Human influences are too high and greatly impair the health of the Mediterranean basin. This is especially true considering the amount of people that live and work on its coast, the population increase, and subsequent economic and industrial growth in these areas to accommodate this growth. Wastewaters are untreated waters that have been used in homes, businesses and industries before being expelled to other areas. Around 70-85% of them are disposed of into the Mediterranean Basin, contaminating it with substances that don’t belong there and that negatively affect the ecosystems present. The principal industries using the Mediterranean as a dump for waste, are chemical, leather, metal production, refineries and mine ones (e.g. petrol refineries that release 20.000 tonnes of product per year) (IUCN). However, even treated waters can have a significant impact on the marine ecosystem if continuously released in the Mediterranean. This has a physical impact on physico-chemical and biological water quality, biodiversity, trophic networks, human health and human life. Furthermore, these also impact nature reserves as they are in connected systems with the Mediterranean, while also affecting protected species and central protected areas for biodiversity (Guittonny-Philippe et al, 2013). This is extremely important considering that non-protected areas of the Basin are exploited and polluted daily.

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Useful: Human perception