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* The loss of productivity, quality and decline in fertility of ecosystems as a result of human activities and severe weather

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* Pollutants such as carbon, nitrogen & sulphur are released into the atmosphere from factories

* This change in the atmosphere + reduction in rainforest cover = increase in global climate temperatures

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* Human activities have reduced the quality & quantity of clean fresh water in places like rivers, lakes & wetlands

* Extracting water and damming have also caused damage

* Over extraction has lead to shriking lakes and increased water salinity

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* water pollution is the contamination of our rivers, lakes, wetlands, estuaries, seas and oceans.

* Can be the result of human activities either:
- near the water (e.g shipping, fishing and oil drilling)
- further away (e.g the use of chemicals in farming, litering, clearning land , crwating landill and processing sewage

* In extreme cases = large food shortages

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* Damming rivers allow for water supply, flood control and hydroelectricity, however, it can also be negative

* Pollution from farms and industry sources entering these waters has also caused damage

* Dams disrupt the flow of water, flooding some areas and preventing water from reaching other areas

* It also affects the natural processes in an ecosystem such as the provision of fertile soil, food production and fresh water.

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* Process of natural ecosystems becoming degraded and their health decreasing
* This may be through
- loss of vegetation
- invasion of alien plant
- animal pests
- decline in the quality of rivers & streams
* Ecosystem decline + bad soil quality = degration that can lead to desertifcation

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* considered to be the world's worst environmental risk today

* Air pollution can =
- increased rates of asthma
- lung disease
- heart disease

* 3.5 million people die from air pollution (outdoor) each year

* Tougher laws & restrictions regarding emissions have been implemented across the world to help combat this problem

* It is extreme in Asia and Africa mainly due to the rapid growth and expansion of cities

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* The loss of fertility of the soil
* Can be because of:
- a chemical change
- compacted by large machinery
- trampled by hard hooved animals
- a build-up of fertilizer = becomes acidic
- intense farming = loss of soil nutrients
* Problem in Australia as the build-up of salt in the soil called salinity

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* soil is gradually worn away by natural factors in an ecosystem
- such as rivers, waves, wind
* Human activities can accelerate this erosion
- such as logging & excessive farming
* Cleared land is more vulnerable to
- wind erosion
- gully erosion
- sheet erosion