How does our careless disposal of antimicrobial drugs produce bacteria that can resist them? Why are Marine Protected Areas vital to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals? Can off-grid solar plug the energy gap for cities in the developing world?
UN Environment experts address these and other emerging issues with the launch of Frontiers 2017, its latest annual report on the most novel environmental challenges facing the planet.
Released on 5 December 2017 during the third UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, the report covers six key emerging issues: the environmental dimension of antimicrobial resistance; nanomaterials; Marine Protected Areas and sustainable development; sand and dust storms; off-grid solar solutions; and environmental displacement.
Sand and dust storm deposits are the advance guard of desertification. They result from strong turbulent winds eroding sand, silt and clay particles from arid landscapes and impoverishing their soils. The storms can raise large quantities of particles high into the air. They can travel thousands of kilometres across continents and oceans, entraining other pollutants on the way and depositing particles far from their origin. Dust harms both humans and animals. Chronic exposure to fine dust contributes to premature deaths from respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, lung cancer and acute lower respiratory infections.
The anthropogenic causes of sand and dust storms include deforestation and unsustainable agricultural practices as well as excessive water extraction and the modification of water bodies for irrigation and other purposes. Sand and dust storms are thus connected with a range of environmental and development issues that extend across national, regional, and continental boundaries. In the long term, reducing the threat from sand and dust storms will focus on strategies that promote sustainable land and water management in landscapes including cropland, rangelands, deserts, and urban areas, integrated with measures addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation.