CUMULATIVE EFFECTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE

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Cumulative effects can be understood as changes to the environment caused by the combined impacts of the past, present and the future human activities and natural processes.
Many human activities in combination with natural processes result in direct and indirect impacts that collectively impact the environment resulting in cascading responses in ecosystems that usually become unpredictable. Some activities known to have significant impacts on the environment and contribute highly to the cumulative effects are marine resource development, energy production and consumption among others which ultimately intensify global warming and climate change. 
Although many development activities may have individually minor impacts, their impacts collectively over time become substantial, and multiple activities may therefore cause a common stressor, for example, a factory and a nearby landfill may both release a polluting run-off into a river occassioning a massive water pollution. 
Marine ecosystems therefore are susceptible to cumulative environmental impacts due to the spatial connectivity of aquatic species in the ecosystems through activities like waste disposal into marine ecosystems by shipping vessels, oil spills following accidents, increased erosion of coasts and river banks from waves produced by the marine vessels, and other terrestrial activities through pollution, waste disposal and run-offs. The results of all these activities are particularly hard to quantify and manage. 
Additionally, the consumption of energy by industrial and domestic activities, particularly fossil fuels, are known to have significant impacts on global warming due to its emission of large amounts of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, among others that trap heat in the atmosphere perpetuating the greenhouse effect.
With all these going on, given the current concentrations and ongoing emissions of greenhouse gases, it is likely that if we do not put measures on how we use and treat the environment, the global mean temperature will rise above the pre-industrial temperature, the worlds ocean will warm and rise and ice melt will continue. According to the UN report on climate change for example, average sea level rise is predicted to be 24-30 by 2065 and 40-63 by 2100 which obviously will affect human life, animals and the nature as a whole. With this alarming evidence, irreversible changes in ecosystems and planetary climate systems will soon be reached and excruciating repercussions will transcend this and the following generations if no serious actions are taken I time. 
It follows therefore that there's need to accelerate and intensify the actions through investing for a sustainable low carbon future, carry out long term plans and environment impact evaluation and assessment before carrying out certain projects that may affect the environment in the present or future, properly dispose of waste and advocate for improved waste management infrastructure, and borrowing from the global youth climate action declaration (GYCAD), countries should develop effective and carbon neautral land, air and water transportation systems by setting stringent targets to be achieved by 2050, and commit to biodiversity and ecosystems protection, valuation of ecosystem services, and restoration and rewilding of biodiverse ecosystems as well as acknowledging that all forms of life on earth are interconnected in the global ecosystem.

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