The action or fact of making excessive use of a resource.
the crisis was caused by the over-exploitation of fish stocks
Example sentencesExamples
The report also mentions the over-exploitation of water resources by domestic, agricultural and industrial users.
One of the country's biggest problems is the over-exploitation of its natural resources including water, forests and soil.
The chairman's text is a plan of action for countries to curb the over-exploitation of the earth's natural resources and to pursue sustainable development.
The forests have been badly depleted by over-exploitation.
Over-exploitation is one factor that has been recognized at an early stage and initiated many attempts to protect certain species.
They must be carefully monitored to ensure that there is no over-exploitation of resources.
Fishing for yellow eels requires careful management to avoid over-exploitation.
Fish stocks across the region are being severely depleted because of over-exploitation.
Entire populations of certain species risk being wiped out by over-exploitation.
It is a fast disappearing species now because of its over-exploitation for its medicinal properties.