The worldwide reduction in the manufacture and use of CFCs has put us well on the way to curing the hole in the ozone layer. There are now salmon again in the Thames and the Rhine. We can do it if we try. We are improving things further with the urban waste water directive, which will give us cleaner rivers and beaches, but in other parts of the world 15-million children under five die each year from diseases caused by drinking unclean water. This could be prevented, but gains made by better management and technology are still being outpaced by degradation.
Population continues to be a problem.
In 1950 the population of Africa was half that of Europe, now it is about equal. In 2050 it will be three times that of Europe. We have to change these trends. A new problem identified by the report is nitrogen pollution. This is partly caused by untreated sewage from new cities, which pollutes water courses, but mainly by large increases in the use of artificial fertiliser to boost crop growth.