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Environmental degradation

 

 
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Environmental degradation
 
 
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Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment
Environment (biophysical)

The biophysical environment is the symbiosis between the physics environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and include all variables that comprise the Earth's biosphere....
 through depletion of resources such as air
AIR

Air is the part of Earth's atmosphere that humans breath and as such Air .Air may also refer to:...
, water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 and soil
Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife
Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
.

Environmental degradation is one of the ten threats
Ten threats

The ten threats identified by the High Level Threat Panel of the United Nations are these:# Poverty# Infectious disease# Environmental degradation...
 officially cautioned by the High Level Threat Panel
High Level Threat Panel

The High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change of the United Nations, chaired by former List of Prime Ministers of Thailand Anand Panyarachun and including former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft and several former heads of government and foreign ministers as members, produced in December 2004 what may be the single best int...
 of the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
. The World Resources Institute
World Resources Institute

The World Resources Institute is an environmental think tank founded in 1982 based in Washington, D.C. in the United States.WRI is an independent, non-partisan and nonprofit organization with a staff of more than 100 scientists, economists, policy experts, business analysts, statistical analysts, mapmakers, and communicators developing and...
 (WRI), UNEP (the United Nations Environment Programme), UNDP (the United Nations Development Programme) and the World Bank
World Bank

The World Bank is a bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs with the stated goal of reducing poverty....
 have made public an important report on health
Health

In 1948, the World Health Organisation defined health as ?a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.? ...
 and the environment worldwide on May 1, 1998.

Environmental degradation is of many types.






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Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment
Environment (biophysical)

The biophysical environment is the symbiosis between the physics environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and include all variables that comprise the Earth's biosphere....
 through depletion of resources such as air
AIR

Air is the part of Earth's atmosphere that humans breath and as such Air .Air may also refer to:...
, water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 and soil
Soil

Soil is the naturally occurring, unconsolidated or loose covering on the Earth's surface. Soil is composed of particles of broken rock that have been altered by chemical and environmental processes including weathering and erosion....
; the destruction of ecosystems and the extinction of wildlife
Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
.

Environmental degradation is one of the ten threats
Ten threats

The ten threats identified by the High Level Threat Panel of the United Nations are these:# Poverty# Infectious disease# Environmental degradation...
 officially cautioned by the High Level Threat Panel
High Level Threat Panel

The High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change of the United Nations, chaired by former List of Prime Ministers of Thailand Anand Panyarachun and including former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft and several former heads of government and foreign ministers as members, produced in December 2004 what may be the single best int...
 of the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
. The World Resources Institute
World Resources Institute

The World Resources Institute is an environmental think tank founded in 1982 based in Washington, D.C. in the United States.WRI is an independent, non-partisan and nonprofit organization with a staff of more than 100 scientists, economists, policy experts, business analysts, statistical analysts, mapmakers, and communicators developing and...
 (WRI), UNEP (the United Nations Environment Programme), UNDP (the United Nations Development Programme) and the World Bank
World Bank

The World Bank is a bank that provides financial and technical assistance to developing countries for development programs with the stated goal of reducing poverty....
 have made public an important report on health
Health

In 1948, the World Health Organisation defined health as ?a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.? ...
 and the environment worldwide on May 1, 1998.

Environmental degradation is of many types. When natural habitats are destroyed or natural resources are depleted, environment is degraded.

Environmental Change and Human Health, a special section of World Resources 1998-99 in this report describes how preventable illness
Illness

Illness can be defined as a state of poor health.It is sometimes considered a synonym for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist....
es and premature deaths are still occurring in very large numbers. If vast improvements are made in human health, millions of people will be living longer, healthier lives than ever before. In these poorest regions of the world
World

World is a common name for the planet Earth seen from a human worldview, as a place inhabited by human beings. It is often used to signify the sum of human experience and history, or the 'human condition' in general....
 an estimated one in five children will not live to see their fifth birthday, primarily because of environment-related diseases. Eleven million children die worldwide annually, equal to the combined populations of Norway
Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a constitutional monarchy in Northern Europe that occupies the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula....
 and Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
, and mostly due to malaria
Malaria

Malaria is a Vector -borne infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites. It is widespread in Tropics and subtropical regions, including parts of the Americas, Asia, and Africa....
, acute respiratory infections or diarrhoea — illnesses that are largely preventable.

See also

  • Ecological collapse
    Ecological collapse

    Ecological Collapse refers to a situation where an ecosystem suffers a drastic, if not permanent, reduction in carrying capacity for all organisms, often resulting in mass extinction....
  • Ecologically sustainable development
    Ecologically sustainable development

    Ecologically sustainable development is the environmental component of sustainable development. It can be achieved partially through the use of the precautionary principle, namely that if there are threats of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures...
  • Exploitation of natural resources
    Exploitation of natural resources

    See also*Sustainability*List of environmental issues*Consumerism*Over-consumption...
  • High Level Threat Panel
    High Level Threat Panel

    The High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change of the United Nations, chaired by former List of Prime Ministers of Thailand Anand Panyarachun and including former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft and several former heads of government and foreign ministers as members, produced in December 2004 what may be the single best int...
     of the United Nations
    United Nations

    The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
  • Ten Threats
    Ten threats

    The ten threats identified by the High Level Threat Panel of the United Nations are these:# Poverty# Infectious disease# Environmental degradation...
     identified by the United Nations
    United Nations

    The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
  • United Nations Development Programme
    United Nations Development Programme

    The United Nations Development Programme is the United Nations' global development network. The UNDP is an executive board within the United Nations General Assembly....
     (UNDP)
  • United Nations Environment Programme
    United Nations Environment Programme

    The UN Environment Programme coordinates United Nations environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and encourages sustainable development through sound environmental practices....
     (UNEP)
  • World Resources Institute
    World Resources Institute

    The World Resources Institute is an environmental think tank founded in 1982 based in Washington, D.C. in the United States.WRI is an independent, non-partisan and nonprofit organization with a staff of more than 100 scientists, economists, policy experts, business analysts, statistical analysts, mapmakers, and communicators developing and...
     (WRI
    WRI

    WRI is an initialism for:*Wesley Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia*Wolfram Research*World Resources Institute*War Resisters' International...
    )


External links

  • The First North American Explorers of the Amazon Valley, by Historian Normand E. Klare. Actual Reports from the explorers are compared with present Amazon Basin conditions.