What are the five major human-driven causes of biodiversity loss?

Researchers have identified five major human-driven causes of biodiversity loss, which are significantly altering the Earth's ecosystems:1

• Habitat loss and degradation: This is the leading cause of biodiversity decline. It involves the destruction, fragmentation, or thinning of natural environments—often for agriculture, urban development, or resource extraction—which eliminates the food resources and living space necessary for species survival.12
• Invasive species: These are non-native organisms that disrupt ecosystems by outcompeting native species for essential resources like food and habitat. They often thrive in new environments where they lack natural predators.13
• Overexploitation: This occurs when species are harvested—through hunting, fishing, or gathering—at rates faster than their populations can reproduce and recover, often leading to population depletion or extinction.14
• Pollution: The introduction of harmful substances or energy into the environment at rates that exceed natural dispersal or decomposition processes creates health and reproductive problems for organisms, threatening their survival.15
• Climate change: Driven by human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels, global warming alters temperature and precipitation patterns. Many species are unable to adapt to these rapid environmental shifts, making climate change an increasingly critical driver of biodiversity loss.1