Biodiversity

Overexploitation

Meaning statusEstablishedSource recordDirect document linkedWhy these are different

Definition

Overexploitation is the unsustainable harvesting of species from the wild — through fishing, hunting, logging, trade or gathering — at rates that exceed the capacity of populations to recover. Global assessments identify it as one of the largest direct drivers of biodiversity loss, historically the dominant driver in the oceans and second only to land-use change on land.

References

IPBESGlobal Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (2019)

direct drivers ranking and definition

IUCNRed List threat classification scheme

use of overexploitation as a threat category

Overview

What it means

Overexploitation has driven countless species declines and extinctions, from whales and great auks to overfished stocks and trafficked wildlife today. It often interacts with other drivers: habitat loss shrinks populations that exploitation then pushes past recovery thresholds.

How it is used

The term is standard in conservation science and policy, including IPBES global assessments, IUCN Red List threat classification, CITES trade regulation and fisheries management.

Why it matters

Controlling overexploitation is among the most direct conservation levers available — through quotas, protected areas, trade controls and enforcement — and is central to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets.