NAIROBI, March 4 (Xinhua) -- The rising toll of nitrogen pollution linked to mechanized farming and burning of fossil fuels to power transport, energy and industrial sectors, should be tackled urgently in order to improve the health of people and ecosystems, a report said Monday.

According to the 2018/19 frontiers report by UN Environment, nitrogen worth an estimated 200 billion U.S. dollars is being released into the environment annually where it is polluting the air, soils and fresh waterbodies at an alarming rate.

"The world continues to pump out nitrogen pollution that contributes significantly to declines in air quality, deterioration of terrestrial and aquatic environments, exacerbation of climate change and depletion of ozone layer," says the frontier report.

It says that uncontrolled nitrogen pollution could hinder attainment of sustainable development goals since it will compromise human health, functioning of ecosystems and economies.

The report said that besides nitrogen pollution, other issues of emerging environmental concern globally include synthetic biology, maladaptation to climate change, thawing of peatlands in the arctic and fragmentation of biodiversity hotspots due to human activities.

"The issues examined in the Frontiers should serve as a reminder that, whenever we interfere with nature -whether at global scale or the molecular level - we risk creating long-lasting impacts on our planetary home," said Joyce Msuya, the acting Executive Director of the UN Environment.

She noted that sustainable management of fertilizers and other products derived from nitrogen compound is key to promoting growth of the circular economy.

"Ultimately, the recovery and recycling of nitrogen, as well as other valuable nutrients and materials, can help us farm cleanly and sustainably, a hallmark of a truly circular economy," said Msuya.

She hailed efforts by China, India and the European Union to reduce production and consumption of nitrogen fertilizers that are to blame for algal blooms carpeting waterways.

The UN Environment frontiers report acknowledges that nitrogen is critical to food production but proposed alternatives that are less harmful to the environment.

Christopher Cox, a programs officer at UN Environment's Ecosystems Division, said that countries should enact progressive legal and policy instruments to boost management of nitrogen waste.

"There should be incentives in place to reduce farmers' reliance on nitrogen fertilizers," said Cox adding that targeted interventions by local communities and industry are key to reducing nitrogen pollution on vital ecosystems.