Biodiversity degradation, also known as biodiversity loss, refers to the decline or disappearance of biological diversity, which is the variety of living things that inhabit the planet, its different levels of biological organization, and their respective genetic variability, as well as the natural patterns present in ecosystems. Biodiversity loss can occur at different levels, including the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The causes of biodiversity loss are complicated, and the human population is making the problems worse. The top drivers of biodiversity loss are habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation, which are caused by the increasing encroachment of industrial activities and farming, fueled by demand from high-consumption lifestyles in wealthy countries and rising consumption in low- and middle-income countries. Climate change is another threat to global biodiversity, and habitat destruction, for example, for the expansion of agriculture, is currently the more significant driver of contemporary biodiversity loss, not climate change. Biodiversity loss also threatens the structure and proper functioning of ecosystems. Declining biodiversity lowers an ecosystem’s productivity and lowers the quality of the ecosystems services.
