Environmental Politics Biodiversity Conservation Questions
Overexploitation is a threat to biodiversity because it involves the excessive use or extraction of natural resources from ecosystems, leading to the depletion or extinction of species. This can occur through activities such as overfishing, illegal hunting, deforestation, and unsustainable harvesting of plants or animals. Overexploitation disrupts the delicate balance within ecosystems, causing a decline in biodiversity by directly reducing the population sizes of certain species or eliminating them entirely. It can also have indirect effects, such as disrupting food chains and ecological interactions, which can further impact the overall health and stability of ecosystems. Ultimately, overexploitation threatens biodiversity by reducing the variety of species and their genetic diversity, which is essential for the resilience and long-term survival of ecosystems.