Annex 1 – An illustration of pressures in need of government prioritisation and immediate action

Table 1. Air quality
Pressure	Main Driver ¹¹⁸ ¹¹⁹ ¹²⁰	Impact
Particulate matter	Particulate matter comes primarily from burning solid fuels, industrial combustion, road transport, solvents and industrial processes.	Smaller particles, especially those less than 2.5 microns in diameter are drawn deep into the lungs. Long-term exposure causes cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Pollution from particulate matter has health consequences, is widespread and on-going.
Oxides of nitrogen and ammonia	Nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide (NOx) are produced by combustion, especially from transport, energy generation and domestic / industrial sources. Agriculture is a significant source of ammonia from manures, slurries and fertilizer, and anaerobic digestion.	Pollution from NOx has health consequences and is widespread. NOx can change soil chemistry and impact biodiversity. It can also lead to ozone generation. Ammonia is toxic to many aquatic organisms, leads to acidification effects on ecosystems, and the nitrification of habitats which in turn can lead to species composition changes. It can also lead to the development of further particulate matter in the atmosphere.

Table 2. Freshwater
Pressure	Main Driver ¹²¹ ¹²²	Impact
Sewage discharges	Treated final effluent from consented sewage treatment works.	Whilst overflow discharges are increasingly well documented and have an acute impact on the environment, treated sewage has a chronic impact, despite the improvements in treatment over the years. This limits long-term improvements in aquatic ecosystems.
Rural runoff to watercourses	Agricultural runoff from livestock and arable farming systems.	Raised nutrient levels lead to eutrophication and algal blooms. When the blooms die back they remove oxygen from the river and result in deterioration of aquatic habitat. Other pollutants can also have a bio-cumulative impact on food webs.

Table 3. Marine
Pressure	Main Driver	Impact
Overfishing	Setting fishery catch limits in excess of scientific advice causes long-term stock decline and ultimate collapse ¹²³ .	Setting catch limits in excess of maximum sustainable yield gradually drives stock levels down over many years. Populations of key species such as cod, herring and plaice are much reduced compared to historical levels. Overfishing continues each year with around a third of stocks over-fished in UK waters.
Seafloor destruction	Use of towed gears, such as trawls which run along the seafloor, removes the plant and animal life which lives there ¹²⁴ .	Seafloor communities (the biota) are important because they provide food and shelter for fish, especially in juvenile stages. Trawling is a widespread activity which catches around a half of the UK’s wild fish. There are a limited number of areas protected from trawling in the inshore zone but much of the offshore zone remains open to trawling.

Table 4. Terrestrial landscape
Pressure	Main Driver	Impact
Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation	Intensification of agriculture and urbanisation of the landscape ¹²⁵ .	Reduces ecological condition, complexity and ability of the environment to recover and sustain viable species populations while reducing its resilience to external pressures such as invasive species.
Soil degradation	Intensification of agriculture ¹²⁶ .	33% of the UK’s soils are thought to be degraded and 2.9 million tonnes of topsoil are lost through erosion each year. It can take centuries to reverse, has significant negative impacts such as flooding, on agriculture and biodiversity, and releases otherwise locked-in carbon emissions.

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