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Nineteen - Problems with the World’s Ecosystems: The Future and Attempts to Mitigate Decline

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2023

By
Matt W. Hayward
Edited by
Norman Maclean
Norman Maclean
Affiliation:
University of Southampton
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Summary

One species – humans – is ultimately responsible for devastating much of the only planet in the cosmos that is known to support life – Earth. Our population has expanded exponentially since the Industrial Revolution and this, along with the resources required to sustain us, is ultimately driving the decline in the condition of the world’s ecosystems. Examples of species threatened by development (residential/commercial), agriculture, energy production and mining, transportation, biological resource use, natural system modification, invasive species, pollution and climate change are provided. Yet there are solutions to these problems and many species and ecosystems have bounced back from the brink of extinction. Provided the general public and politicians have the will to invest sufficiently in conservation, it can be highly successful. This chapter ends by exploring the variety of ways that humanity can use to improve the status of the world’s ecosystems.

Keywords

ConservationCosta RicaProtected areasZoosBotanical gardensAquariaVultureDiclofenac
Type
Chapter
Information
The Living Planet
The State of the World's Wildlife
 , pp. 349 - 367
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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