Abstract: Although the status of ecological protection continues to improve in China, ecological destruction incidents occur sporadically due to predatory development, resource externalities, and chaotic natural resource management. A clear, unified definition and classification of ecological destruction is unavailable, and thus there are many difficulties for management in both theoretical analysis and practical application. We analyzed the conceptual connotation and typical cases of ecological destruction, and summarized the main types and causes. Future research should consider ecosystem integrity, the internal relationships among the components, as well as the consequences of destructive behaviors. Long-term regulatory governance systems should be strengthened through improving regulations and standards, enhancing problem identification capabilities, strengthening supervision and law enforcement, and leveraging social supervision, to provide theoretical, methodological, and practical guidance for the prevention and control of ecological destruction.

Key words: ecological destruction, ecological destruction type, environmental damage, ecological protection supervision