Pressure on water resources affects habitats, particularly wetlands, and can lead to contamination and depletion of surface and groundwater, causing soil degradation, excessive salinity, and desertification. In the EU, the Accession Countries and the European Free Trade Association countries, total water resources amount to 1897 km 3/year, of which 16 per cent are abstracted and 5 per cent consumed (not returned to the site of abstraction).