The “Agro Pontino” is the result of a drastic landscape transformation caused by the "Great Land Reclamation" in the 1920s of the last century.

Although the agricultural matrix, permeated by the hydrographic network of the drainage channels, still characterises the local landscape, an irrational urban development and the gradual intensification and industrialisation of agriculture have caused a widespread loss of biodiversity of the ecosystem. The conditions of environmental degradation found in the area are recognised to be among the most critical at regional level, particularly as regards the pollution of the surface water bodies.

The polluted water from the channels, if used for irrigation, may be harmful to crops and, consequently, to the consumers' health. Even if the water is not used, its pollution causes an indirect waste of the resource, because the construction of wells for clean water supply becomes necessary; and this has also led to other phenomena such as saline wedge intrusion and land subsidence.

The pollution can also damage the ecosystems within the protected areas (especially the system of coastal lakes) and cause the contamination of groundwater.

The increase of urban and industrial settlements, the modification of farming production systems, and a use of the resources that is little respectful of the morphological and natural characters of the environment have produced a growing artificiality of the landscape, causing loss of functions and of ecological diversity.

The Agro Pontino represents therefore, in terms of naturalness, a "minimum point" compared to the regional context, with the two exceptions of the Circeo National Park and the Forest Reserve of Nettuno.