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España saca mala nota en gestión medioambientalNew Zealand, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic and United Kingdom, grabbing the top
Spain note bad saca in environmental management
Foundation CONAMA (National Congress of environment)01/02/2006
The country that performs best efforts with its environmental policy is New Zealand, according to the index on environmental management carried out by experts of Yale University and the Institute of the Earth of the University of Colombia, both in United Statesalong with the European Commission and the World Economic Forum. Spain is located in the 20th position in the list of the 29 most developed countries. The report was submitted on 26 January at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
The Spanish situation with regard to environmental policy has placed our country in a bad position. The study has been analyzing 16 indicators of 133 countries around the world and puts New Zealand in first position with 88 points out of 100, followed by Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic and United Kingdom.
Spain is located in the 23 post with 79.2 points; However, if the Spanish case is studied by comparing it with the 29 most developed countries, the outcome in sight a bad position of our country in the 20th position. Below we find Slovakia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland and Belgium. For its part, United States is, in the world list, ranked 28th. Countries coming out worse unemployed are less developed: Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Chad and, in last place in the table, Nigeria.
Objectives of the report
The report has a dual purpose: the reduce environmental impacts on human health and protect the life of the ecosystem. Taking into account the objectives pursued with the established criteria, Spain suspended in the area of operation (overuse) of fishing, 16.7 points; protection and conservation of nature, with 18.5 points; amount of ozone, 20 points; and consumption and management of the water, with 32.3 points. On the other hand, emphasize with 100 points (the established maximum) in quality of tap water and purification of water and 99 points in infant mortality.
Spain is located in the 23 post with 79.2 points
The 16 indicators are classified in 6 categories that include: environmental health, quality of air, water, biodiversity and Habitat, natural resources and sustainable energy. When analyzing countries are taken into account the socio-economic aspects, geographical characteristics, risks, priorities of environmental policy, development of minutes as well as climate or the population. This also allows the 133 countries divided into six groups: the first of these cover most oil-rich countries; the second would collect much of Asia and Latin America; the third countries developing rapidly and with great potential for infrastructure ecosostenibles; the fourth, the least developed countries, and sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia; in the fifth group would be United States, Europe and parts of Asia, with the characteristic to be conducting a mismanagement of natural resources; and the sixth group, would constitute it the European countries that have a better development of these resources.
Spain is the fifth of these groups. We must not forget that recently there has been of the cities in our country, beyond the limits established by atmospheric pollution; the scarce water resources of this year, aggravated after a season of great drought are also present. Fishing, another outstanding subject according to the report, is a sector with tradition, above all because we have a coastline of 4.964 kilometers; overexploitation carried to extremes would lead to the depopulation of species and, consequently, zero productivity and the sterility of the waters. As for protected areas, they occupy about 10 percent of the territory of our country, nearly half of the total existing across the European Union, and he is still expected to increase after realized the Natura network.
The industry chemical, more social than environmental
Another report, this time by the German Institute Oekom shows that the companies in the chemical industry value more the social risks to the environmental, but stresses that in the environmental sense "progress has been to reduce the risks of chemical substances". According to the Institute in a statement, the study highlights for example the case of the British chemical company Imperial Chemical Industries and the two German groups BASF and Degussa, which "have taken advantage over its competitors to act responsibly with regard to society and the environment".
The German Institute has analyzed 23 chemical companies from nine different countries under 200 indicators, in order to evaluate the way in which the companies in the sector face the risks and environmental challenges. Most companies get higher scores in social indicators, rather than on environmental issues, reason by which the authors of the study have been critical in relation to the "poor efforts" of the chemical companies in assessing the risks of dangerous substances or develop new environmentally sustainable substances.
However, the report also makes reference to "significant progress" that has developed industry-wide in areas that have become the Centre of the debate the past years, such as the safe transport or job security.
