When ecosystems are exploited, their balance is modified. As a consequence, health and productive capacity are compromised. Each human intervention on the environment management should therefore be studied according to the consequences that it might have for the ecosystem well being and its productivity. Such a perspective requires the whole of the ecosystem to be considered.
Man has always thought he would be able to alter the environment in which he lives to fulfil his own needs. Often though, he has not considered the consequences of this behaviour, and actually man has acted to obtain a certain effect, achieving instead the absolute opposite. A typical example may be the destruction of very productive ecosystems, such as estuaries and swamps or the destruction of the tropical forest, to make room for farming.
Mussel farming
Marble quarry
Mining activities
Ski touring
Hiking
Bauxite quarry
Terraced salt pans Peru
Saline in Sicily
Taiga and deforestation
Ecosystems and human activities
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