NAIROBI, Oct 25, 2007 (AFP) – Following are key points from the fourth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-4) report, issued on Thursday by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) — Of major vertebrate groups on the planet, 30 percent of amphibians, 23 percent of mammals and 12 percent of birds are threatened — Humanity’s current “footprint”, or environmental demand, is 21.9 hectares (54.75 acres) per person, while Earth’s biological capacity is only 15.7 hectares (39.25 acres) per person
— In Africa, per capita food production has declined by 12 percent since 1981
— Developing countries will probably need another 120 million hectares (463,000 square miles), an area nearly the size of South Africa, to feed themselves by 2030
— The proportion of Africans living below the poverty line rose from 47.6 percent in 1985 to 59 percent in 2000
— Availability of clean freshwater is declining yet water use is predicted to be risen by 50 percent in developing countries by 2025
— Ten percent of the world’s major rivers fail to reach the sea for part of the year because they are so drained for irrigation
— Fishing capacity, helped by subsidies,