Environmental Performance Index

Access to Drinking Water

Agricultural Subsidies
Child Mortality
Access to Sanitation
Terrestrial Protected
Areas
Wastewater Treatment

Pesticide Regulation
Critical Habitat
Protection
Marine Protected Areas
Air Quality
Fisheries (Fish Stocks)

 Since 1990 more than 2 billion people now have access to

improved drinking water and sanitation, exceeding MDG
target
o Afghanistan: 5% in 1991 of households to 61% in 2011
o Ethiopia received through investment and international
aid
2.3 million sqkm forest lost, 0.8 million gained
o Better technology = better data
1.78 billion people breathe unsafe air
o International policies largely absent/stagnant
o Expansion of industry and fossil fuels based
transportation sectors
o Risen 606 million since 2000
14.6% terrestrial, 9.7% marine area protected (2012)
o Well organized systems and clearly established targets,
careful analysis of threatened areas
34% of global fish stocks collapsed , 27% are overexploited
o Weak measurement systems, badly monitored,
misreport catch data, international policy targets are
incomplete

The EPI helps to aid the post 2015 development agenda,

provide better insight into dense developed nations
sustainability (Singapore wastewater treatment leader),
however measurement indicators still remain weak

Top: Switzerland - 87.67

Bottom: Somalia 15.47

 Soil and Change

As soil forms, it supports the growth of plants by providing
organic matter
Soil erosion in the removal and transfer of soil particles from
one place to another, usually by wind or running water, and is
often aggravated by the actions of human.
Natural erosion is affected by:
o Rainfall (intensity, duration, amount, seasonality)
o The nature and intensity of vegetation cover
o Length and angle of slopes
o Likelihood of soils to erode texture, structure,
dispersibility
Accelerated erosion is higher than normal erosion rates
caused by human activity
o Tree vegetation has been removed alters surface
cover, which exposes soils to additional risks of erosion
by wind or water
Cornell: Soil is being eroded at a rate ten to forty times faster
that it is being replenished on an average worldwide basis
As a majority of food comes from croplands (shrinking at more
than 10 million hectares per annum due to soil erosion), the
potential impact on the human food supply is obvious.
Pressure on soils to produce food is further increased as the
demand increases to grow vegetable based biofuels and
industrial crops such as cotton both of which require vast
areas of farm land and cleared rainforests.

Wind Erosion:
Occurs where the soil particles are loosely bound together
In many farming areas, land is cultivated to eliminate weeds
o Soil structures are broken up by cultivation and this
makes the soil particles vulnerable to being blown by
the wind when they are dry
Cultivation of light soils in marginal wheat lands have led to
desertification, which is the extension or intensification of
desert conditions
Desertification leads to reductions in plant productivity,
accelerated decline in soil quality and increasing hazards for
human occupancy
West and central Africa and Australia are being threatened
o The edge of the Sahara has been advancing southwards
by about 25km/year

Water Erosion:
Human disturbance of vegetation cover has sped up rates of
water erosion
o Sheet Erosion

The removal of surface soil to an even depth over

a wide area, often occurs on bare, cultivated
ground
If run-off is strong, channels are eroded into the
soil
o Gully Erosion
Occurs mainly after intense or prolonged rainfall
Effects amplified when vegetation is cleared,
however it is a natural effect
Rural Areas:
Most erosion takes place on cultural land
o Land has been left bare on vegetation for weeks or
months at a time is more exposed to the actions of wind
and water
Reductions in chemical fertility the top layer (horizon) of the
soil usually has more plant nutrients and organic matter than
the lower layers
Reduces physical constitution lower layers horizons often
contain more clay than the upper layers, less friable than
surface soil
Rates of erosion vary as a result of local characteristics (slope
steepness), land management techniques (contour banks),
soils chemical and physical properties
75% of Africas farmlands suffer from soil degradation
o Wind and water erosion has severe effects on its
traditional farming (fallow allows the soils natural
fertility to return)
o Population growth meant shorter fallow periods, causing
degredation
o Traditional methods not replaced with new soil
management and cropping, creating a positive feedback
loop
Uneducated and cannot afford, follow methods
learned from parents
Yields decline poverty increases farmers put more
pressure on soil
AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution Africa) 2006,Kofi
Annan, founded by the Rockefeller foundation (Bill Gates)
o Improves knowledge, application and adoption of
integrated soil fertility management
o Improving economic and physical access to fertilizers for
poor farmers
o Developing policies and incentives for adoption of
improved soil fertility management practices

Urban Areas

Erosion often occurs when rural land is converted for urban

uses
Removal of tree shrub and vegetation, for building and road
construction accelerates erosion rates
Soil is compacted by heavy earth-moving machinery used for
site preparation
Topsoil is stripped in the leveling process, exposing the
relatively impermeable subsoil to erosion
Stockpiles of loose topsoil are reduced in storms by rills
Sediment can slit up local drainage lines and water storages
Erosion is established in urban areas and can be seen on
steep or poorly vegetated roadside embankments, unlined
channel banks and on the downstream side of some culverts
and floodways

Water Resource Management

70% of the Earth is covered by water, 97% is contained in
oceans as salt water, 3% of that is freshwater, 0.3% is found
in rivers and lakes, the rest is frozen
Water uses: household, manufacturing, irrigation, recreation
and navigation
o Drinking water: used for domestic purposes (drinking,
cooking, personal hygiene)
o Access to drinking water: source of water is less than
1km from where the place it will be used, able to obtain
at least 20L/member of a household/day on a reliable
basis
o Safe drinking water: water with bacterial, chemical and
physical characteristics that meet the WHOs guidelines
o Access to safe drinking water: the proportion of people
using improved drinking water sources
Over 1 billion people do not have access to safe drinking
water
MDG 2 to halve the proportion of people without sustainable
access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015
Unclean water results in waterborne diseases: cholera,
diarrhea, schistosomiasis and intestinal problems (hookworm
and hepatitis)
o 1.6 million people die each year from diarrhea and
cholera
o 6 million visually impaired from schistosomiasis
o 133 million suffer from intestinal infections
World usage of water, 1995 3906km3, 2025 to increase by
50%, severely limit water available for irrigation 4% increase
only, restricting food production
Uneven distribution, both within and between countries

Surface stores are being depleted and underground reserves

are shrinking more rapidly than they can be replenished
One third of the world experiencing moderate to high water
stress, by 2025, two-thirds (consumption levels exceed 20% of
available supply)
Demand from mainly manufacturing, global industrial use will
double from 2000 and 2005
Agriculture accounts for 70% of world water use, expected to
increase between 50-100%

 Desalinization Plant in Singapore

Could contribute to air pollution
Issues related to intake of feed water and waste disposal
o Entrainment of fish
o Change in depth due to a reduction in water quantity
which would result in a temperature change that can
harm sea life and its subsequent consumers
o Need to make sure salt level in the discharge area does
not exceed the threshold that the sea life can tolerate
o Make sure any chemicals used in the pre-treatment
would not harm the aquatic organisms
o Ensure the outfall structure and installation does not
damage the aquatic life on the ocean bed
o Check the concentration of metal ions is not at a level
where it can harm sea life
o Brine disposed is compatible with the water in the ocean
so that the ratios are not disturbed, which can lead to
toxicity
Educating the public to preserve water resources
o TV programs, cartoons, publications
PURE magazine about conserving water for
young adults and teenagers
Wally Water PUB mascot, delivers information
about saving and reusing water through a cartoon
series
Provides jobs in the local region and helps the local market
o Labour intensive = a lot of jobs created
o Opportunity for the market to provide essential
equipment and chemicals
Taxes on profit are generated
Provide freshwater for Singapores growing industry