Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T13:43:49.051Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Nitrogen pollution in the European Union – origins and proposed solutions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2009

Ester van der Voet ,
René Kleijn  and
Helias A. Udo de Haes
Ester van der Voet*
Affiliation:
Centre of Environmental Science, State University of Leiden, P.O. Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
René Kleijn
Affiliation:
Centre of Environmental Science, State University of Leiden, P.O. Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
Helias A. Udo de Haes
Affiliation:
Centre of Environmental Science, State University of Leiden, P.O. Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
*
* Ester van der Voet Tel: +31 71 5277461 Fax: +31 71 5277434 e-mail: voet@rulrhb.lcidenuniv.nl
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The European Union is faced with major environmental problems related to nitrogen (N) compounds. The origins of three such problems, the atmospheric deposition of N compounds, the leaching of nitrates to ground-water and the anthropogenic N-input to the North Sea, are investigated by means of a Substance Flow Analysis (SFA); the reference year is 1988. Although the problems occur at various scales and have varying direct causes, food production and consumption together are the main responsible sectors, and the production and import of fertilizer appear to be the major ultimate sources in all three cases. Measures to combat these problems have been agreed to in various international frameworks: the European Community, the International North Sea Conference and the Rhine States Conference. These measures include technical emission reduction for acidifying compounds resulting in a 30% emission reduction; extension of the sewage treatment network and application of denitrification with 50% effectiveness; and introduction of measures directed at efficiency increase and emission reduction in agricultural practice in 10% of the agricultural area. The recent changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) are not expected to lead to significant changes in N flows. Assuming full implementation, an almost sufficient 45% reduction is expected for the anthropogenic nitrogen input into the North Sea. The atmospheric deposition of nitrogen compounds will be reduced by approximately 20%. The leaching of nitrates to the ground-water is expected to remain at the current level or even to increase a little. In all, these measures are conducive to solving, but do not satisfactorily solve, the three problems, mainly because the ultimate origins of the problems are not sufficiently influenced and measures therefore inevitably result in a shifting of problems.

Keywords

nitrogen compoundsEuropean UnionNorth Seaground-wateratmospheric depositionenvironmental policymaterials balances
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , June 1996 , pp. 120 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anon. (1993) Eutrofiëringsbestrijding in binnenwatercn eist verderc reduktie van nutriënten en aanvullende maatregelen. H2O 26(4): 84–5.Google Scholar
Atkin, M. (1993) Snouts in the trough; European farmers, the Common Agricultural Policy and the public purse. Cambridge, UK: Woodhead Publishing Ltd: xi + 180 pp.Google Scholar
Ayres, R.U., Norberg Bohm, V., Prince, J., Stigliani, W.M. & Yanowitz, J. (1989) Industrial metabolism, the environment, and application of materials-balance principles for selected chemicals. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) report RR–89–11, Laxenburg, Austria: vi + 118 pp.Google Scholar
Barcelona Convention for the Mediterranean Sea (1976) Barcelona Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea against Pollution. 15 ILM 290.Google Scholar
Boddeke, D. (1993) Fosfaatreduktie kan visvangst aantasten. Bionieuws 3(18): 5.Google Scholar
Brandenburg, A., Engels, L.M., de Lange, M.W., Veldt, H.J.H.A. & Zwartendijk, C. (1992) Nutriëntenbeheer in mondiaal perspectief. Unpublished student group report, Centre of Environmental Science, Leiden University: 71 pp.Google Scholar
Brunner, P.H. & Baccini, P. (1992) Regional materials management and environmental protection. Waste Management & Research 1992(10): 203–12.Google Scholar
Busschbach, H.C., Heineman, M.A., Meesters, P.J.W., Mulleneers, E.A.J. & Schippers, A.C. (1991) Eutrofiëring van de Noordzee. Student group report, Centre of Environmental Science, Leiden University: x + 207 pp.Google Scholar
Commission of the EC (European Communities) (1991) Development and Future of the Common Agricultural Policy (informally known as the MacSharry Plan). Brussels/Luxembourg, COM(91) 100: 44 pp.Google Scholar
Commission of the EC (European Communities) (1992 a) Towards Sustainability, a European Community Programme of Policy and Action in relation to the Environment and Sustainable Development (informally known as the Fifth Action Programme). Brussels, COM(92) 23 vol. II: 98 pp.Google Scholar
Commission of the EC (European Communities) (1992 b) The State of the Environment in the European Community. Brussels, COM(92) 23 vol. III: 176 pp.Google Scholar
Council of the EC (European Communities) (1980) Richtlijn betreffende de kwaliteit van voor menselijke consumptie bestemd water (translated: Directive on the quality of water destined for human consumption). EC Directive 80/77/8/EEC, Brussels.Google Scholar
Council of the EC (European Communities) (1991) Council Directive of 12 December 1991 concerning the protection of water against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources (informally known as the Nitrate Directive). EC Directive 91/676/EC, Luxembourg: 19 pp.Google Scholar
Doluschitz, R., Welck, H. & Zeddies, J. (1992) Stickstoffbilanzen landwirtschaftlicher Betriebe - Einstieg in eine ökologische Buchführung? Berichte Landwirtschaft 70: 551–65.Google Scholar
EUROSTAT (1990 a). Basic Statistics of the Community. 27th edition. Eurostat Office, Luxembourg: 304 pp.Google Scholar
EUROSTAT (1990 b) Agriculture Statistical Yearbook. Eurostat Office, Luxembourg: ix + 262 pp.Google Scholar
EUROSTAT (1990 c) External Trade Analytical Tables Import and Export 1988. Part A: 1–24: Agricultural Products, Part B: 25–27: Mineral Products, Part C: 28–38: Chemical Products. Eurostat Office, Luxembourg.Google Scholar
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) (1990) FAO Yearbook Fertilizer, Vol. 40. Rome: xxxiii + 142 pp.Google Scholar
Fleckscder, H. (1992) A nitrogen balance for Austria. Water Science & Technology 26(7–8): 1789–95.Google Scholar
Harenz, H., Köster, W. & Merkel, D. (1992) Stickstoff-, Phosphor- und Kaliumbilanzen der Landwirtschaft der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der ehemaligen DDR von 1950 bis 1988. Agribiological Research 45: 285–93.Google Scholar
Hettelingh, J.-P., Downing, R.J. & de Smet, P.A.M., eds. (1991) Mapping critical loads for Europe. Coordination Centre for Effects (CCE), Technical Report no. 1, Bilthoven, the Netherlands: viii + 86 pp.Google Scholar
Houghton, J.T., Jenkins, G.J. & Ephraums, J.J., eds. (1991) Climate Change. The IPCC Scientific Assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: 365 pp.Google Scholar
Huppes, G., van der Voet, E., van der Naald, W.G.H., Vonkeman, G. & Maxson, P. (1992) New Market-Oriented Instruments for Environmental Policies. European Communities Environmental Policy Series. London: Graham & Trotman: xxvii + 200 pp.Google Scholar
Institute for Inland Water Management and Waste Water Treatment (1992) Progress report on the reduction of the input of nutrients to the North Sea. Report 92.052, Institute for Inland Water Management and Waste Water Treatment, Lelystad, the Netherlands: 29 pp.Google Scholar
International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution (1987) Rhine Action Programme. Strasbourg: 25 pp.Google Scholar
Kleijn, R., van der Voet, E. & Udo de Haes, H.A. (1993) Controlling substance flows: the case of chlorine. Environmental Management 18: 523–42.Google Scholar
LEI (Agricultural Economics Institute) (1992) European Agriculture and the MacSharry Plan: long term consequences of the reform proposal for the Common Agricultural Policy. Landbouw Economisch Instituut, Report 1.23, The Hague, The Netherlands: 91 pp.Google Scholar
Manale, A.P. (1991) European Community Programs to control nitrate emissions from agriculture. International Environment Reporter 14(12): 345–54.Google Scholar
Ministerial Declaration (1984) Ministerial Declaration of the first international conference on the protection of the North Sea, 31 October-4 November 1984, Bremen. Issued by the Ministry of Transport and Public Works of the Netherlands: 15 pp.Google Scholar
Ministerial Declaration (1987) Ministerial Declaration of the second international conference on the protection of the North Sea, 24–25 November 1987, London. Issued by the Ministry of Transport and Public Works of. The Netherlands: 25 pp.Google Scholar
Ministerial Declaration (1990) Ministerial Declaration of the third international conference on the protection of the North Sea, 7–8 November 1990, The Hague. Issued by the Ministry of Transport and Public Works of The Netherlands: 198 pp.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries of the Netherlands (1993) Notitie Mest- en Ammoniakbcleid derde fase. The Hague, The Netherlands: v + 40 pp.Google Scholar
Noorduyn, L. & van Dijk, I. (1991) Mestbeleid in Europa. Boerderij 76(37): 26–9.Google Scholar
OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) (1991) OECD Environmental Data Compendium 1991. OECD Paris: 337 pp.Google Scholar
Olsthoorn, C.S.M. (1992) Mineralen in de landbouw, 1990. Kwartaalberichten Milieu (CBS) 92: 16–20.Google Scholar
Olsthoorn, C.S.M. (1993) Stikstof en Fosfor in Nedcrland, 1990 (Nitrogen and Phosphorus in the Netherlands, 1990). Kwartaalberichten Milieuc (CBS) 93: 19–27.Google Scholar
Oslo and Paris Commissions (1992) Monitoring and Assessment. London: 205 pp.Google Scholar
Oslo Convention (1972) Oslo Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping from Ships and Aircraft. 11 ILM 262.Google Scholar
Paris Commission (1992) Nutrients in the Convention Area, Part B Eutrophication Symptoms and Problem Areas. London: 45 pp.Google Scholar
Paris Convention for the North Sea (1974) Paris Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution from Land Based Sources, 4 June 1974: 2 pp.Google Scholar
RIVM (National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection) (1992) The environment in Europe: a global perspective. Rijksinstituut voor de Volksgezondheid en de Milieuhygiëne, Report 481505001, Bilthoven, The Netherlands: 119 pp.Google Scholar
Springer, A.L. (1983) The International Law of Pollution: Protecting the Global Environment in a World of Sovereign States. Westport, USA: Qurum Books: 45 pp.Google Scholar
Strebel, O., Duynisveld, W.H.M. & Böttcher, J. (1989) Nitrate pollution of ground-water in Western Europe. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 26: 189–214.Google Scholar
Stringer, D.A., ed. (1988) Nitrate and drinking water. European Chemical Industry Ecology & Toxicology Centre (ECETOC), Technical Report no. 27. Brussels: ix + 165 pp.Google Scholar
Udo de Haes, H.A., Guinée, J.B. & Huppes, G. (1988) Materials balances and flow analysis of hazardous substances; accumulation of substances in economy and environment. Milieu 1988(2): 51–5.Google Scholar
UN (United Nations) (1990 a) Industrial Statistics Yearbook, vol. II, Commodity Production Statistics. New York: xvii + 839 pp.Google Scholar
UN (United Nations) (1990 b) World Statistics in Brief. New York: xiii + 118 pp.Google Scholar
UNCLOXS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) (1982) UNCLOS, 10–12–1982: xxix + 194 pp.Google Scholar
UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) (1992) Chemical Pollution: a Global Overview. Geneva: ix + 106 pp.Google Scholar
van der Voet, E. (1996) Substances from cradle to grave, development of a methodology for the analysis of substance flows through the economy and the environment of a region, with case studies on cadmium and nitrogen compounds. Ph.D. thesis, Centre of Environmental Science, Leiden University: xxv + 350 pp.Google Scholar
van der Voet, E., Heijungs, R., Mulder, P., Huele, R., Kleijn, R. & an Oers, L. (1995 b) Substance flows through the economy and environment of a region – Part II: Modelling. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2: 137–44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van der Voet, E., Kleijn, R. & Udo de Haes, H.A. (1996) Nitrogen pollution in the European Union – an economy-environment confrontation. Environmental Conservation (in press).Google Scholar
van der Voet, E., Kleijn, R., van Oers, L., Heijungs, R., Huele, R. & Mulder, P. (1995 a) Substance flows through the economy and environment of a region – Part I: Systems definition. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 2: 89–96.Google Scholar
van der Voet, E., van Egmond, L., Kleijn, E.G.M. & Huppes, G. (1994) Cadmium in the European Community – a policy oriented analysis. Waste Management and Research 1994(12): 507–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Jaarsveld, J.A. & de Leeuw, F.A.A.M. (1993) Source receptor relations for the calculation of atmospheric deposition to the North Sea: nitrogen and cadmium. Rijksinstituut voor de Volksgezondheid en de Milieuhygiene, Report 222401002, Bilthoven, The Netherlands: vi + 19 pp.Google Scholar
van Oers, L., van der Voet, E., Mulder, P., Huele, R. & Kleijn, E.G.M. (1995) Manual SFINX 2.1. Unpublished report, Centre of Environmental Science, Leiden University: 44 pp.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zekster, I.S., Everett, L.G. & Cullen, S.J. (1992) Ground water pollution: an international perspective. European Water Pollution Control 2(6): 15–19.Google Scholar