Fines for tampering with electricity meter range between SR5000 and SR100000 New amendments made in Electricity Law    Saudi Arabia deports 8,051 illegal residents in a week    Saudi Arabia is among world's top donors with assistance worth SR528 billion    GCC – Japan negotiations make progress in sealing free trade agreement    Inzaghi hails Al Hilal's fearless Club World Cup run    UNRWA calls for urgent fuel delivery to Gaza to prevent shutdown of basic services    Syria rules out foreign borrowing as central bank hails post-Assad recovery    Pakistan army kills 30 militants in cross-border clash near Afghanistan    State of emergency declared in Crete after wildfire devastates Ierapetra    OPEC+ further accelerates oil output hike by 548,000 bpd in August    Football world mourns Diogo Jota and brother André Silva at funeral in Portugal    Al Hilal exit Club World Cup after narrow defeat to Fluminense    Saudi Arabia tops global ICT Development Index for 2025    Hotel occupancy in Saudi Arabia rises to 63% as tourism workforce tops 983,000 in Q1 2025    Alkhorayef Commercial Company partners with XSQUARE Technologies to elevate logistics automation in Saudi Arabia    Portugal and Liverpool FC winger Diogo Jota dies in car accident in Spain    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Environmental factors behind 15% of deaths in Mediterranean: UN report
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 22 - 10 - 2020

Around 15 percent of deaths in the Mediterranean are attributable to preventable environmental factors, a new UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report released on Wednesday has revealed.
In 2016, more than 228,000 people died prematurely from exposure to air pollution, according to UNEP's State of the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean (SoED).
Rising inequality, biodiversity loss, climate change, and unrelenting pressure on natural resources, could lead to irreversible environmental damage in the Mediterranean basin, the report warned.
Moreover, unless urgent and resolute action is taken to halt current trends, environmental degradation could have serious and lasting consequences for human health and livelihoods throughout the region.
With hundreds of millions of visitors each year, the Mediterranean is one of the world's most coveted tourism destinations and busiest shipping routes.
Every day it is polluted by an estimated 730 tonnes of plastic waste, which threatens biodiversity along with the more than 1,000 non-indigenous species that live below the water, said ILO.
Furthermore, the overall region is warming 20 percent faster than the global average.
SoED also indicates that the region, which is home to more than 512 million people, is not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
To tackle environmental degradation, the report identifies several actions, including phasing out harmful subsidies — such as those for non-renewable fuels, and groundwater extraction - and recommends instead, incentivizing sustainable options.
It calls for all sectors of Mediterranean economies to prioritize development, not just those directly concerning the environment, and implement degradation prevention measures — noting that they cost less, and lead to better environmental and social outcomes than clean-up and curative action.
Harnessing nature-based solutions are also recommended to build resilience, which requires action and investment.
And finally, SoED advocates for enforcing national legislation provisions on accountability and legal action if necessary, as well as strengthening legal enforcement mechanisms, including those under the region's Barcelona Convention, on protecting the marine environment, and its Protocols.
"By shedding light on the mistakes of the past, the report's findings can guide a green renaissance in the Mediterranean", said Gaetano Leone, Coordinator of the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention Secretariat.
"Embarking on greener development paths now can halt the environmental degradation trends and salvage hard-won achievements in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals", he added.
Last published in 2009, SoED provides a comprehensive assessment of the environment and development in the Mediterranean region.
It was produced by Plan Bleu, a regional center of the UNEP Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP), involving 21 coastal countries of the Mediterranean and the European Union, so they can cooperate in protecting marine and coastal environments for sustainable development.


Clic here to read the story from its source.