current issues
endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; drift net fishing is hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea
soil erosion from overgrazing, industrial development, urbanization, and poor farming practices; soil salinity rising due to the use of poor quality water; desertification; clearing for agricultural purposes threatens the natural habitat of many unique animal and plant species; the Great Barrier Reef off the northeast coast, the largest coral reef in the world, is threatened by increased shipping and its popularity as a tourist site; limited natural fresh water resources
DEFINITION:
This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry:
SOURCE:
CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011
COMPARE Environment TO:
Pick a country
Afghanistan Algeria Azerbaijan Albania Armenia Angola Argentina Australia Austria Botswana Belgium Bangladesh Belize Bosnia and Herzegovina Bolivia Burma Benin Belarus Brazil Bhutan Bulgaria Burundi Canada Cambodia Chad Sri Lanka Congo, Democratic Republic of the China Chile Cameroon Colombia Costa Rica Central African Republic Cuba Denmark Ecuador Egypt Ireland Estonia Eritrea El Salvador Ethiopia Czech Republic Finland Fiji France Gambia, The Gabon Georgia Ghana Germany Greece Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Croatia Hungary Iceland Indonesia India Iran Israel Italy Cote d'Ivoire Iraq Japan Jamaica Jordan Kenya Kyrgyzstan Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kazakhstan Laos Lebanon Latvia Lithuania Liberia Slovakia Lesotho Libya Madagascar Moldova Mongolia Malawi Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Mali Morocco Mauritania Oman Mexico Malaysia Mozambique Niger Nigeria Netherlands Norway Nepal Suriname Nicaragua New Zealand Paraguay Peru Pakistan Poland Panama Portugal Papua New Guinea Guinea-Bissau Romania Philippines Russia Rwanda South Africa Senegal Slovenia Sierra Leone Singapore Somalia Spain Sudan Sweden Syria Switzerland United Arab Emirates Trinidad and Tobago Thailand Tajikistan Togo Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tanzania Uganda United Kingdom Ukraine United States Burkina Faso Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela Vietnam Namibia Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Aruba Antigua and Barbuda Andorra American Samoa Bahrain Barbados Bermuda Bahamas, The Solomon Islands Brunei Congo, Republic of the Cayman Islands Comoros Cape Verde Cyprus Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Equatorial Guinea Micronesia, Federated States of Faroe Islands French Polynesia Grenada Greenland Guam Kiribati Liechtenstein Luxembourg Mauritius Malta Maldives New Caledonia Vanuatu Netherlands Antilles Palau Qatar Marshall Islands Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Seychelles San Marino Saint Lucia Tonga São Tomé and Príncipe East Timor Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Virgin Islands Samoa Swaziland Serbia and Montenegro Saudi Arabia Hong Kong Macau Palestine Taiwan Guadeloupe Martinique Reunion West Bank French Guiana Saint Helena Anguilla Cocos (Keeling) Islands Northern Mariana Islands Cook Islands European Union Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Gibraltar Guernsey Gaza Strip Man, Isle of Jersey Mayotte Montserrat Montenegro Monaco Niue Norfolk Island Nauru Pitcairn Islands Saint Pierre and Miquelon Turks and Caicos Islands Tokelau Tuvalu British Virgin Islands Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Ashmore and Cartier Islands Akrotiri Antarctica Navassa Island Bassas da India Bouvet Island Coral Sea Islands Jarvis Island Dhekelia Europa Island Baker Island French Southern and Antarctic Lands Glorioso Islands Heard Island and McDonald Islands Howland Island British Indian Ocean Territory Clipperton Island Jan Mayen Johnston Atoll Juan de Nova Island Kingman Reef Christmas Island Palmyra Atoll Midway Islands Southern Ocean Paracel Islands Spratly Islands Saint Martin Svalbard South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Saint Barthelemy Tromelin Island Holy See (Vatican City) Wake Island Indian Ocean Arctic Ocean Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Northern Ireland Scotland Yugoslavia Soviet Union Czechoslovakia East Germany England West Germany Wales
COMPARE Australian Environment TO:
Pick a country
Afghanistan Algeria Azerbaijan Albania Armenia Angola Argentina Australia Austria Botswana Belgium Bangladesh Belize Bosnia and Herzegovina Bolivia Burma Benin Belarus Brazil Bhutan Bulgaria Burundi Canada Cambodia Chad Sri Lanka Congo, Democratic Republic of the China Chile Cameroon Colombia Costa Rica Central African Republic Cuba Denmark Ecuador Egypt Ireland Estonia Eritrea El Salvador Ethiopia Czech Republic Finland Fiji France Gambia, The Gabon Georgia Ghana Germany Greece Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Croatia Hungary Iceland Indonesia India Iran Israel Italy Cote d'Ivoire Iraq Japan Jamaica Jordan Kenya Kyrgyzstan Korea, North Korea, South Kuwait Kazakhstan Laos Lebanon Latvia Lithuania Liberia Slovakia Lesotho Libya Madagascar Moldova Mongolia Malawi Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Mali Morocco Mauritania Oman Mexico Malaysia Mozambique Niger Nigeria Netherlands Norway Nepal Suriname Nicaragua New Zealand Paraguay Peru Pakistan Poland Panama Portugal Papua New Guinea Guinea-Bissau Romania Philippines Russia Rwanda South Africa Senegal Slovenia Sierra Leone Singapore Somalia Spain Sudan Sweden Syria Switzerland United Arab Emirates Trinidad and Tobago Thailand Tajikistan Togo Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tanzania Uganda United Kingdom Ukraine United States Burkina Faso Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela Vietnam Namibia Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Aruba Antigua and Barbuda Andorra American Samoa Bahrain Barbados Bermuda Bahamas, The Solomon Islands Brunei Congo, Republic of the Cayman Islands Comoros Cape Verde Cyprus Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Equatorial Guinea Micronesia, Federated States of Faroe Islands French Polynesia Grenada Greenland Guam Kiribati Liechtenstein Luxembourg Mauritius Malta Maldives New Caledonia Vanuatu Netherlands Antilles Palau Qatar Marshall Islands Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Seychelles San Marino Saint Lucia Tonga São Tomé and Príncipe East Timor Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Virgin Islands Samoa Swaziland Serbia and Montenegro Saudi Arabia Hong Kong Macau Palestine Taiwan Guadeloupe Martinique Reunion West Bank French Guiana Saint Helena Anguilla Cocos (Keeling) Islands Northern Mariana Islands Cook Islands European Union Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) Gibraltar Guernsey Gaza Strip Man, Isle of Jersey Mayotte Montserrat Montenegro Monaco Niue Norfolk Island Nauru Pitcairn Islands Saint Pierre and Miquelon Turks and Caicos Islands Tokelau Tuvalu British Virgin Islands Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Ashmore and Cartier Islands Akrotiri Antarctica Navassa Island Bassas da India Bouvet Island Coral Sea Islands Jarvis Island Dhekelia Europa Island Baker Island French Southern and Antarctic Lands Glorioso Islands Heard Island and McDonald Islands Howland Island British Indian Ocean Territory Clipperton Island Jan Mayen Johnston Atoll Juan de Nova Island Kingman Reef Christmas Island Palmyra Atoll Midway Islands Southern Ocean Paracel Islands Spratly Islands Saint Martin Svalbard South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Saint Barthelemy Tromelin Island Holy See (Vatican City) Wake Island Indian Ocean Arctic Ocean Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Northern Ireland Scotland Yugoslavia Soviet Union Czechoslovakia East Germany England West Germany Wales
Feeds |
Contact