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Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.
Habitat destruction leading to climate change offsets the balance of species keeping up with the extinction threshold leading to a higher likelihood of extinction. [45] Habitat loss is one of the main environmental causes of the decline of biodiversity on local, regional, and global scales.
[113] [114] Habitat destruction is in fact the leading cause of biodiversity loss and species extinction worldwide. [115] Humans contribute to habitat destruction through the use of natural resources, agriculture, industrial production and urbanization (urban sprawl). Other activities include mining, logging and trawling. Environmental factors ...
The environmental impact of fishing can be divided into issues that involve the availability of fish to be caught, such as overfishing, sustainable fisheries, and fisheries management; and issues that involve the impact of fishing on other elements of the environment, such as by-catch and destruction of habitat such as coral reefs. [51]
An ecological or environmental crisis occurs when changes to the environment of a species or population destabilizes its continued survival. Some of the important causes include: Degradation of an abiotic ecological factor (for example, increase of temperature, less significant rainfalls) Increased pressures from predation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest ... now the leading cause of ... can cause environmental damage sufficient in some cases ...
In northern Peru, the World Bank's business-lending arm is part owner of the Yanacocha gold mine, accused by impoverished farming communities of despoiling their land in pursuit of the precious ore. The bank and IFC have stepped up investments in projects deemed to have a high risk of serious and environment damage, including oil pipelines, mines and even coal-fired power plants, an ...
Natural hazards are excluded as a cause; however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and wildfires. One of the impacts of land degradation is that it can diminish the natural capacity of the land to store and filter water leading to water scarcity. Human-induced land degradation and water scarcity are increasing the ...