There is growing scientific evidence that the substantial dying off of amphibians and other plant and animal species occurring today might result in a new mass extinction event -- an event that has only happened five times in our planet's history.
In this International Year of Biodiversity, how can the preservation of biodiversity and the protection of fragile ecosystems be improved dramatically?
Key Points
• Biodiversity affects every aspect of our lives and provides critical value to our economies
• Our planet is in danger of losing up to 70% of its species
• Nearly one-third of land is used for livestock grazing or feed production
• More than 500 million people depend on coral reefs for survival, but these are in danger of dying
• There is an urgent need for profound behavioural change in how we use our biodiversity
• The time for talk is over; solutions need to be implemented now
Synopsis
Why should you care about biodiversity? Biodiversity is not a luxury of the rich, but a necessity for all. It affects everything: water, land, industry, migration, health, security, etc.
The overall situation, however, is looking increasingly bleak. One out of eight birds, one out of four mammals and one out of four conifers are threatened with extinction. Up to 70% of the world’s species are in danger of being wiped out. Furthermore, three-quarters of genetic diversity among agricultural crops has been lost, while 75% of the world’s fisheries are being overexploited. In the United States alone, the collapse of bee colonies, vital not only for honey but also for the pollination of fruit trees, cost producers US$ 15 billion in 2007.
Equally drastic, some 1.2 billion people depend on tropical rainforests for survival, yet these trees are being lost at the rate of 12.5 million hectares a year, an area the size of Greece. Rainforests also store 25% of all terrestrial carbon and absorb 15% of annual carbon emissions. Deforestation, however, causes an estimated one-fifth of all CO2 emissions. Furthermore, this loss of trees instigates massive soil loss and reduction in rainfall. Agricultural production in South America’s La Plata Basin, which is worth US$ 1 trillion a year, could be severely affected by Amazonian rain loss through the continued felling of trees.
We have a huge responsibility to do something about this problem. While far more research needs to be done, sufficient evidence shows that now is the time to stop talking. It is time to start doing something about preserving the planet’s unique and irreplaceable biodiversity. People need to improve the situation by implementing solutions. Once a species is gone, it is gone. There is no way of getting it back. The loss of an ecosystem means that we may lose the ability to find new medical cures among existing but unexplored plant species.
So, what can stakeholders, meaning all people, whether farmers, fishermen, urban dwellers, industrialists or school children, do to mitigate this problem? There needs to be far greater public awareness. This means reaching out to different communities through local, regional and international media throughout the world.
But there are other ways, too. People need to rectify and otherwise replace the damage they cause. This may mean cutting back on eating meat. Over 30% of land is used as pasture or to grow feed for livestock. Current projections suggest that cattle today may be grazing on up to 24 million hectares of land that only 10 years ago was forest.
A similar situation exists in coastal and island regions. More than 500 million people depend on food and livelihoods from coral reefs around the world. Yet, climate change, ocean acidification and coral bleaching due to CO2 emissions are leading to a worldwide collapse of this fragile ecosystem.
What is urgently needed is a profound behavioural change in the human mindset, such as not buying produce brought in by plane from 2,000 miles away, or restricting daily water consumption, including not wasting this precious resource on irrigation. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) report (www.teebweb.org), which explores how to respond to the “value of nature”, is now seeking to share its ideas and suggestions with policy-makers on how to best address the challenges facing biodiversity. The key, however, is to recognize the significance of biodiversity as our natural capital, not only as a crucial support for human well-being, but also as a means for delivering value to the economy...
Happy Reading..!!!!
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