8 sudden rise in oil prices in the summer of 2008 may have resulted in a panic-driven phosphate market. Although the high spot prices of 2008 are bound to go down in the near future, cheap phosphate will be a thing of the past (e.g. Cordell et al., 2009). Global phosphate consumption in the form of animal manures and fertilisers, biosolids and detergents has also led to widespread eutrophication of soils, lakes, rivers and estuaries (e.g. EEA, 2005; FAO, 2006; EEA, 2009). Consequently, much of the nutrient-poor ecosystems in the western world have been degraded or have even disappeared. The use of phosphate fertilisers has also led to soil and groundwater being contaminated with harmful trace metals such as cadmium (see e.g. Nziguheba and Smolders, 2008). For economic as well as environmental reasons, it seems necessary to reconsider our phosphate consumption pattern, and to come to a more sustainable use of our phosphate resources. In this study, conducted on behalf of the Dutch Innovation Network, current developments in global phosphate production and consumption patterns are reviewed (Chapters 2 and 3), and various scenarios for the future availability of phosphate resources are presented (Chapter 4). Furthermore, the phosphate consumption patterns in the Netherlands are reviewed and discussed (Chapter 5), and diï¬erent options for a more sustainable use of phosphate in the Netherlands are described (Chapter 6). Pagina 17
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