UN report on nutrient threats and benefits

Professor Emeritus Bob Diaz of William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science has co-authored a new report—commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)—that provides recommendations for managing the use of nitrogen and phosphorous in a world where the coastal waters of most developed nations suffer from excessive inputs of these and other nutrients, while developing areas in Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia lack access to the nutrient-laden fertilizers needed to support growing human populations.

Diaz is the world's leading expert on the low-oxygen "dead zones" that form when excess nutrients enter coastal waters and help fertilize blooms of algae. When these algae die and sink to the bottom, their decomposition by bacteria removes dissolved oxygen from surrounding waters, suffocating or ousting other marine life.

"Our Nutrient World" was launched at the UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, on February 18. It notes that while human use of nutrients has brought huge benefits—the nitrogen fertilizers of the "green revolution" support food production for about half the world's 7 billion people—it has also "caused a web of water and air pollution that is damaging human health, causing toxic algal blooms, killing fish, threatening sensitive ecosystems, and contributing to climate change."

Read more:http://bit.ly/WHFDIl

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