overharvesting
Taking too much
Overharvesting is taking too much of a natural resource—fish, timber, wild plants—faster than it can replenish itself.
The term appears in conservation and environmental contexts: Overharvesting of cod collapsed the Atlantic fishery.
Unlike sustainable harvesting, overharvesting depletes populations toward scarcity or extinction.
Excessive resource depletion
- exhaustionState of utter depletion
- decimationNear-total destruction
- scarcityInsufficiency of something needed
- depletionReduction of supply
degradation · overfishing · overhunting · overgrazing · overcultivation · deforestation · clear-cutting · strip-mining
Cannot be maintained indefinitely
- overconsumptionExcessive use of resources
- mismanagementIncompetent handling of responsibilities
- collapseSudden structural failure
- monocultureSingle-crop agricultural system
bycatch · trawling · dredging · moratorium
Selfish use of others
- rapacityAggressive, seizing greed
- plunderingForcible taking of goods
- short-termismFocus on immediate results
- commercializationProfit-driven market introduction
poaching · black-market · commodification · profiteering · unregulated · unlicensed · trafficking · bushmeat
At risk of extinction
- threatenedExpressed intent to harm
- extirpationComplete destruction or removal
- vanishingCeasing to be visible
- poachingUnlawful wildlife capture
critical · survival · rarity · disappearance · irreversible · conservation · preservation · CITES
Insufficiency of something needed
- famineSevere food shortage
- deficitAmount still owed
- insufficiencyShortfall in amount needed
- dearthAcute shortage of something
overexploitation
Excessive resource depletion
- exhaustionState of utter depletion
- decimationNear-total destruction
- scarcityInsufficiency of something needed
depletion · degradation · overfishing · overhunting · overgrazing · overcultivation · deforestation · clear-cutting · strip-mining · despoliation
unsustainable
Cannot be maintained indefinitely
- overconsumptionExcessive use of resources
- mismanagementIncompetent handling of responsibilities
- collapseSudden structural failure
monoculture · bycatch · trawling · dredging · moratorium
exploitation
Selfish use of others
- rapacityAggressive, seizing greed
- plunderingForcible taking of goods
- short-termismFocus on immediate results
commercialization · poaching · black-market · commodification · profiteering · unregulated · unlicensed · trafficking · bushmeat
endangered
At risk of extinction
- threatenedExpressed intent to harm
- extirpationComplete destruction or removal
- vanishingCeasing to be visible
poaching · critical · survival · rarity · disappearance · irreversible · conservation · preservation · CITES
scarcity
Insufficiency of something needed
- famineSevere food shortage
- deficitAmount still owed
- insufficiencyShortfall in amount needed
dearth · shortfall · undersupply · unavailability · crisis
- overuseoveruse, overconsumption, overexploitation, excess, waste
- unsustainabilityresource depletion, overconsumption, overshoot, depletion, exhaustion
- wildlife threatsbiodiversity loss, extinction, habitat loss, poaching, species extinction
- loggingloggers, lumberjacks, chainsaws, chainsaw, felling
overharvestingsustainable harvesting
Resource collection preserving future availability
sustainable yield · underexploitation · sustainable fishing · sustainable logging · restocking
overharvestingconservation
Preventing waste or loss
preservation · stewardship · sustainable management · rewilding · restoration
overharvestingconservation
Preventing waste or loss
preservation · protection · wildlife conservation · resource conservation · environmental stewardship
harvest, harvesting, harvester, harvests, harvesters, harvestable, unharvested, overharvested, overharvest