State of the environment
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency monitors the environment and this provides knowledge of the situation in Sweden. Another source of knowledge is drawing up inventories of locations and species. Development is positive in several areas. Emissions of acidifying substances and substances that deplete the ozone layer, for example, have decreased.
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Environmental quality criteria are a classification system intended to facilitate the interpretation of environmental data. They enable us to determine whether measured values are low or high in relation to either the national average or original levels.
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Generally speaking, environmental monitoring can be defined as checking the state of the environment and studying trends and effects.
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The white-tailed eagle, our three seal species, small watercourses, farmland – those are some species and habitats that we monitor in order to establish the state of the environment.
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The decreasing acidification of Swedish lakes, streams and forest soils is a good example of the benefits of international agreements and focused environmental efforts.
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Nitrogen and phosphorus discharged from sewers and leaching from farmland cause severe environmental problems in water and forest areas. Eutrophying substances are also transported by winds and deposited with rain and snow.
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Atmospheric pollutants can cause illness and reduce human life expectancy.
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As a result of measures taken in Sweden and other countries, the negative effects of ozone-depleting substances have already begun to decline.
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Persistent organic pollutants and certain heavy metals tend to accumulate in living organisms and can reach harmful levels, particularly in species at the top of food chains.
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Among the visible effects of oil slicks at sea are oiled sea birds and contaminated beaches. Solid waste can also remain longer in marine environments than it does on land.
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The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency publishes and processes statistics and in this way contributes to providing information about the environment on which to base knowledge and planning, both for Swedish and for international needs.
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The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency is responsible for Swedish official statistics within the field of environmental protection with respect to waste, load, the current situation, emissions, and the application of the Environmental Code.
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The new knowledge generated by the research programmes that we fund help us achieve our mission and environmental quality objectives.