Trend Industrial and fertiliser pollution creating coastal dead zones

Summary

In the short term, the report expects that fertiliser and industrial waste pollution could become a leading driver of biodiversity loss. Such pollution could create so-called dead zones in coastal ecosystems. The report counts pollution among the five drivers of biodiversity loss, alongside climate change, habitat loss, invasive species and overexploitation. The continued spraying of non-selective pesticides and herbicides is already reducing plant and invertebrate populations. Its pollution analysis finds that farm runoff and untreated sewage are the main sources of UK river pollution, much of which ends up at sea. Over the longer term, the report expects ocean acidification and algal blooms could disrupt marine food chains.