The demand for commodities and the advent of refrigeration has lead to the establishment of plantations in place of the natural flora. Islands become degraded when they lose their mangroves and coral reefs which protect them from storms and soil erosion. Mining particularly for phosphates has done great damage to islands especially in the west indian ocean and pacific.
Military activity has caused the degradation of many islands, many to the extent that the local populations have had to leave. Bomb damage, construction of air strips, military infrastructure and most poignantly the testing of nuclear and other destructive weapons, has virtually destroyed many islands.
Islands or island groups, which often have high rates of endemicity, face particularly high levels of threat to their flora. Indeed, seven of the top ten areas listed on the IUCN 1997 Red List for plants, according to percentage of threatened flora are islands: St. Helena, Mauritius, Seychelles, Jamaica, French Polynesia, Pitcairn, and Réunion.