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One 2 Trinity on Flickr
Habitat depletion or loss is a major threat to the planet’s ecosystem. A world wide problem, it occurs as a result of factors like clear cut deforestation for urbanization and commercial development. Conversion of rain forest and other natural ecosystems to serve agriculture, livestock production and manufacturing needs hasten the decline of biodiversity on land, in the ocean and coastal regions.
The destruction and fragmentation of these habitats due to human encroachment is devastating, forcing birds, fish and animals into areas in which they survive marginally. Development also creates barriers to the natural movement, migration and reproduction of many species of birds and animals. Delicate plant and fresh water ecosystems are also adversely affected by a lack of agricultural diversity and short sighted fresh water management driven by the needs of industrial development.
Greenhouse gases, factory emissions and runoff, along with pollution of the environment from landfills and dumps are all contributing factors. The building of access roads and highways to accommodate population shifts into more desirable rural areas is also a major contributor to fragmentation and habitat depletion. Habitat loss creates a domino effect, in that many of these interdependent ecosystems rely on one another for survival and the collapse of one can signal the loss of many. Concerns over habitat depletion have begun to cause a shift in some areas to reclaim and rehabilitate these lost and fragmented environments and thus habitat restoration is on the rise.
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