Environmental degradation, according to Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is deterioration in environmental quality from ambient concentrations

of pollutants and other activities and processes such as improper land use and natural disasters. It is a term to describe a situation in which a part of the natural environment is damaged. It can be used to refer to damage to the land, to water or the air. Environmental degradation can also means a loss of natural resources in an area. There are some causes and effects that contribute to the environmental degradation. First and foremost, the first cause of environmental degradation is improper management of solid wastes. For example in Bhubaneswar, India. The city generates around 480 Metric Tonne of solid wastes presently [8].From the physical and chemical characteristics of waste it is known that the waste have high organic content [9].After collection of wastes from different wards they are transported to open dumping yards situated at different places in and around the city. No processing of solid waste are done before disposal hence degrade the environment in the following manner. Air pollution due to bad odour of wastes, fugitive dust, wind blown litter etc. Surface and ground water contamination by the leachates coming out from the dumping yards. Anaerobic decomposition of solid wastes occur inside the dumping yards which results in the emission of CH4 ,CO2 and other trace gases. These gases contribute to global warming and is one of the main reasons of high temperature in summer in Bhubaneswar. Humans one of the cause of environmental degradation. Positive and negative things come out of degradation, but most of it is negative. One of the only positive things that come out of degradation is that people have space to make homes. Water and air pollution caused by humans can cause environmental degradation. Humans use machines, such as bulldozers, to clear large amounts of land for things already present, such as shopping centers and grocery stores . Careless actions toward the environment may result in the environment not providing the resources we need, and it may eventually collapse around us. For example, salt is spread on the icy road in under 15F weather, the salt does not dissolve. Its presence and spreading it to surrounding areas may make animals sick. We use up our fossil fuels very quickly, and they are not renewable resources, but they do just the environment. Burning coal and causing air pollution is just one example of using up our fossil fuels. When people do not properly dispose of waste they are killing the environment by giving it chemicals it does not need. Many people create groups and organizations to prevent environmental degradation from happening, but it is extremely hard to stop. People have changed the way we look at environmental degradation in the past few years because it has become one of the major concerns in the world.Environmental degradation is definitely an issue, but we have realized it and are trying to fix it. Due to environmental degradation human as well as all other creatures have to face great problems such as pollution. Air pollution results in respiratory diseases, air-borne diseases, skin disease, throat and chest infection etc and also melts the snow that causes landslides and floods. Water pollution causes various water-borne diseases such as cholera, typhoid, dysentery etc. human

activities are the main reasons for the environmental degradation. Many new germs grow when a environment is polluted. Due to polluted air, respiratory diseases emerge and water population causes various epidemics. Similarly, sound pollution causes deafness, sleeplessness and even digestive diseases. Environmental degradation results scarcity of various items which are necessary to continue our life. The amount of production will declines as the fertility of soil decreases. Similarly drought and excessive rainfall destroy the crops. the raw materials needed for the industries for not obtained and it brings the scarcity of food, clothes and other equipments which are necessary to conduct the daily activities. Many living things in the environments around the world are affected by degradation, including animals. Animals play a very important role in our environment, and with degradation killing many animals, we are running into a problem. From lack of food, many animals die of starvation. Animals lose shelter and food sources because of degradation. Pollution even we cause can hurt the animals in the environment, even when we just leave plastic pop holders out on the ground, which animals can choke on. Animals are also affected by many kind of pollution, including air pollution which basically suffocates them to death. Animals shelters and food sources are destroyed not only by humans, but by natural degradation. During winter, salt is distributed on the roads, but some goes on the sides of the roads, and when animals eat plants that are contaminated with the salt, they may get severely sick, or even die. When there is overpopulation of livestock, that can cause overgrazing, which is a way to cause land degradation. Degradation in areas such as the rainforest cause many animals to not only lose food supply and shelter, but their lives. In the African savanna, people kill white rhinoceros for their horns, and leave the animal carcass dead in its last steps. Now, this species is almost to the point of extinction. Many fish and marine wildlife are killed from overfishing and getting caught in fishing nets and pollution, which cause degradation. Hippopotamuses in Serengeti National Park are at risk of poaching and from competition for scarce water resources because of the growing rate of human population (overpopulation), which causes animals to die and destroy the environment. Many people in places around the world are causing degradation from hunting too much. If people hunt and kill too many animals, the environment will collapse. Many humans do just not understand the effects of hunting towards the environment. As a conclusion, there are some causes that lead to environmental degradation which are improper management of solid wastes and human action. We, as human should think twice before doing anything. Any action done by us can bring consequences in a long or short time. The environmental degradation also gave some impacts on animals living and humans face some great problems. Thus, it is important for us to take care of our nature in order to live in prosper condition.