Environmental Engineering Reference
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as the percentage of live coral on reefs, to the percentage of
coastal people served by adequate sanitary facilities, and the
extent of arctic sea ice. The developers of the Index analyzed
over 200 data sets and measured each country's score against
reference points that set standards of maximum sustainable
use. The Index can provide guidance for ocean policy since
it includes current status, trends, and factors affecting sus-
tainability. It should enable managers to focus on important
actions to improve the health of the ocean, promote awareness
of the state of the oceans, and be a guide for decision-makers.
The overall global score was 60 out of 100 (barely passing).
Almost one-third of the world's countries earned a score of 50
or lower. But 5% of the nations scored higher than 70, show-
ing that there are successes. Developing nations, which are
generally less able to plan and control ocean usage, tended
to have lower scores, and developed nations generally had
higher scores. The United States received a score of 63; Britain,
61; India, 52; and China, 51. Jarvis Island (an uninhabited 1¼
square mile island in the Pacific) had the highest score of 86.
The Clean Water category averaged pollution intensity
from chemicals, excessive nutrients, pathogens, and trash; the
target (for a score of 100)  was to have zero pollution. Russia
was rated first for clean water, with a score of 97, and Benin in
West Africa was the lowest, with a score of 22. Four measures
contributed to the score:  the amount of pollution, the trends
(percent rise or fall over the past five years), the stresses, and
resilience (actions taken to reduce stresses). Countries with
long coastlines relative to their size (e.g., islands) tended to
have higher scores. Some small islands got high scores because
they are relatively uninhabited (e.g. Jarvis Island) or located in
remote regions with reduced pressures. On the other hand,
Russia and Canada, which have very long coastlines, scored
well because they have long uninhabited coastlines along the
Arctic, and because they manage water quality well in their
populated regions.
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