Securing the future

Several countries are now aware of the impact of pollution. The European Commission and a number of governments have established the concept of 'critical loads'. These identify the level of input of pollutants to soils beyond which it is possible, or in some cases likely, that there will be damage to soils and other parts of the environment. Steps can then be taken to reduce the source of pollutants to acceptable levels. Critical loads can be set for many potentially polluting substances. Most attention so far has been given to acidification, nutrient nitrogen and to some heavy metals. This approach is important as it requires the development of knowledge about the levels of risk of certain pollutants, forming the basis for steps to be taken in order to maintain the quantities of particular pollutants below the specified loading levels. This puts the onus on governments and non-governmental organisations to ensure that levels of pollutants do not rise above such critical loadings. The UN Economic Commission for Europe has established a Convention for Long-range Trans-boundary Air Pollution, partly reflecting growing concerns about the impact of acid rain, which has established levels of concentrations of pollutants above which there are likely to be direct adverse affects on humans, soils, plants and other ecosystems. Similar Conventions must now be established for soils and water. This programme has led to regular monitoring of air quality and has brought more attention to the impact of pollution.

At national level, mainly in developed countries, steps are being taken to curb some of the excesses that have given rise to pollution and contamination. For example the countries of the United Kingdom all have monitoring programmes for soil and water. This has involved making regular surveys of the state of the United Kingdom with respect to soil and water resources. There is now a European Soil Information System which will be part of a wider Circumpolar Database under construction involving also Canada and the USA, seen as a basis for managing soils into the future. Most developed countries have also introduced soil monitoring systems so that changes in soil quality can be monitored. This involves monitoring of the levels of key elements and components in the soil so as to predict at an early stage when undesirable situations occur.

One of the biggest problems we face is to develop better relationships between industrial and environmental requirements, so as to avoid severe damage to land and watercourses. Many countries have safeguards in place but these are all too easily broken. Another problem is that we have some difficult decisions to make with respect to economic development and environmental protection. One example of this is nuclear energy, an important provider of power for the growing world populations. Yet, as the Chernobyl accident showed, major accidents can occur, and when they do they affect large areas of the world. Only by seeking to develop more sustainable relationships between industry and the environment can we develop a more secure environment and be more certain of securing the future quality of soil, air and water to feed and support the health of the world's population. One of the most important steps for the future will be to have systematic monitoring of the total environment, carried out at regular intervals coupled in turn with strong protective interventions where required.