BUJUMBURA June 8th (ABP) – The atmosphere is threatened by pollution all over the world in general and in the most industrialized countries in particular, because of human activities, says Elias Niyongabo, environmentalist and biodiversity expert, in an interview with the check by ABP, on Wednesday June 5, 2019, on the occasion of the celebration of the World Environment Day, under the theme “air pollution”.
Mr. Niyongabo defines the atmosphere as a mixture of gases in which a natural balance is established. “We talk of atmospheric pollution when an imbalance caused by a gas is introduced or withdraws itself from the system that is created,” he adds. The causes of air pollution are multiple and vary from one geographical area to another, Mr. Niyongabo said. In the industrialized countries, he continues to say, the main causes are diesel engine fumes, processing plants that use carbon-based energy sources such as peat and the decomposition of the elements that generate carbon dioxide. The environment expert points out that, at the level of Burundi, the major sources of atmospheric degradation are bush fires and the energy sources used, especially wood. All these pollutants are responsible for the production of carbon dioxide (CO2), which in turn causes global warming, Niyongabo explains.
The consequences of this pollution are enormous, because the air becomes impure. Mr. Niyongabo said that once this air breathed, it can be the basis of lung disease, adding that the World Health Organization (WHO) refers to malformed births because of this pollution, and remains to verify that some cancers would be sources in the breathing of impure air.
Some of the plant and animal species also tend to disappear, because once there is a warming in the atmosphere, either the species adapt to it or they disappear, says Niyongabo. With this pollution, agricultural production may also fall, while the population increases geometrically. Without any action of protection of the atmosphere, the cases of serious famines will be registered soon. Mr. Niyongabo also mentioned the danger of natural disasters, especially in the seas and oceans, or in some islands and islets that may disappear.
Mr. Niyongabo calls on all humanity to act as soon as possible, if not, tomorrow may be too late.
