Environmental degradation: what it is, causes, consequences and examples

Environmental degradation is defined as the process of deterioration suffered by the environment as a consequence of the depletion of its natural resources due to the overexploitation to which they are subjected; thus causing the destruction of ecosystems and their biodiversity.

The symptoms of environmental degradation are many, among them are:

• Global warming.
• The destruction of the ozone layer.
• The appearance of new diseases.
• The extent of existing diseases.
• Food insecurity.
• The accumulation of waste.

Environmental degradation is also directly related to the economic development of a country and all those activities that are developed to obtain natural resources and to generate goods and services. In addition, another factor to take into account is population growth, since the larger the population it is necessary to obtain more resources and generation of goods and services to meet their needs. Therefore, it could be said that environmental degradation occurs due to the combination of population growth, economic growth and the use of polluting technology. There are many activities that cause environmental degradation , among them are:

• Urbanization growth: as the population increases, it causes a change in land use, which will be used for urban settlements. As a consequence, an increase in the use of water and energy is generated, as well as the generation of waste and pollutants.
• Increase in agricultural and livestock activities: intensive agriculture and livestock, not only causes a loss in the quality of the soil due to bad practices and the use of agrochemicals, but to be able to sustain them they need large amounts of water and the use of fuels fossils to carry out all the tasks that are carried out. The use of fossil fuels ends up emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, thus contributing to global warming.
• Increase in fishing activity: this increase is also due to population growth; unsustainable fishing can lead to the disappearance of many of the species that inhabit marine ecosystems.
• Transportation: produces a large amount of atmospheric pollutant emissions, altering the quality of the air and being a danger to people’s health. But not only emissions are a problem, also all the waste generated by transport such as oils, lubricants, scrap metal, the generation of noise, as well as the need for hydrocarbons to make them work.
• Industry: although industry creates jobs, it is one of the causes that creates the greatest impact on the environment. They generate large amounts of waste of all kinds, thus polluting the soil, water and atmosphere. It requires the burning of fossil fuels for power generation and some are highly dangerous, causing a major environmental disaster in the event of an accident.
• Deforestation: due to deforestation , many of the planet’s ecosystems are being destroyed, as well as the biodiversity found in them and, on many occasions, even indigenous settlements are being destroyed.

The consequences of environmental degradation are becoming more and more worrying, and in some cases they are even irreversible. Here are some of them:

• Loss of water quality and depletion of it.
• Destruction of ecosystems and the environment .
• Desertification and loss of soil quality.
• Increase and extension of diseases.
• Displacement and extinction of animal and plant species.
• Salinization of coastal areas due to the increase in sea level due to the deglaciation of the poles, due to the increase in temperature caused by global warming.
• Increase of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Here are some examples of environmental degradation :

• Water degradation: this is not only altered by the polluting substances that come to them from industries and agrochemicals used in agriculture, but there is also a shortage in places where water was abundant before, and all due to overexploitation. In addition, it happens that not all over the world water receives a good purifying treatment. In this link we talk about the Causes and contamination of water .
• Soil degradation: the soil is not renewable and its recovery is very expensive, it looks very deteriorated since the use of it is changed not only for urban extension, but also for intensive activities such as agriculture or livestock, among other Here we tell you more about what is soil degradation and the causes, consequences and solutions for soil contamination .
• Air degradation: this is degraded when there is the presence of harmful and harmful substances from emissions that can be emitted by industries or transport. Enter here you will learn more about the Causes, consequences and solutions for air pollution .

If you want to read more articles similar to Environmental degradation: what it is, causes, consequences and examples , we recommend that you enter our category of Other environment .