overexploited

Overexploitation refers to the unsustainable extraction, harvesting, or use of natural resources at a rate that exceeds their capacity to regenerate or recover, or that damages the integrity of ecosystems. It results in depletion of stocks, soil degradation, and loss of biodiversity, undermining long-term productivity and services provided by ecosystems.

Commonly discussed in fisheries, forests, groundwater, and wildlife, overexploitation occurs when harvest or extraction surpasses natural replenishment. Examples include overfished fish stocks, clear-cutting beyond regrowth rates, aquifer depletion, and illegal wildlife hunting.

Drivers include rising demand, high prices, subsidies that encourage extraction, weak governance, lack of property or user rights, illegal trade, and climate change affecting resilience.

Consequences include economic vulnerability for communities, reduced yields, ecosystem degradation, loss of livelihoods, food insecurity, and disruption of services like pollination, water filtration, and flood protection.

Mitigation and policy options include science-based quotas, gear restrictions, protected areas, rights-based management, monitoring and enforcement, market incentives, and adaptive management to account for uncertainty and changing conditions.