Editing Geography of Lithuania (section)

==Environment==

Concerned with environmental deterioration, Lithuanian governments have created several [[List of national parks of Lithuania|national parks]] and reservations.<ref name=":0" /> The country's flora and fauna have suffered, however, from an almost fanatical drainage of land for agricultural use.<ref name=":0" /> Environmental problems of a different nature were created by the development of environmentally unsafe industries.<ref name=":0" /> [[Air pollution]] problems exist mainly in the cities, such as [[Vilnius]], [[Kaunas]], [[Jonava]], [[Mažeikiai]], [[Elektrėnai]], and [[Naujoji Akmenė]]—the sites of fertilizer and other chemical plants, an oil refinery, power station, and a cement factory.<ref name=":0" />

Water quality has also been an issue.<ref name=":0" /> The city of Kaunas, with a population of about 400,000, had no water purification plant until 1999; sewage was sent directly into the [[Neman River]]. [[Sewage treatment|Tertiary wastewater]] treatment is scheduled to come on-line in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.watertime.net/docs/WP2/D23_Kaunas.doc |title=Wastewater treatment in Kaunas |access-date=2006-12-03 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303205418/http://www.watertime.net/docs/WP2/D23_Kaunas.doc |url-status=live }}</ref> River and lake pollution are other legacies of Soviet carelessness with the environment. The [[Courland Lagoon]], for example, separated from the Baltic Sea by a strip of high dunes and pine forests, is about 85 percent contaminated.<ref name=":0" /> Beaches in the Baltic resorts, such as the well-known vacation area of [[Palanga]], are frequently closed for swimming because of contamination.<ref name=":0" /> Forests affected by [[acid rain]] are found in the vicinity of Jonava, Mažeikiai, and Elektrėnai, which are the chemical, oil, and power-generation centers.<ref name=":0" /> Lithuania was among the first former [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet republics]] to introduce environmental regulations.<ref name=":0" /> However, because of Moscow's emphasis on increasing production and because of numerous local violations, technological backwardness, and political apathy, serious environmental problems now exist.<ref name=":0" />

'''Natural hazards:'''
hurricane-force storms, blizzards, droughts, floods

'''Environment—current issues:'''
contamination of soil and groundwater with petroleum products and chemicals at former [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] military bases

'''Environment—international agreements:'''

* ''party to:''

[[Air Pollution]], Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, [[Biodiversity]], Climate Change, Climate Change-[[Kyoto Protocol]], [[Desertification]], [[Endangered Species]], [[Environmental Modification]], [[Hazardous Wastes]], [[Law of the Sea]], Ozone Layer Protection, [[Ship Pollution]], [[Wetlands]]

* ''signed, but not ratified:''