Pollution is the process of making land, water, air or other parts of the environment dirty and unsafe that may have adverse effect on human. The World Wildlife Fund states that any ecosystems can be affected with multiple forms of contamination- streams full of toxic chemicals from industrial processes and mining, rivers overloaded with nutrients from farms, trash blowing away from landfills, city skies covered in smog.
Just as humans are regularly harmed by pollution, long-term exposure to air pollution of wildlife species can also lead to chronic respiratory diseases. Toxic chemicals that accumulate in top predators can make some species unsafe to eat.
Effects of Pollution:
Even landscapes that appear pristine can experience the effects of pollution sources located hundreds or thousands of miles away . Pollution may muddy landscapes, poison soils and waterways, or kill plants and animals. The effect of Pollution on habitat have a domino effect on biodiversity loss. Forest cover loss due to illegal activities in the forest had pushed wildlife species like endemic mammal and bird species out of their habitat to other areas where they are prone to poaching and hunting. Contamination of the rivers, lakes and the ocean from sediments of unregulated mining operations can damage and kill marine animals such as fish, corals and sea grasses.
In a report by the Ocean Conservancy last 2015, the Philippines ranks 3rd among the highest contributors of plastic waste in the world. These waste has caused the degradation of our coastal ecosystem and reduction of the population of our marine species.
Ocean Conservancy, 2015
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