The spectre of global warming wreaking havoc on weather patterns over the coming decades lies behind the latest official forecast of worldwide environmental degradation.
The report, published in London yesterday by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), says the planet is at a "crucial crossroads" in terms of the choices made for its forests, rivers, mountains and other life-support systems.
The UNEP report warns that more than 70 per cent of the Earth's land surface could be adversely affected by the impacts of roads, mining, urban expansion and other infrastructure developments over the next 30 years unless urgent action is taken.
By 2032, however, the greenhouse gas emissions blamed for causing climate change could begin to stabilise - but only if there is concerted action involving governments, industry and individual citizens to deliver deep cuts.
UNEP's "Global Environmental Outlook" report notes that air and water quality have improved in Europe and North America over the past 30 years and that efforts to protect the Earth's ozone layer have been largely successful.
But the apparent increase in strength and frequency of natural hazards, such as cyclones, floods and droughts, is intensifying people's vulnerability to food insecurity, ill health and unsustainable livelihoods. "The poor, the sick and the disadvantaged, both within societies and in different countries and regions, are particularly vulnerable," the report states, adding that the number of people affected by disasters climbed to 211 million a year in the 1990s.
And one of the key driving forces has been the growing gap between the rich and poor parts of the globe. "A fifth of the world's population enjoys high, some would say excessive, levels of affluence, accounting for nearly 90 per cent of total personal consumption globally. By comparison, around 4 billion people are surviving on less than one to two US dollars a day."
The executive director of UNEP, Mr Klaus Toepfer, said: "We now have hundreds of declarations, agreements, guidelines and legally binding treaties designed to address environmental problems and the threats they pose to wildlife and human health and well-being. Let us now find the political courage to implement them."
