07/06/2019 (Agence Europe) – Based on monitoring by the Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS), 80% of Europe’s land surface has been altered in one way or another by human activity (transport, housing, roads, agriculture, forests), according to a press release from the Land Observation Programme. This level would make the European continent one of the most “intensively managed” by mankind in the world. The conversion of land to artificial surfaces through land take and soil sealing has been constant, adds the press release, resulting in “irreversible loss” of land. Although the annual rate of land take has slowed, “it is unlikely that the EU's 2050 target of no net land take will be achieved”, it says. To consult the Monitoring Service’s data: https://bit.ly/2QWnI0f (PH)