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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>From: PNUMA </FONT><A
href="mailto:enlace@pnuma.org"><FONT face=Arial
size=2>enlace@pnuma.org</FONT></A></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sent: Friday, February 18, 2011 9:56
AM</FONT></DIV></DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV><BR><FONT size=4>Wider Impacts of Fertilizer and Plastic Pollution on
Oceans</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=4>Top This Year's Priority Issues in UNEP Year
Book</FONT><BR><BR>UNEP Year Book 2011 Spotlights Urgent Need for Fundamental
Green Economy Shift<BR><BR>26th Session of UNEP Governing Council/Global
Ministerial Environment Forum 21-24 February<BR><BR>Nairobi, 17 February 2011.
Massive amounts of phosphorus-a valuable fertilizer needed to feed a growing
global population-are being lost to the oceans as result of inefficiencies in
farming and a failure to recycle wastewater.<BR><BR>Phosphorus pollution, along
with other uncontrolled discharges, such as nitrogen and sewage, are linked with
a rise in algal blooms which in turn harm water quality, poison fish stocks and
undermine coastal tourism.<BR><BR>In the United States alone, the costs are
estimated to be running at over US$2 billion a year, indicating that globally
and annually the damage may run into the tens of billion of
dollars.<BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>