Removing pollutants from the environment

Decontaminating the environment

Description

Removing pollutants from the environment involves identifying, extracting, and neutralizing harmful substances from air, water, and soil to restore ecological balance and protect public health. This strategy employs methods such as filtration, bioremediation, chemical treatment, and waste removal to address contamination from industrial, agricultural, and urban sources. Its practical intent is to reduce toxic exposure, rehabilitate ecosystems, and prevent further environmental degradation by directly eliminating or mitigating specific pollutants at their source or affected sites.

Implementation

This strategy features in the framework of Agenda 21 as formulated at UNCED (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), now coordinated by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development and implemented through national and local authorities.

Agenda 21 recommends developing processes to remove pollutants from the environment, including accidental oil spills, where conventional techniques are not available or are expensive, inefficient or inadequate.