In The Green Belt Movement: The Story of Wangari Maathai by Mia MacDonald, Read the sentences from the article and the lecture in the box. • Vast forests had been cleared for farms or plantations of fast-growing exotic trees that drained the ecosystem of water and degraded the soil. (paragraph 4 of “The Green Belt Movement”) • With the destruction of these cultures and the introduction of new values, local biodiversity is no longer valued or protected and as a result, it is quickly degraded and disappears. (paragraph 7 of “Wangari Maathai’s Nobel Lecture”) Based on the sentences, what does the word degrade most likely mean? (1 point) Responses to identify to identify to complete to complete to give up to give up to break down

Based on the sentences, the word "degrade" most likely means to break down or diminish in quality.