬‬ ‫‪-0.3‬‬ ‫‪-3.3‬‬ ‫‪-1.2‬‬ ‫‪-1.9‬‬ ‫‪-2.4‬‬ ‫‪-0.4‬‬ ‫‪-0.9‬‬ ‫‪-1.2‬‬ ‫‪-1.0‬‬ ‫‪0.7‬‬ ‫‪-0.5‬‬ ‫‪-1.0‬‬ ‫‪-2.5‬‬ ‫‪2.3‬‬ ‫‪-0.6‬‬ ‫‪-0.8‬‬ ‫‪-0.9‬‬ ‫‪-0.8‬‬ ‫‪-0.8‬‬ ‫‪0.0‬‬ ‫‪-0.2‬‬ ‫‪-1.2‬‬

Global costs of pollution POLLUTION

C OSTS (2015 BILLION US$)

% OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT

Greenhouse gas emissions

4,987

6.7

Indoor and outdoor air pollution

5,322

7.2

Chemicals (volatile organic compounds, lead, mercury)

480

0.4

General waste

216

0.3

The water footprint measures the amount of water used to produce each of the goods and services we use. It can be measured for a single process, such as growing rice, for a product, such as a pair of jeans, for the fuel we put in our car, or for an entire multi-national company. The water footprint can also tell us how much water is being consumed by a particular country – or globally – in a specific river basin or from an aquifer. direct and indirect water use of a process, product, company or sector and includes water consumption and pollution throughout the full production cycle from the supply chain to the end-user. It is also possible to use the water footprint to measure the amount of water required to produce all the goods and services consumed by the individual or community, a nation or all of humanity. This also includes the direct water footprint, which is the water used directly by the individual(s) and the indirect water footprint – the summation of the water footprints of all the products consumed.

The water footprint has three components: green, blue and grey. Together, these components provide a comprehensive picture of water use by delineating the source of water consumed, either as rainfall/soil moisture or surface/groundwater, and the volume of fresh water required for assimilation of pollutants. the three water footprints: Green water footprint is water from precipitation that is stored in the root zone of the soil and evaporated, transpired or incorporated by plants. It is particularly relevant for agricultural, horticultural and forestry products.

Blue water footprint is water that has been sourced from surface or groundwater resources and is either evaporated, incorporated into a product or taken from one body of water and returned to another, or returned at a different time. Irrigated agriculture, industry and domestic water use can each have a blue water footprint.

Grey water footprint is the amount of fresh water required to assimilate pollutants to meet specific water quality standards. The grey water footprint considers point-source pollution discharged to a freshwater resource directly through a pipe or indirectly through runoff or leaching from the soil, impervious surfaces, or other diffuse sources.

the water footprint can be measured in cubic meters per ton of production, per hectare of cropland, per unit of currency and in other functional units.

The water footprint helps us understand for what purposes our limited freshwater resources are being consumed and polluted. The impact it has depends on where the water is taken from and when. If it comes from a place where water is already scarce, the consequences can be significant and require action.

Degradation management natural capital ‗the stock of ecosystems that yields a renewable flow of goods and services that underpin the economy and provide inputs and direct and indirect benefits to businesses and society‘. These ecosystem goods and services provide natural resources and an operating environment on which businesses depend for extraction, production and consumption. Renewable natural resources provide direct and indirect benefits to businesses and society in general Renewable natural capital is underpinned by biodiversity, defined as ‗the variability among living organisms from all sources including… terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems.‘6 Over-exploitation, pollution and environmental degradation can inhibit ecosystems‘ capacity to deliver ecosystem services.

23 ecological services

Key have been identified to manage degradation : 1- awareness, data and information on pollution: There is a need for much greater awareness of, and information on, the sources of pollution, the pathways, impacts and (potential) risks to food, health and well-being, and ecosystems, for preventive and curative actions to be taken by relevant parts of society. Such information disclosure and sharing will help develop more effective interventions and allow the public to play a role in ensuring government institutions and the regulated community meets their legal obligations and strengthen

implementation.

2- knowledge on chemicals spread globally through the use of everyday products such as textiles, household products, toys and electronics as well as the lack of

information on chemicals in products when recycling materials. This would reduce exposure to toxic substances and remove obstacles to resource efficiency; 3- institutional and technical capacity: Effective regulatory functioning and strong monitoring and encourage institutions are key to addressing pollution.

5- infrastructure to manage and control pollution: Major forms of pollution such as wastewater and sewage treatment plants, controlled waste collection, reception and disposal, recycling facilities, food storage, etc.

6- Large scope and scale of finance and industry leadership on pollution matters: While larger companies are must put pollution costs and risks of portfolios 7- investments, systemic internalizing and reporting of costs of pollutions and externalities Must encourage in small and medium firms. Improved assessments and reporting of pollution exposure risks need to be supplied by industry to ensure more informed product and process regulation; 8- pricing and visibility of ecosystem values and internalization of pollution costs: valuation of ecosystem goods and services, such as those from oceans, rivers, land, wetlands, and others result in the treatment of these ecosystems as dumps and sinks for waste. Subsidies on e.g., energy, water, electricity, commodity crops, also result in wastage and over-use.

9- integration of economic costs of pollution in policy and decision-making into product pricing would incentivize consumers to make more informed choices and would create pressure on producers to reduce their pollution footprint and adopt better practices;

10- understanding of pollution‘s social dimension: There is a need for more disaggregated data to better understand the different health impacts of some pollutants on women, men, children and the elderly. We need more research on how such impacts are shaped by social and occupational roles, and vary across contexts and over time. It is therefore important to carry out social impact assessment taking into account the regional and national contexts, gender dimensions, economic vulnerability and geospatial differences

11- Behavior of citizens, the profit motivation of industry and the short terms of governments result in choices that have pollution consequences: such choices even when regulations and policy exist suggest the need of a serious engagement with their rationale. These can be out of habit, a feeling that one person/firm cannot make a difference, a free rider problem, peer pressure or the lack thereof, social norms and practices and even the absence of information on products and alternative affordable options.

12- Multilateral environmental agreements provide a framework for targeted and time bound actions, while some also include compliance-related actions, monitoring and reporting. They also enable exchange of resources and information, sharing of technologies and best practices, for controlled international trade, and promote international partnerships on addressing pollution, including among non-state actors

What is sustainable development •Economic development under the supervision of a strong environmental driven community responsibility •Time period of 15 years •Specific 17 key targets and 169 indicators •Progress is measured by GDP and environmental degradation calculations each year

•It is based on three axes: environmental, economic and social •Our natural capital is a fixed asset to be invested and developed •It is based on a comprehensive thinking approach as it places environmental, economic and social problems in a single pot

•The need to encourage education, scientific research and innovation •The need for community participation from all sectors of the state •To take care of the accounts of environmental degradation and to integrate it into economic decisions •The need to comply with the regulations, laws, treaties and international agreements •Preservation of cultural and natural heritage by reference to indigenous peoples •The necessity of a global and regional partnership in our natural capital and cultural exchange •Depends on the principle of prevention better than treatment

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals 1. Poverty: End poverty in all its forms everywhere 2. Hunger and Food Security: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture 3. Good Health and Well-Being: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages 4. Education: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 5. Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 6. Water and Sanitation: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 7. Energy: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and clean energy for all 8. Economic Growth: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all

9. Infrastructure, Industrialization: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation 10. Inequality: Reduce inequality within and among countries 11. Cities: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 12. Sustainable Consumption and Production: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 13. Climate Change: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 14. Oceans: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development 15. Biodiversity, Forests, Deforestation: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss 16. Peace and Justice: Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels 17. Partnerships: Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development

the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development guide this framework of actions.

The five principles which underpin the framework are universality, sustainability, integration, precaution and inclusiveness. all interventions for action on pollution should consider that: (i) Everyone in society is responsible for moving towards a pollution-free planet.

While national governments have a clear role in enabling and guiding actions and including pollution management into development agendas, the state and local authorities, communities, businesses, multi-stakeholder partnerships and citizens have a clear responsibility to act; (ii) Access to environmental information and data, education and public participation are key to effective actions and enhanced access to justice in environmental matters;

(iii) Multiple risks to human health and well-being, especially to women, children and vulnerable groups, and to ecosystem health require a preventive approach. The precautionary principle and the polluter pays principle are key for guiding change,

as these ensure not just responsibility but stewardship by different societal actors, ensuring the financing of pollution abatement and reduction and holding the originator of pollution liable;

(iv) Innovation and leadership are central to tackling pollution in an effective and impactful manner; (v) Multiple benefits of action on pollution need to be recognized, policy uncertainty reduced, and innovation placed at the centre. This will require a ‗whole-ofgovernment‘ approach.

There are 29 interventions to target specific forms of pollution mostly at a national/regional level – also taking into account the transboundary aspects of pollution – highlighted below Air pollution 1. Adopt the World Health Organization air quality guidelines, including those for indoor air quality, as a minimum for their national standards and invest in strong air quality monitoring systems; 2. Meet World Health Organization air quality guidelines, through the reduction of emissions from major industrial sources including particulate matter, sulphates, nitrogen oxides, persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals; 3. Reduce global vehicle emissions by at least 90 per cent through the introduction of advanced vehicle emissions standards (e.g. at least Euro 4 level) in 5 years and a move to only electric vehicles being added to leets by 2030; 4. Offer effective and affordable public transport and non-motorized transport infrastructure in all cities above 500,000 inhabitants by 2030; 132

5. Increase the share of non-polluting renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and tidal to 36 per cent by 2030, while addressing production and waste stages related to for example solar panels (notably batteries); 6. Increase access of households to clean cooking fuels and technologies; 7. Protect and restore ecosystems to avoid air pollution in drylands, rangelands and other areas prone to erosion, ire, desiccation and other forms of degradation; 8. Expand green spaces in urban areas to improve ambient air quality in cities

Water pollution 9. Provide clean drinking water and sanitation for improved health by 2030; 10. Avoid direct disposal of untreated wastewater into the environment and reduce the amount of untreated wastewater that is discharged into freshwater bodies by at least 50 per cent by 2030, through improved wastewater treatment, increased access to safely managed sanitation and improved land management practices; 11. Establish adequate water quality monitoring networks, including for tracking municipal and industrial effluents, in all significant freshwater bodies; 12.Protect and restore wetlands and other natural systems contributing to water purification.

134

Land and soil pollution

13. Optimize fertilizer use in agriculture and enhance nutrient management and plant uptake efficiency to reduce excess nutrient run-off and water contamination; 14. Increase the use of non-chemical alternatives to fertilizers and pesticides and

adoption of agro ecological practices; 15. Control the use of antimicrobials in the livestock sector to avoid releases into the environment; 16. Support the improvements in pollutant inventory systems, especially for mining, and make sustainability reporting mandatory; 17. Provide funding for long-term environmental monitoring after a mining project is closed, to ensure that rehabilitation is effective.

Marine and coastal pollution 18. Phase out single-use plastics and modify manufacturing in order to reduce packaging and phase out non-recoverable plastic materials 19. Stop the production and use of plastic in non-recoverable items, such as microbeads in personal care products and cosmetics.

20.Chemicals and waste 20. Identify and characterize pollution / chemicals-related hotspots (such as obsolete stockpiles of chemicals, contaminated sites) to protect vulnerable groups and the environment, minimize exposure and take measures to decontaminate them and prevent new ones; 21. Reduce and mitigate risks associated with extractive activities, including controlling the use and release of chemicals in mining, such as mercury in artisanal and small scale gold mining; 22. Effectively provide and apply reliable information along the product life cycle, including at the consumer stage, in particular on the presence of harmful chemicals in manufactured products and raise consumer awareness of hazards and risks throughout the value chain; 23. Develop eco-labelling schemes to inform customers on the potential environmental and health impact of their consumer choices; 24. Extend product lifespans through sustainable design, maintenance and upgrades, and recovery of broken products; 25. Reduce exposure to lead

26. Phase out the use of mercury in a number of speciic products by 2020 and manufacturing processes by 2025, and phase down in dental amalgam and in mining; 27. Minimize waste generation, improve collection, separation and inal disposal practices and regulation; 28. Eliminate uncontrolled dumping and open-burning of waste; 29. Phase out the production and use of asbestos.

How ISO standards translate good intentions about reduce degradation into concrete results

Reasons of operating environment and sources of natural resource inputs for business The economic system is highly reliant on natural capital, which provides both life support mechanisms and environmental functions crucial for economic growth and development (HSBC, 2013).

The total economic value of water, land use, and other natural resources supported by biodiversity that provides ecosystem goods & service is vast.

Fish stocks alone are estimated to contribute goods and services valued at US$2.5 trillion annually, and forests provide more than US$1.5 trillion directly through forestry Freshwater is valued at some US$73.5 trillion annually. Water availability has a statistically significant effect on annual economic growth.

Water scarcity can reduce crop yields and productivity, including power plant output, which can subsequently push up food and energy costs and disrupt businesses and their supply chains. Under current trends, water demand is expected to exceed accessible supplies by 40% in 2030.13

Financial institutions have an important role to prevent and mitigate pollution, and reduce its negative impacts by: • Internalizing the costs of pollution in financial decisions: Pollution impacts that were

previously considered by financial institutions to be externalities material. A range of environmental risk analysis tools and techniques are already being developed, including, for example, the use of ‗environmental scenario risk analysis‘ which then influence financial lows. The primary focus of innovation in this market has been at the firm level, however there are also examples of innovation being driven at the industrial sector level, often in response to new regulations on environmental and social risk management; • Disclosure of costs and risks of pollution: Enhanced reporting on environmental and social impacts enables more responsible portfolio choices by investors. Increased disclosure can be voluntary, but decision- makers have a key role to play in leveling the playing field through mandatory requirements;

• Reorienting financing away from polluting companies and activities and towards greener technologies: Financial institutions can refrain (―divest‖) from any further investment or lending to companies or activities identified as highly polluting. They also have the option to maintain at least part of their funding to these activities but use it as

leverage to engage with the companies to explore means of reducing their impact by, for example, adopting environmentally sustainable production methods, such as renewable energy, water-eficient irrigation and waste recycling;

• Preventing, reducing, managing and carrying risk: Insurance pricing can reward risk reduction efforts from companies, private and public sector investors, local authorities or individuals. As risk managers, insurers also help communities understand, prevent and reduce risk through risk research and analytics, catastrophe risk models, and loss prevention measures. There are many examples of insurance industry initiatives on pollution and climate change

4- Engagement of diverse actors and stakeholders: Protecting the environment and human health using resources in a sustainable way and combating pollution require commitment and action from all parts of society: governments (national, provincial and local), industry, civil society, the academic and scientific community, youth groups, farmers and the individual consumer. Involving diverse actors early in the discussions enhances the understanding of the problem and the viability of proposed solutions and enables the buffer that is required in the face of reluctant parties;

5- Engagement of industry and the business community in solutions: One of the key reasons, among others, for the success of the Montreal Protocol was that relevant industrial sectors were assisted to transition to new technologies and improved practices. Ozone-depleting substances phase-out brought significant investment in the innovative redesigning of products and equipment to use greener chemicals, and has stimulated more efficient production processes including energy efficiency;

value of ecosystem services Knowing the value of ecosystem services allows for appropriate investment. Placing a dollar value on nature‘s work is not commoditizing nature. It is recognizing value,which is often lost if not expressed in monetary terms . When we put a price tag on nature, we can more accurately estimate the price we‘ll pay when it disappears.

Benefit-Transfer Methodology involves estimating the natural capital value of a specific region or site by comparing previous ecosystem service valuation studies for similar geographies, socio-economic sites and ecosystems. The value derived from the original study site is ―transferred‖ to the new site, like ―comps‖ are used when appraising real estate.

An ecosystem service valuation (ESV) identifies the suite of services in a given ecosystem and assigns value to each. The sum total of those separate values produces a total ecosystem valuation. This incredibly informative number allows for proposed management policies to be considered in terms of their ability to improve or prevent destruction of natural capital. Ecosystem valuations are an increasingly critical part of decision making for natural resource managers, economic and conservation organizations, and policy makers at the local, state, and national scale.

There are eight primary methods used to calculate the value of each of the twentythree services that might be produced within a given ecosystem.

Market Price: Prices set in the marketplace reflect the value to the ―marginal buyer,‖ that is, the buyers who will buy if the price is slightly reduced, or stop buying if the price is increased. The price of a good tells us how much society will gain (or lose) if a little more (or less) of the good is made available.

Avoided Cost: The damage cost that would have been incurred in the absence of ecosystem services. For example, flood control provided by barrier islands leads to avoidance of property damages along the coast.

Replacement Cost: The cost of replacing ecosystem services with built capital systems. For example, the cost to build a man-made waste treatment facility to replace the natural nutrient cycling waste treatment provided for free by a healthy wetland.

Factor Income: The income benefits provided by an ecosystem service. For example, water quality improvements increase commercial fisheries catch and incomes of fishermen.

Travel Cost: Cost of travel required to consume or enjoy ecosystem services. Travel costs can reflect the implied value of the service. For example, recreation areas attract tourists whose value placed on that area must be at least what they were willing to pay to travel to it.

Hedonic Pricing: The value associated with increased prices people will pay for benefits associated with specific ecosystem services. For example, housing prices along the coastline tend to exceed the prices of homes farther away.

Contingent Valuation: The hypothetical value placed on non-market resources.

For example, the price people would be willing to pay to maintain a pristine shoreline or uncontaminated wetland.

Group Valuation: A discussion based valuation arrived at by a group of stakeholders to gauge society‘s willingness to pay for a specific ecosystem service.

The importance of ESV now and moving forward: 1) An ESV takes into consideration the long-term impact of decisions made today that will help create a secure foundation on which to build the resilient communities and economies of tomorrow.

2) An ESV provides a means to identify previously externalized costs (the negative costs/impacts of an economic decision for which no one is held responsible, such as air pollution from a car) and to factor these costs into common economic decision making tools and frameworks.

3) An ESV can be used to justify operations and maintenance budgets for natural capital.

4) An ESV can demonstrate the lucrative return on investment of conservation actions and innovative 21st century community development policies.

5) An ESV can help generate funding mechanisms for the preservation, restoration, and maintenance of ecosystems.

Global Multilateral Environmental Agreements, initiatives and frameworks 1- The United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods (1956) establishes principles for all aspects of classification, packaging, testing, and labeling of dangerous goods 2- The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat (1971) provides measures for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.

3- The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Dumping Convention) (1971) aims to control and prevent pollution of the sea by the dumping of waste and other matter that is liable to create hazards to marine life.

4- The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and

Flora (1973) seeks to regulate international trade in endangered animals and plants and their products.

5- The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) (1973) aims to eliminate pollution of the sea by oil and other toxic substances which might be discharged during normal operations, or released

accidentally as a result of collisions or stranding of ships 6- The Convention On The Prevention Of Marine Pollution From Land-Based Sources (1974) obligates Parties to eliminate, if necessary by stages, pollution of the

maritime area from land-based sources and strictly limit pollution of the maritime area from land-based sources.

7- The Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution (1976) and its Protocols seeks to protect the maritime waters of the Mediterranean Sea from substances that could harm the living resources, cause hazards to human health, and impair quality of seawater

Seven Protocols addressing specific aspects of Mediterranean environmental conservation processes have been adopted since 1976: 1. Dumping Protocol: Protocol for the Prevention of Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft (1976) amended as Protocol for the Prevention and Elimination of Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft or Incineration at Sea (1995) 2. Prevention and Emergency Protocol: Protocol Concerning Cooperation in Preventing Pollution from Ships and, in Cases of Emergency, Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea (2002), which replaced the Protocol Concerning Cooperation in Combating Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by Oil and other Harmful Substances in Cases of Emergency (1976).

3. LBS Protocol: Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-Based Sources (1980) 4. The Land-based Sources and Activities Protocol: Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution from Land-Based Sources and Activities (1996)

5. Specially Protected Area and Biodiversity Protocol: Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (1995) 6. Offshore Protocol: Protocol for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution Resulting from Exploration and Exploitation of the Continental Shelf and the Seabed and its Subsoil (1994) 7. Hazardous Wastes Protocol: Protocol on the Prevention of Pollution of the Mediterranean Sea by Trans boundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal (1996) 8. Integrated Coastal Zone Management Protocol: Protocol on Integrated Coastal

Zone Management in the Mediterranean (2008)

Five actions are key to shifting the economy to more innovative and cleaner production and consumption patterns, and greener investments in less polluting activities and practices as well as alternatives. These include: (i) Building circularity in production and supply processes and key economic sectors; (ii) Redirecting finance and investments to less polluting and cleaner economic activities; (iii) Promoting and disseminating green technologies and ecosystem based solutions, including ecosystem protection and restoration; (iv) Scaling up actions on pollution through horizontal and vertical integration in cities; (v) Incentivizing responsible consumption and lifestyles choices.

Green economy Green bond E risk Green growth Green technology

• • • •

Blue economy

Circular economy

Green economy • is an economy that results in improved human well-being and social equity, while significantly reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities.

• achieve a resilient economy that provides a better quality of life for all within the ecological limits of the planet.

• link the economic, environmental and social considerations of sustainable development in such a manner that long-term economic development is achieved by investing in environmentally friendly and socially equitable solutions.

• green economy achieving sustainable development and eradicating poverty. transitioning to green economy requires initiatives and actions of different stakeholders, whether business, general public/consumers or others, like NGOs, academia, educators, etc. Among others, they can lobby with the authorities for implementing particular instruments or they can drive a change, especially through voluntary actions. green economy characteristics: • Environmental • Social • Economic • Others

Environmental • Respects planetary boundaries or ecological limits or scarcity, • Is low carbon and low emissions • Protects biodiversity and ecosystems • Is resource and energy efficient Social • Creates decent work and green jobs, facilitates education and skills development • Is equitable, fair and just (between and within countries, generations and gender) • Delivers poverty reduction, well-being, livelihoods, social protection and access to essential services • Is inclusive, democratic, participatory, accountable, transparent and stable Economic • Drives innovation and technology transfer • Internalizes externalities • Sustains economic growth also to eradicate poverty • Other • Uses integrated decision making • Is guided by all the Rio Principles, Agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation • Measures progress beyond GDP using appropriate indicators and metrics

How does Green Economy differ from previous efforts to promote sustainability?

First, there is a deeper appreciation today by many governments, companies, civil society and the public that we are reaching planetary limits, not just in terms of greenhouse gas emissions but also in our use of water, land, forests and other natural resources. The environmental and social costs of our current economic model are becoming more and more apparent.

Second, and perhaps even more important, the global recession has led to a reconsideration of key tenets of the current economic model – such as the primacy of growth and the belief in light-touch regulation. In openly questioning the strength of the status quo, many public- and private-sector leaders are seeking: • Policies and regulations that can identify and manage financial and other risks more effectively • New markets and industries that can create good, long-term jobs • Public support for innovation to position a country to compete in tomorrow‘s markets what is new ?

These developments point to the need for new sources of growth that are environmentally sustainable – for example, employment in high-growth sectors such as clean energy. Past sustainability efforts have not focused sufficiently on fixing the failures of economic policies such as pricing pollution. But we now have a chance to tackle these challenging problems given the policy openings created by the response to the financial crisis. A good example is Korea‘s adoption of a national green growth strategy.

Blue Economy SUSTAINABLE BLUE ECONOMY is a marine-based economy that …

• Provides social and economic benefits for current and future generations, by contributing to food security, poverty eradication, livelihoods, income, employment, health, safety, equity, and political stability.

• Restores, protects and maintains the diversity, productivity, resilience, core functions, and intrinsic value of marine ecosystems – the natural capital upon which its prosperity depends.

• Is based on clean technologies, renewable energy, and circular material flows to secure economic and social stability over time, while keeping within the limits of one planet.

Blue economy is structured around five strategic economic pillars: • fisheries and aquaculture, • coastal tourism, • maritime transport, • deep sea minerals, • marine-based renewable energy

A SUSTAINABLE BLUE ECONOMY is governed by public and private processes that are …

• Inclusive. A Sustainable Blue Economy is based on active and effective stakeholder engagement and participation.

• Well-informed, precautionary and adaptive. Decisions are based on scientifically sound information to avoid harmful effects that undermine long-term sustainability.

When adequate information and knowledge are missing, actors take a precautionary approach, actively seek to develop such knowledge, and refrain from undertaking activities that could potentially lead to harmful effects. As new knowledge of risks and sustainable opportunities is gained, actors adapt their decisions and activities.

• Accountable and transparent. Actors take responsibility for the impacts of their activities, by taking appropriate action, as well as by being transparent about their impacts so that stakeholders are well-informed and can exert their influence.

• Holistic, cross-sectoral and longterm. Decisions are based on an assessment and accounting of their economic, social and environmental values, benefits and costs to society, as well as their impacts on other activities and across borders, now and in the future.

To create a SUSTAINABLE BLUE ECONOMY, public and private actors must …

• Set clear, measurable, and internally consistent goals and targets for a Sustainable Blue Economy • Assess and communicate their performance on these goals and targets • Create a level economic and legislative playing field that provides the Blue Economy with adequate incentives and rules.

• Plan, manage and effectively govern the use of marine space and resources, applying inclusive methods and the ecosystem approach.

• Develop and apply standards, guidelines and best practices that support a Sustainable Blue Economy.

• Recognize that the maritime and land-based economies are interlinked and that many of the threats facing marine environments originate on land • Actively cooperate, sharing information, knowledge, best practices, lessons learned, perspectives, and ideas, to realize a sustainable and prosperous future for all.

circular economy is restorative and regenerative by design, and aims to keep products, components, and materials at their highest utility and value at all times.

A concept that distinguishes between technical and biological cycles, the circular economy is a continuous, positive development cycle. It preserves and enhances natural capital, optimises resource yields, and minimises system risks by managing finite stocks and renewable flows. A circular economy works effectively at every scale.

The principles of a circular economy 1: Preserve and enhance natural capital by controlling finite stocks and balancing renewable resource flows.

This starts by dematerialising utility—delivering utility virtually, whenever possible.

When resources are needed, the circular system selects them wisely and chooses technologies and processes that use renewable or better-performing resources, where possible. A circular economy also enhances natural capital by encouraging flows of nutrients within the system and creating the conditions for regeneration of, for example, soil.

2: Optimise resource yields by circulating products, components, and materials at the highest utility at all times in both technical and biological cycles.

This means designing for remanufacturing, refurbishing, and recycling to keep components and materials circulating in and contributing to the economy.

3: Foster system effectiveness by revealing and designing out negative externalities.

This includes reducing damage to human utility, such as food, mobility, shelter, education, health, and entertainment, and managing externalities, such as land use, air, water and noise pollution, release of toxic substances, and climate change.

Green Bond A green bond is a tax-exempt bond issued by federally qualified organizations or by municipalities for the development of brownfield sites. Brownfield sites are areas of land that are underutilized, have abandoned buildings or are underdeveloped, often containing low levels of industrial pollution. Green bonds are short for qualified green building and sustainable design project bonds.

Green Bond Issuance In 2016, green bond issuance soared to a record high, accounting for $93.4 billion worth of investment worldwide, according to the latest report from ratings agency Moody's. Green bond issuance is expected to surge to more than $200 billion in 2017, The Green Bonds Principles : • Use of proceeds: the issuer should declare the eligible green project categories it intends to support. It should also provide a clear definition of the environmental benefits connected to the project(s) financed by the proceeds.

• Process for project evaluation and selection: the issuer should outline the investment decision-making process it follows to determine the eligibility of individual investments using the green bond‘s proceeds.

• Management of proceeds: the proceeds should be moved to a sub-portfolio or otherwise attested to by a formal internal process that should be disclosed.

• Reporting: the issuer should report at least annually on the investments made from the proceeds, detailing wherever possible the environmental benefits accrued with quantitative/qualitative indicators.

ENVIRONMENTAL RISK IN SOVEREIGN CREDIT The ERISC (Environmental Risk in Sovereign Credit) methodology focuses on the development of metrics and methods for quantifying natural resource and environmental risks so they can be incorporated into country risk assessments used by insurance companies, investors and credit rating agencies.

Phase I (2010 – 2012) demonstrated for the first time that natural resource-related environmental issues can affect the economic and sovereign credit risk situation of countries in ways that can be identified and quantified. how importers and exporters of natural resources such as fossil fuel, timber, fish and crops are exposed to the increasing volatility that accompanies rising global resource scarcity. Meanwhile, the economic consequences of environmental degradation can be severe.

Phase II (2013 – 2016) Food is the focus of this round. Because food is an essential good the impact of sharp short-term movements in commodity prices is particularly acute. Furthermore, food biomass represents 32 percent of humanity‘s Ecological Footprint.

Given the increasing mismatch between humanity‘s demand and nature‘s capacity to supply natural resources, as tracked by Ecological Footprint accounting data, key findings : • Overall, Egypt, Morocco and Philippines could suffer the most from a doubling of food prices in terms of the combined impact on GDP, current account balance and inflation.

• 17 out of the 20 countries most at risk from a food price shock are in Africa.

• Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil, Australia, Canada and the US would benefit the most from a sharp increase in food commodity prices.

• Globally, negative effects of a food price shock massively outweigh positive effects in absolute terms. While China could see an absolute reduction in GDP of $161 billion, the highest absolute positive effect on GDP, seen in the United States, is only $3 billion -50 times smaller than the impact on China.

• In 23 countries, a doubling in food prices leads to a 10 per cent (or more) rise in the consumer price index.

• Countries with higher sovereign credit ratings tend to be less exposed to risks resulting from a food price spike.

Green growth means fostering economic growth and development, while ensuring that natural assets continue to provide the resources and environmental services on which our well-being relies. To do this, it must catalyse investment and innovation which will underpin sustained growth and give rise to new economic opportunities.

Two broad sets of policies are essential elements in any green growth strategy: • Mutually reinforce economic growth and the conservation of natural capital.

These include core fiscal and regulatory settings such as tax and competition policy which, if well designed and executed, maximise the efficient allocation of resources • set includes policies providing incentives to use natural resources efficiently and making pollution more expensive. These policies include a mix of price-based instruments,

Green growth can open up new sources of growth through: Productivity. Incentives for greater efficiency in the use of resources and natural assets, including enhancing productivity, reducing waste and energy consumption,and making resources available to their highest value use.

Innovation. Opportunities for innovation, spurred by policies and framework conditions that allow for new ways of creating value and addressing environmental problems.

New markets. Creation of new markets by stimulating demand for green technologies, goods, and services; creating new job opportunities.

Confidence. Boosting investor confidence through greater predictability and continuity around how governments deal with major environmental issues.

Stability. More balanced macroeconomic conditions, reduced resource price volatility and supporting fiscal consolidation through, for instance, reviewing the composition and efficiency of public spending, and increasing revenues through putting a price on pollution

Green growth will also reduce the risks to growth from: Bottlenecks that arise when resource scarcity or reduced quality makes investment more costly, such as the need for capital intensive infrastructure when water supplies become scarce or water quality decreases. In this regard, the loss of natural capital can exceed the gains generated by economic activity, undermining the ability to sustain future growth.

Imbalances in natural systems that raise the risk of abrupt, highly damaging – and potentially irreversible – effects. Attempts to identify potential thresholds suggest that some – climate change, global nitrogen cycles and biodiversity loss – have already been exceeded. framework for green growth is to establish incentives or institutions that increase well-being by: • improving resource management and boosting productivity; • encouraging economic activity to take place where it is of best advantage to society over the long-term; • leading to new ways of meeting the above two objectives, i.e. innovation

Green technological solutions serve to address pollution: • Pollution prevention and reduction technologies, which are more energy/resource efficient and create less pollution in their life cycle than those they replace or eliminate the source of pollution entirely. Cleaner lighting, for example, offers great environment and health benefits Some of these emerging technologies include those for clean energy, industry, health, transport, waste management and agriculture.

For example, a recent project in Nepal replacing traditional brick kilns which had collapsed in the 2016 earthquake with more efficient induced draught and zigzag kilns reduced particulate matter emissions by 60 per cent and reduced coal consumption by up to 50 per cent when compared to traditional kilns. Biotechnology is being used for cleaning oil-contaminated environments using bacteria or fungi for decontamination.

Drone technology helps to monitor crops leading to substantial reductions in the use of resources particularly fertilizers and water;

• Recycling technologies recover valuable materials from waste or wastewater, preventing pollution of the environment. In the area of water treatment, new technologies are being used to transform wastewater into drinking water and energy resource. A level playing field is however required in terms of nvironmental standards for recycling markets to expand for the purposes they are being designed: resource recovery, environmental protection, efficient resource use. In its absence, materials will be exported to countries with low environmental standards for reexport to the originating countries • Pollution treatment and control technologies, which monitor pollutant emissions and ensure that toxic pollutants are not released in the environment.

However, some green technologies can also involve trade-offs, as seen with green energy, between reduced carbon emissions but increased material use. Hence the need to address A product design and material use early in the development of these technologies.

Global environment

World Resources Forum Key Messages October 25/2017

1.

2.

3.

Accelerating the Resource Revolution is a multi-stakeholder challenge. Cooperating for resource-efficiency and decoupling is key. Science is essential for understanding the challenges in a systemic way, and communicating the solutions to society.

Sustainable Developments Goals and Paris Climate Agenda are calls for action. Rather than physical resource scarcity, climate change and poverty are the main challenges. Stop using and investing in coal, oil and gas. Make sure that resource productivity can help achieve the goals. Carbon-free products and housing need to be promoted. Better resource management can also bring about biodiversity conservation Appropriate governance and leadership are essential to sustainable development. Waiting for economic development before protecting the environment is flawed thinking. We must grow without waste. To be considered: a UN convention on raw material resource efficiency, or other global agreements and rules.

4.

5.

6.

Transition to a circular economy is an important business opportunity. Metals and cement industries are, among other sectors, well placed for playing a role. Social dimension needs to be taken into account. An overarching policy framework on circular economy is needed to create a level playing field and allow internalization of costs. Secondary raw materials need to be cheaper than primary raw materials.

Sustainable Public Procurement (SPP) and product sustainability information can have a big impact and help scale up the circular economy.

Circular economy principles and rethinking and redesigning global plastic flows will reduce impacts on our oceans and health.

7.

8.

9.

Cooperation and partnerships with private sector are essential for making progress, provided that there are supportive legal and financial frameworks, and reliable key performance indicators.

There is no guarantee that good science will get uptake from policymakers. One needs to create its own demand. �Science needs to ‘sell the sizzle not the sausage’: focus on the functional, emotional and social benefits for decision-makers and society at large.

Accurate, relevant and empowering science builds trust.

Transparency and humility important for improving the relation between science and society.

RIO PRINCIPLES toward free planet pollution 1. Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development.

2. States have the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their responsibility to ensure that activities do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.

3. The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations.

4. Environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and

cannot be considered in isolation from it.

5. All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty.

6. The special situation and needs of developing countries, particularly the least developed and those most environmentally vulnerable, shall be given special priority.

7. States shall cooperate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the

health and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystem. States have common but differentiated responsibilities.

8. States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate demographic policies.

9. States should cooperate to strengthen endogenous capacity-building for sustainable

development, including new and innovative technologies.

10. Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens.

Appropriate access to information is required including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available.

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11. Environmental standards, management objectives and priorities should reflect the environmental and developmental context to which they apply.

12. Trade policy measures for environmental purposes should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable.

13. States shall develop national law regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage.

14. States should effectively cooperate to discourage or prevent the relocation and transfer to other States of any activities and substances that cause severe environmental degradation or

are found to be harmful to human health.

15. The precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities.

16. National authorities should endeavour to promote the internalization of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter

should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution, 17. Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall be undertaken for proposed activities 18. States shall immediately notify other States of any natural disasters or other emergencies

that are likely to produce sudden harmful effects on the environment of those States.

19. States shall provide prior and timely notification and relevant information that may have a significant adverse transboundary environmental effect.

20. Women have a vital role in environmental management and development.

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21. The creativity, ideals and courage of the youth of the world should be mobilized.

22. Indigenous people and their communities, and other local communities, have a vital role in environmental management and development

23. The environment and natural resources of people under oppression, domination and occupation shall be protected.

24. States shall therefore respect international law providing protection for the environment in times of armed conflict and cooperate.

25. Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and indivisible.

26. States shall resolve all their environmental disputes peacefully.

27. States and people shall cooperate in good faith and in a spirit of partnership in the fulfilment of the principles embodied in this Declaration.

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