Human Society's Impact on Ecosystems - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Human society engages in various activities that negatively affect the ecosystem. These include overhunting, deforestation, creating pollution, overpopulation and non-native species introductions. Overhunting affects the animals’ targeted leading to in extreme cases, extinction. Indirectly, it affects the ecosystem of other species of animals or plants that may have been dependent on the threatened animal for food or as a way to keep their population in check. An example is a white rhino in Africa because of overhunting by poachers the species is nearly extinct (Morgan, 2012).
Deforestation directly affects plant life and indirectly affects other forms of life. Human society needs wood for different purposes. However, the overexploitation of forests and woodlands is detrimental to the ecosystem. Apart from plant life being destroyed, habitats are also affected. According to Butler (2005), Nigeria has the world's utmost deforestation pace. The country of Brazil, on the other hand, loses the biggest area of forest annually, while the Congolese consume more bushmeat than any other humid country all due to human activity. Overpopulation puts undue stress on the ecosystem thus forcing human society to compete with other members for limited resources. Pollution of the ecosystem is another negative impact of humans on the ecosystem. Pollution kills plants and animals and at the same time destroys habitats. Humans also introduce non-native species to new habitats for their own purposes. An animal may be introduced to a new area where it did not exist before to help cut down on an existing pest problem. Soon the new animal begins to have its own impact on the new area, and often it results in problems for other native species. The same may happen in the case of plants (Morgan, 2012).
Grim as it sounds so far, the human society has some positive effects on the ecosystem. Environmental management and preservation, global water management, pollution control and environmental awareness are some of the ways human society positively affects the ecosystem. Although some activities in the list are forced on by human beings, they all have a positive impact (Dinesen, 2012). ...Download file to see next pagesRead More