The ecosystems of the oceans are threatened

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has collected, processed and published environmental data for a number of years. Below we present some of the results from the OECD's latest environmental indicator report, OECD Key Environmental Indicators 2004 , results that are also relevant for the problem areas mentioned above. World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.

Climate change

The concept of de-coupling is used to describe and analyse the development of different environmental pressures in relation to driving forces such as economic development, energy use, population growth, etc. A number of OECD countries have de-coupled their CO ₂ and other greenhouse gas emissions from GDP growth; i.e. these emissions are not growing at the same rate as the economy. However, most countries have not succeeded in meeting their own targets. Their emissions have continued to increase throughout the 1990s. The OECD countries, accounting for almost 20 per cent of the world population, accounted for 52 per cent of the worlds total CO ₂ emissions, 24 billion tonnes, in 2001.

The contribution to the greenhouse effect and rates of progress towards stabilisation vary significantly between the OECD members. In its indicator report, the OECD points out that CO ₂ emissions from energy use and other greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, particularly in the OECD Asia-Pacific region and North America. This can be partly attributed to energy production and consumption patterns and trend, often combined with overall low energy prices.

In OECD Europe, CO ₂ emissions from energy use have fallen between 1980 and the mid 1990s, as a result of changes in economic structures and energy supply mix, energy savings and, in some countries, of decreases in economic activity over a few years. Since the mid 1990s, these emissions have been more or less stable in the region as a whole, with however very wide variations in emission trends among countries.

In Norway, greenhouse gas emissions increased by 8 per cent in the period 1990-2003. According to the Kyoto Protocol, Norwegian greenhouse gas emissions can only increase by 1 per cent in the period 1990-2010, emissions trading and other Kyoto mechanisms taken into account.

Read more about greenhouse gas emissions in Norway :

Sharp increase in greenhouse gas emissions in 2003

Higher economic growth than increase in air emissions

Waste

At the beginning of the new millennium, 585 million tonnes (570 kg per inhabitant) of municipal waste was generated in the OECD area. This is an increase of close to 60 per cent since 1980. Generation intensity per capita has risen more or less in line with private final consumption expenditure and GDP, however with a slight slowdown in recent years. In Norway, the increase in household waste has been higher than the growth in private consumption in recent years.

The amount and the composition of municipal waste vary considerably among the OECD countries and are directly related to levels and patterns of consumption as well as waste management practices. Only a few countries have succeeded in reducing the quantity of solid waste. In most countries for which data are available, increased affluence, associated with economic growth and changes in consumption patterns, tends to generate higher rates of waste per capita. On average each Norwegian generated more than 600 kg of municipal waste in 2000. This is above the OECD average, and the increase since the beginning of the 1990s has been about 100 kg per capita.

Read more about waste generation in Norway :

Slight increase in waste amounts

Water pollution

The OECD countries continue their work on basic domestic water pollution abatement. Since the early 1980s, the share of the population connected to a municipal wastewater treatment plant has risen from about 50 per cent to almost 70 per cent today. Just below 80 per cent of the Norwegian population is connected to municipal wastewater treatment plants. The main part of the remaining population is connected to smaller treatment facilities, mainly single house facilities not connected to the municipal sewerage system. More than half of the population is connected to high-grade treatment plants, i.e. plants with chemical and/or biological treatment methods.

Read more about waste water treatment in Norway :

Discharges from treatment plants reduced

Fisheries

The production in the worlds marine fisheries amounted to 84 million tonnes and 9 million tonnes in the inland fisheries in 2001. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) about 47 per cent of major fish stocks for which data is available are fully exploited, while 18 per cent are overexploited. It is estimated that 10 per cent of the fish stocks have been seriously depleted. The remaining 25 per cent are regarded as moderately exploited or underexploited, and this is where there is a potential for the expansion of marine fisheries.

Several recent studies indicate that overfishing has lead to serious depletion of fish resources and created considerable imbalances in marine ecosystems. UNEP emphasises illegal, unregulated and subsidized commercial fleets, destruction of important undersea habitats, waste and pollution as serious problems.

FAO statistics indicate about a doubling of the catches compared with the early 1960s. The steady trend towards increased global fish landings is achieved partly through the exploitation of new and/or less valuable species. However, in recent years the catches in marine areas have remained relatively stable at about 85 million tonnes, except from 1998, when catches in the South-East Pacific declined due to the atmospheric phenomenon El Niño. As a result, landings of anchoveta and Chilean jack mackerel dropped from 11 million tonnes in 1997 to below 4 million tonnes in 1998.

The total fisheries production in the OECD area has shown a downward trend in the last few years. Total catches in 2001 were about 10 per cent lower than in 1980, but there are considerable variations between countries. The largest catches in the OECD countries are taken by the USA, Japan and Norway. The catches in the Norwegian fisheries (including fish, crustaceans, molluscs and seaweed, but not aquaculture) have been relatively stable at just below 3 million tonnes per year.

When it comes to the stocks in the Norwegian fishing areas, important stocks like North-East Arctic cod and Norwegian spring-spawning herring are within safe biological limits. The stock of Barents Sea capelin is presently at a very low level, and several of the demersal stocks in the North Sea are at historically low levels. The annual publication Marine Resources from the Institute of Marine Research presents an overview.

Read more about Norwegian fisheries :

Less catch - reduced prices

About country comparisons

Definitions and measurement methods vary among countries, and inter-country comparisons therefore require careful interpretation.

Links

OECD Key Environmental Indicators 2004

About World Environment Day 2004 (UNEPs World Environment Day message)

Natural Resources and the Environment 2003

Environmental statistics - overview