Deltas

ISSUES

Deltas and estuaries

Deltas and estuaries constitute the intermediary area between the river and marine environments. A delta is a sedimentary overhang of land on the sea; an estuary is an indentation GLOSSARY at the mouth of a river which allows, to the contrary, the sea to advance into the land. They are generally characterized by variations in salinity –the presence of a freshwater on one side and marine saltwater on the other– as well as by great biomass and production, due mainly to the abundance of nutrients caught up in the water and sediment. This production is estimated at 680g/m3/year, compared to 42 in the oceanic domain and 120 for the continental seas.
Deltas around the world
Approximately forty large deltas exist, the largest being that of the Amazon, covering 467,000 km2, followed by the Gange-Brahmapoutre (Bangladesh), measuring 105,600 km². Among the other large deltas, two are located in China, two in Vietnam (including t...

NEWS

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NIGERIA - GENEVE - Les fuites de pétrole dans le delta du Niger ont des conséquences sur l'environnement bien "pires" que la...

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - LA NOUVELLE-ORLEANS - Des milliers de poissons morts ont été découverts à l'embouchure du Mississippi, en Louisiane, et...

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - WASHINGTON - La lutte contre la fuite de pétrole à l'origine de la marée noire du golfe du Mexique est "quasiment...

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DEBATES

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FOCUS

-Les mangroves, une richesse trop longtemps ignorée

We have tended in the past to regard mangrove swamps as being of little use to humans. They occupy muddy coastlines in tropical regions, tend to be infested with mosquitoes, and are easily flooded by the sea or...

VIDEOS

04/05/2010	Christian Guinard raconte son engagement comme défenseur des rivières et...	08/04/2010	Le delta du Nil doit faire face aux défis du changement climatique. La...
17/07/2009	Au Bangladesh, l’UNDP (programme des Nations Unis pour le développement)...	04/05/2009	L’eau demeure une ressource rare. Le WWF propose un récapitulatif des...

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INDICATORS

Biocapacity
National biodiversity index
Protected areas

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