UK rivers failing new EU standard 英国河流未达到欧盟新环保标
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2009-09-22 02:38 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
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Three-quarters of rivers in England and Wales fall below a new European environmental standard, according to a report from the Environment Agency.

英国环境厅一份报告称,英格兰和威尔士四分之三的河流水位下降到欧盟环境标准之下。

The Environment Agency plans to revitalise and transform rivers by 2015
The Environment Agency plans to revitalise and transform rivers by 2015

But the report also says that water quality has improved for the 19th year in a row, and that wildlife is returning to a number of rivers.

Environmental groups want tougher action as only five of the 6,000 rivers surveyed are classified as pristine(原来的,古时的).

The agency announced plans to improve more stretches(伸展,张开) of river by 2015.

It says there have been improvements in water quality under the measures used for the last 20 years.

These results show that seven out of 10 English rivers and nine out of 10 Welsh rivers achieved what is termed "very good" or "good" status in terms of chemical and biological water quality in 2008.

Species return

The improvement has led to the return of species that were once thought to be in terminal decline along some stretches of river.

"Our rivers are at their cleanest for over a century, which is why we are seeing the return of otters1(水獭), eels2(鳗鱼,鳝鱼) and salmon3 to the Thames, Mersey and Tyne," said the Environment Agency's chief executive Paul Leinster.

The agency says the improvement has been brought about by tougher action on polluters, changes in farming practices, investment by regional water companies, and hundreds of local clean-up projects.

However, the European Water Framework Directive, which became law in the UK in 2003, sets even higher quality standards, using a wider and more sophisticated range of more than 30 different measures.

Only 26% of rivers in England and Wales are classified as "good" under the new requirements, and only five satisfy the highest standards. These are in remote areas of Northumberland and Wales.

Under the new standards, 117 rivers are classified as being in bad condition. These include stretches of the rivers Trent and Stour.

Environmental groups say this means they are among the worst in Europe.

Wake-up call

The RSPB's director of conservation, Mark Avery, welcomed the millions of pounds invested by the water industry over the past two decades, which he said had brought real improvements.

But he said there was a long way to go, and the report should serve as a wake-up call to the government.

"Pollution from agriculture, over-abstraction and poor town planning are all factors threatening what is an extremely important habitat for wildlife," he added.

"Otters, water voles, kingfishers(翠鸟) and more than 30 species of fish all rely on our rivers and we have a responsibility to keep them healthy and clean."

WWF's freshwater policy advisor4 Tom Le Quesne said: "Unless we take action now to stop the decline in the health of our rivers, then we are storing up a raft of problems for the future.

"We are heavily reliant on this precious resource, and our legislation and actions must deliver a positive improvement to its state."

The Environment Agency also announced measures to improve more rivers by 2015.

The River Basin Management Plans include tackling discharge from sewage works(污水处理厂), limiting the removal of water from rivers, and preventing pollution from farmland and built-up areas leaking into watercourses.

"We need to go even further to meet the new EU measures for water quality," said Dr Leinster.

"That is why we have announced plans to clean up 9,000 miles of river over the next five years."

Environment groups criticised the plans as too limited in their ambitions, as only 5% more rivers will achieve "good" status by 2015.

The plans will be finalised later this year after approval by ministers.

The Scottish government plans to publish its River Basin Management Plans in December, with measures to be fully5 operational by 2012.

In Northern Ireland, the Rivers Agency has designated(特定的,特指的) four River Basin Districts.



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 otters c7b1b011f1aba54879393a220705a840     
n.(水)獭( otter的名词复数 );獭皮
参考例句:
  • An attempt is being made to entice otters back to the river. 人们正试图把水獭引诱回河里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Otters are believed to have been on Earth for 90 million years. 水獭被认为存活在地球上已经9千多万年。 来自互联网
2 eels eels     
abbr. 电子发射器定位系统(=electronic emitter location system)
参考例句:
  • Eels have been on the feed in the Lower Thames. 鳗鱼在泰晤士河下游寻食。
  • She bought some eels for dinner. 她买回一些鳗鱼做晚餐。
3 salmon pClzB     
n.鲑,大马哈鱼,橙红色的
参考例句:
  • We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
  • Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗?
4 advisor JKByk     
n.顾问,指导老师,劝告者
参考例句:
  • They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
  • The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。
5 fully Gfuzd     
adv.完全地,全部地,彻底地;充分地
参考例句:
  • The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气,然后全部呼出。
  • They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。
TAG标签: UK EU river standard
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