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Why Is It Important To Protect Biodiversity – This article was submitted by a reader. This is not an example of work written by professional essay writers. The Importance of Conserving Biodiversity
Thesis Statement: As a global community we must find solutions to overpopulation, pollution, misuse of natural resources, and rapid climate change to try to save biodiversity; connections that keep the world running.
Why Is It Important To Protect Biodiversity
As the human population continues to grow and consume more resources, biodiversity is threatened more than ever. Human activities, such as deforestation, burning of fossil fuels, and urbanization affect biodiversity. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, (MA) published in 2005, named five major threats to biodiversity. The five major sources of threat identified in this book are: habitat change, climate change, invasive species, overexploitation, and pollution (Ed. Debra Rowe, 2014). Each of these five threats is directly caused by human actions. For example, habitat change that threatens biodiversity is a result of human deforestation. This can often cause a chain reaction effect. Deforestation causes organisms to lose their homes, and causes more carbon to be released into the atmosphere. This leads directly to one of the other threats, climate change.
How Silent Environmentalists Could Help Protect Biodiversity
Climate change is destroying biodiversity in many ways. When the temperature starts to rise the different ecosystems cannot cope with the effects and therefore they are extinguished. Over the past 100 years, the world’s climate has warmed and precipitation has changed (Araujo and Rahbek, 2006). It is expected that climate change will affect the composition of living organisms, affect the continuity of ecosystem functioning due to the decrease in the number of animal species.
The expected invasion of non-native species in many ecosystems has also been identified as a major driver of ecosystem change due to climate change (Hellmann et al., 2008). These adjustments will ultimately lead to changes in ecosystem functioning around the world. The aforementioned impacts will undoubtedly affect the quality of ecosystem services for local communities and society as a whole. Research in different parts of the world has shown that climate change is affecting fisheries, water flows and carbon sequestration processes. (McCarty, 2001).
The remaining three threats emphasized by MA are self-explanatory and human responsibility for these consequences is equally obvious. Invasive species occur when people move into a new area, causing existing species to move and invade the new area. Additionally, humans are exploiting animals faster than they can reproduce, causing them to become endangered or extinct. And of course, humans pollute the earth to the point where life becomes almost unbearable for the animals. Truth be told, if people stop and see the consequences of their actions, biodiversity will continue to decline and eventually reach the point of no longer being useful.
Another effect on biodiversity is globalization. Globalization is the process by which people, ideas and goods spread around the world, encouraging more interaction and integration between the world’s cultures, governments and economies. (Darity, 2008). Globalization improves society by lowering consumer prices, breaking down inequality, and improving the overall quality of life (Takacs, 1996). However, nothing can come without a price. Unfortunately, the price of rapid growth in consumption is that the ecosystem has not been given the appropriate amount of time to adapt to such a reduction in resources. Some of these abuses of natural resources include deforestation, oil spills, commercial farming, over-mining, etc. On a small scale all of these were beneficial at one time, however due to globalization these activities are exploiting many of the living resources that surround them in order to survive.
Why Is Biodiversity Important?
Globalization has had a major impact on biodiversity, and as a result we are losing more species now than ever before (Ehrenfeld 2003). Over time, we have depleted our natural resources and other species on Earth cannot evolve fast enough to compensate for these drastic changes. Current research suggests that twenty percent of Earth’s species may be lost in a few decades (Post 2004). Major changes need to be made if humanity wishes to conserve the remaining resources and reduce the current rate of extinction.
This concern is not new. Over the past two decades there has been growing concern about this issue and now, as it continues to worsen, drastic measures are needed. Throughout Earth’s history we have lost 99% of the animals that once lived on Earth. But our current rate of extinction is happening much faster, about 1,000 times faster (Tobin 2010). Although we are constantly discovering new species, it does not match our rate of decline in other species. Although there is no way humanity can reverse all the impacts made on Earth, there is still hope for progress to save what is left. Global society has become more focused on economic gain and the state of the environment has become more vulnerable. Simply put, this must change if the environment is to be positively affected.
Another issue that contributes to the decline of biodiversity is the misuse of resources (Food Security, 2011). People use the environment for food, water, clothing and shelter. We build our lives on nature and abuse it to the point where we don’t have much left. When we misuse the environment, it leads to pollution, erosion and extinction. Consumerism plays a big role in how we have started to misuse our resources. We use resources unnecessarily for all the extra products we think we need. For many people it is difficult to figure out what they need and what they don’t need, and this is where misuse of resources occurs.
Instead of valuing economics as superior, it is important to look at why biodiversity is important and why it is important to nature. Having a large amount of biodiversity ensures the ecological sustainability of all forms of life, a healthy environment and creates a strong foundation against various disasters (McCarty, 2008). Biodiversity also provides a number of natural services such as ecosystem/biological resources, and social benefits. The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning has emerged as a central issue in environmental and environmental science over the past decade (Loreau, et al., 2001).
Why Biodiversity Is Important For Children
Additionally, suitable biodiversity provides a net of environmental services for all including protection of water resources, storage of nutrients and recycling. Biological resources include food, medical supplies, timber products, plants, future resources and genetic diversity, species and environment. Community benefits include research, education, recreation and tourism. In our opinion that’s a lot of services we get for free!
The cost of replacing these can be very expensive. According to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the value of goods and services provided by ecosystems is estimated at $33 trillion U.S. dollars a year. It therefore makes sense to move towards sustainability and biodiversity conservation as much as we can. Biodiversity loss means millions of people face a future where food is more vulnerable to pests and disease, and where clean water is inadequate or scarce.
Biodiversity should also be very important because it is the main factor that helps many ecosystems. These ecosystems provide people with natural resources and create a balance between nature and human well-being. Biodiversity guarantees many aspects that connect nature and people, including: food security, health, freedom of choice, and the basic elements of sustainable living (MA, 2005).
While it is clear that human societies have benefited from these features over the past century, the loss of biodiversity has also caused human societies to suffer. Loss of biodiversity and associated changes in ecosystem services have resulted in a decline in human well-being. Biodiversity loss is a major problem when it comes to human well-being. Without balance between ecosystems, ecosystem services and human communities, the balance cannot be maintained and the decline of ecosystem health and human health is at risk. The issue of biodiversity loss and biodiversity conservation should be communicated to all human societies, so that people can start to make a difference and restore biodiversity because it is very important for us to live.
Biodiversity Threat: 4 Innovators Helping To Protect The Planet
Biodiversity provides a number of environmental services, such as: ecosystem services, biological resources, and social benefits. Food and security are one of several factors that make the relationship between ecosystem services and human well-being important for biodiversity. The thousands of species that depend on them participate in an important system of biodiversity within the ecosystem on which food production depends.
With the continued loss of biodiversity, people lose the ability to adapt to new challenges such as population growth and climate change. The ability to achieve food security in human communities is directly linked to the maintenance of biodiversity. In order to provide food security for an ever-growing population, building a system that will integrate biodiversity conservation and food production should be implemented (Sunderland, TCH, 2011). The nutritional and livelihood benefits of expanded production systems are one of many potential solutions to food security. Achieving food security will provide agricultural resources and other food
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