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GOAL 7:
ENSURE ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Target 7.A:
Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources
Forests are a safety net, especially for the poor, but they continue to disappear at an alarming rate.
An increase in afforestation, a slight decrease in deforestation and the natural expansion of forests have reduced the net loss of forest from an average of 8.3 million hectares annually in the 1990s to an average of 5.2 million hectares annually between 2000 and 2010.
Between 1990 and 2012, global emissions of carbon dioxide increased by over 50 per cent.
Ozone-depleting substances have been virtually eliminated, and the ozone layer is expected to recover by the middle of this century.
Target 7.B:
Reduce biodiversity loss, achieving,
by 2010, a significant reduction in the
rate of loss
Protected ecosystems covered 15.2 per cent of land and 8.4 per cent of coastal marine areas worldwide by 2014.
Target 7.C:
Halve, by 2015, the proportion of the population
without sustainable access to safe drinking water
and basic sanitation
The world has met the target of halving the proportion of people without access to improved sources of water, five years ahead of schedule.
Between 1990 and 2015, 2.6 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources.
Worldwide 2.1 billion people have gained access to improved sanitation. Despite progress, 2.4 billion are still using unimproved sanitation facilities, including 946 million people who are still practicing open defecation.
Target 7.D:
Achieve, by 2020, a significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers
Between 2000 and 2014, more than 320 million people living in slums gained access to improved water sources, improved sanitation facilities, or durable or less crowded housing, thereby exceeding the MDG target.
More than 880 million people are estimated to be living in slums today, compared to 792 million in 2000 and 689 million in 1990.
