By Paul Mackie
Coastal populations are losing their livelihoods to polluted waters, according to a recent World Resources Institute report.
Coastal communities worldwide are witnessing their livelihoods choked by agricultural and industrial pollution, according to findings released in April by the World Resources Institute (WRI).
“A significant portion of the world’s population – nearly half of which lives within 40 miles of a coast – is vulnerable to harmfully over-enriched ecosystems,” said Mindy Selman, senior associate at WRI and lead author of WRI’s findings. Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus has emerged as one of the leading causes of degraded water quality. WRI identified 415 over-enriched – or “eutrophic” – coastal areas throughout the world. Of these, 169 are depleted of oxygen, creating “dead zones” that are unable to support marine life. Another 233 of the systems identified are experiencing one or more symptoms of eutrophication, including toxic algal blooms, loss of biodiversity, and die-off of coral reefs. Only 13 of the coastal areas identified exhibit signs of recovery.
Some of the coastal areas studied include the Chesapeake Bay, Baltic Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and Tampa Bay. Seventy-eight percent of the assessed continental U.S. coastal area and 65% of Europe’s Atlantic coast are eutrophic.
“There is a dramatic growth in areas receiving nitrogen and phosphorus created by agriculture, sewage, industry, and fossil fuel combustion,” said Robert Diaz, a co-author of the findings and professor of marine science at Virginia’s College of William and Mary.