Environmental Degradation and Sustainability

Environmental degradation is the main factor reducing sustainability. This chapter introduces the environmental degradation processes (i.e. desertification, pollution, land degradation, snow ablation and glacier retreat, dams and resettlement) and their relationships to environmental sustainability. Environmental degradation will impact human health and wellbeing, lead to the loss of biodiversity and ozone layer depletion, affect the tourism industry, and require huge cost and effort for recovery (e.g. restoration of green cover, soil remediation and protection of endangered species). Sustainable development requires the collaboration and effort of international organizations, national governments, non-government organizations, local communities and the public to address the challenges related to environmental degradation and to solve cross-cutting, complex and challenging issues at different levels.