BIO DIVERSITY

The variety of life on Earth, its biological diversity, is commonly referred to as biodiversity. The number of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms, the enormous diversity of genes in these species, the different ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts, rainforests and coral reefs are all part of a biologically diverse Earth. Appropriate conservation and sustainable development strategies attempt to recognize this as being integral to any approach. In some way or form, almost all cultures have recognized the importance of nature and its biological diversity for their societies and have therefore understood the need to maintain it. Yet, power, greed and politics have affected the precarious balance. Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play A healthy biodiversity provides a number of natural services for everyone Ecosystem services, such as !rotection of water resources "oils formation and protection #utrient storage and recycling !ollution brea$down and absorption %ontribution to climate stability &aintenance of ecosystems 'ecovery from unpredictable events Biological resources, such as (ood &edicinal resources and pharmaceutical drugs )ood products *rnamental plants Breeding stoc$s, population reservoirs (uture resources +iversity in genes, species and ecosystems

Social benefits, such as 'esearch, education and monitoring 'ecreation and tourism %ultural values That is ,uite a lot of services we get for freeThe cost of replacing these .if possible/ would be e0tremely e0pensive. It therefore ma$es economic and development sense to move towards sustainability. A report from #ature magazine also e0plains that genetic diversity helps to prevent the chances of e0tinction in the wild .and claims to have shown proof of this/. To prevent the well $nown and well documented problems of genetic defects caused by in1breeding, species need a variety of genes to ensure successful survival. )ithout this, the chances of e0tinction increases. And as we start destroying, reducing and isolating habitats, the chances for interaction from species with a large gene pool decreases At least 23 per cent of the world4s economy and 53 per cent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. In addition, the richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change. +espite $nowing about biodiversity4s importance for a long time, human activity has been causing massive e0tinctions. As the Environment #ew "ervice, reported bac$ in August 6777 .previous lin$/ 8the current e0tinction rate is now approaching 6,333 times the bac$ground rate and may climb to 63,333 times the bac$ground rate during the ne0t century, if present trends continue 9resulting in: a loss that would easily e,ual those of past e0tinctions.; A ma<or report, the &illennium Ecosystem Assessment, released in &arch =33> highlighted a substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on Earth, with some 631?3@ of the mammal, bird and amphibian species threatened with e0tinction, due to human actions. The )orld )ide (und for #ature .))(/ added that Earth is unable to $eep up in the struggle to regenerate from the demands we place on it. The International Anion for %onservation of #ature .IA%#/ notes in a video that many species are threatened with e0tinction. In addition, At threat of e0tinction are

6 out of 5 birds 6 out of 2 mammals 6 out of 2 conifers 6 out of ? amphibians B out of C marine turtles C>@ of genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost C>@ of the world4s fisheries are fully or over e0ploited Ap to C3@ of the world4s $nown species ris$ e0tinction if the global temperatures rise by more than ?.>D% 6E?rd of reef1building corals around the world are threatened with e0tinction *ver ?>3 million people suffer from severe water scarcity

As e0plained in the A#4s ?rd Flobal Biodiversity *utloo$, the rate of biodiversity loss has not been reduced because the > principle pressures on biodiversity are persistent, even intensifying Gabitat loss and degradation %limate change E0cessive nutrient load and other forms of pollution *ver1e0ploitation and unsustainable use Invasive alien species &ost governments report to the A# %onvention on Biological +iversity that these pressures are affecting biodiversity in their country .see p. >> of the report/. The International Anion for the %onservation of #ature .IA%#/ maintains the 'ed Hist to assess the conservation status of species, subspecies, varieties, and even selected subpopulations on a global scale. E0tinction ris$s out pace any conservation successes. Amphibians are the most at ris$, while corals have had a dramatic increase in ris$ of e0tinction in recent years. MIS SE O! "#$D #$D %#TER Iun$1food chains, including J(% and !izza Gut, are under attac$ from ma<or environmental groups in the Anited "tates and other developed countries because of their environmental impact. Intensive breeding of

livestoc$ and poultry for such restaurants leads to deforestation, land degradation, and contamination of water sources and other natural resources. (or every pound of red meat, poultry, eggs, and mil$ produced, farm fields lose about five pounds of irreplaceable top soil. The water necessary for meat breeding comes to about 673 gallons per animal per day, or ten times what a normal Indian family is supposed to use in one day, if it gets water at all. *verall, animal farms use nearly 23 percent of the world4s total grain production. In the Anited "tates, nearly C3 percent of grain production is fed to livestoc$. In Indian Agriculture, women use up to 6>3 different species of plants .which the biotech industry would call weeds/ as medicine, food, or fodder. (or the poorest, this biodiversity is the most important resource for survival. K )hat is a weed for &onsanto is a medicinal plant or food for rural people E$VIRO$ME$T #$D & M#$ &any military forces of the world also have an effect on the environment. "ometimes, the scale of problems they leave when they move out of a training area or conflict is considerable. In some nations, such as the Anited "tates, the military can be e0empt from many environmental regulations. By no means a complete set of e0amples, the following illustrate some of the issues In the Fulf )ar and Josovo crisis, the A" and AJ used depleted Aranium which have environmental conse,uences as well. In the Lietnam war, the A" used Agent *range to defoliate the entire Lietnamese rainforest ecosystem. The effects are still being felt. In the +emocratic 'epublic of %ongo, various forces often $ill gorillas and other animals as they encroach upon their land. In *$inawa, the large A" military bases also affect the environment for the local population. Lie,ues, !uerto 'ico, the A" use live rounds in bombing ranges, and low altitude flying for training. This also has had an effect on the environment. A report prepared by the Institute for !olicy "tudies, April =333, called The International Frassroots "ummit on &ilitary Base %leanup provides a lot of details and many more e0amples. $#T RE #$D #$IM#" 'O$SERV#TIO$ !reserving species and their habitats is important for ecosystems to self1sustain themselves. Yet, the pressures to destroy habitat for logging, illegal hunting, and other challenges are ma$ing conservation a struggle.

Anfortunately, despite the effort put into conservation by organizations and activists, their wor$ can easily be undermined by those who have other interests. This occurs, for e0ample, from habitat destruction, illegal poaching, to influencing or manipulating laws designed to protect species. The current form of globalization has also been criticized for ignoring sustainable development and environmental concerns. (or many years, critics, #F*s, activists and affected peoples have been accusing large corporations for being ma<or sources of environmental problems. %onse,uently, helping species and ecosystems to survive becomes more difficult. Declining Tigers Ta$e for e0ample the continued declining numbers of tigers, the largest of the big cats. The population of tigers is believed to have declined by 7> percent in the last century. Tigers continue to face challenges imposed by poaching, retributive $illings and habitat loss. Tiger bone is also in high demand for traditional medicines in %hina and some other parts of the world, often based on mista$en beliefs, or wea$ evidence for their effectiveness. IA%#, the International Anion for %onservation of #ature, is the world4s oldest environmental organization, wor$ing around the world. !eriodically, they produce the IA%# 'ed Hist of Threatened "pecies to highlight species that are e0tinct or e0tinct in the wild, critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable. Their data suggests that the global tiger population has declined to an estimated range from ?,23=1>,623 tigers, revised down from estimates of >,333 to C,333 made a few years earlier. The Bali, %aspian, and Iavan tigers are already classified as e0tinct .in the 6723s, 67C3s, and 6753s, respectively/. #oting the above declines, the BB% released a collection of videos on tigers and other species. They also noticed that tigers have disappeared from over 73@ of their historic range over the past century. They add that recent estimates suggest less than 6,333 scattered over India and fewer than 23 are left in %hina. It4s not <ust tigers either. 'are leopards, deer and other animals are also being illegally traded and many other animals are dwindling in numbers Declining "ions And another iconic animal, the lion, is also dwindling in numbers. The BB% reports .*ctober =33?/ that fewer than =3,333 lions now survive in Africa, compared to =33,333 in the early 6753s.

"port or trophy hunting was cited as a ma<or cause, whereby males, older or younger, were often targeted. Another reason was the population pressures that have meant encroachment onto lands closer to lions. Tourism has not really benefited the people of such communities, and so they do not see the benefit in preserving them. Declining Rhinos Although almost all species of rhinos have been recognized as critically endangered for many years, the conservation organization, the International Anion for %onservation of #ature .IA%#/ notes that rhino poaching worldwide is poised to hit a 6>1year1high driven by Asian demand for horns. As with the $illing of shar$s <ust for their fins, whereby the body is discarded once the fin is cut off the shar$, rhinos are often $illed <ust for the horns. In some Asian countries it is wrongly believed the horns have medicinal value. The IA%# is finding some ? rhinos a month are being $illed. In some places that number is even higher. In Africa, the total rhino population is estimated to be around 65,333 and in IndiaE#epal only =,233. At the end of =366, the IA%# declared that the )est African wild blac$ rhino was e0tinct, while a subspecies of white rhino in %entral Africa may be e0tinct. In addition, the last Iavan rhino outside Iava is believed to be e0tinct. Although overall numbers have been increasing lately, various subspecies are still vulnerable to poaching. Declining Vultures B&A #ews, published by the British &edical Association .B&A/, reported on the near1e0tinction of several vulture species in India .Iuly 7, =33>/. The B&A noted that in the 6753s, these birds were the most abundant large birds of prey in the world. Gowever, in the last 6= years, the population had crashed by 7C@. In a country where these birds actually provide a useful service by scavenging rotting carcasses, this is seen as a big problem. Gow did this happenM The anti1inflammatory, diclofenac, .similar to ibuprofen/, was used by cattle farmers as a popular cure1all to treat a variety of diseases. Lultures feeding on carcasses of cows treated with the drug died of $idney failure as it was a poison for the vultures. The use of this medication was 8careless and casual.;

Declining (olar Bears The )orld )ildlife (und for #ature lists to0ic pollution, oil e0ploration, and hunting, as well as climate change, as the threats polar bears face. !olar bears are found throughout the circumpolar Arctic on pac$ ice, along or near coasts, and on islands The situation has become dire enough for the Bush Administration in the A" to propose to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered "pecies Act. This itself is an interesting turn of events as the Bush Administration has typically been reluctant to ac$nowledge concerns about climate change, and a lot of lobbying by environmental groups has led to this proposal. Declining (enguins A concern about crashing numbers of a particular species of penguin in recent years, the roc$hoppers, shows that there may be numerous complicated factors causing this, and it is not always easy to $now for sure. In the (al$land Islands alone, the species numbers have dropped from B33,333 to 2=3,333 in <ust B years, and down from 6.> million in 67?=. But from all their habitats millions have recently vanished. "cientists are struggling to wonder whether it is starvation due to overfishing, climate change, a combination, or some other factors affecting this species. Declining #m)hibians Amphibians are particularly sensitive to changes in the environment. Amphibians have been described as a mar$er species or the e,uivalent of 8canaries of the coal mines; meaning they provide an important signal to the health of biodiversityN when they are stressed and struggling, biodiversity may be under pressure. )hen they are doing well, biodiversity is probably healthy. Anfortunately, as has been feared for many years now, amphibian species are declining at an alarming rate. Declining of Mon*eys, #)es an+ (rimates A report by the world4s foremost primate authorities, the International !rimatological "ociety, presented the state of primates around the world. They found that of the world4s B?2 $inds of primates almost >3 percent are in danger of going e0tinct. A brea$down showed the following numbers and percentages of primates fell into the International Anion for %onservation of #ature4s 'ed Hist classification for species as Lulnerable, Endangered or %ritically Endangered

Africa B? species and subspecies .?C@ of all African primates/ Asia 6=3 species and subspecies .C6@ of all African primates/ &adagascar 26 species and subspecies .2?@ of all &alagasy primates/ #eotropics C7 species and subspecies .23@ of all #eotropical primates/ %auses included habitat destruction, the hunting of primates for food and an illegal wildlife trade '"IM#TE '&#$,E #$D ITS #!!E'TS 'apid global warming can affect an ecosystems chances to adapt naturally. The Arctic is very sensitive to climate change and already seeing lots of changes. *cean biodiversity is already being affected as are other parts of the ecosystem. The lin$ between climate change and biodiversity has long been established. Although throughout Earth4s history the climate has always changed with ecosystems and species coming and going, rapid climate change affects ecosystems and species ability to adapt and so biodiversity loss increases. (rom a human perspective, the rapid climate change and accelerating biodiversity loss ris$s human security .e.g. a ma<or change in the food chain upon which we depend, water sources may change, recede or disappear, medicines and other resources we rely on may be harder to obtain as the plants and forna they are derived from may reduce or disappear, etc./. %limate change is already having an impact on biodiversity, and is pro<ected to become a progressively more significant threat in the coming decades. Hoss of Arctic sea ice threatens biodiversity across an entire biome and beyond. The related pressure of ocean acidification, resulting from higher concentrations of carbon dio0ide in the atmosphere, is also already being observed. Ecosystems are already showing negative impacts under current levels of climate change K which is modest compared to future pro<ected changes. In addition to warming temperatures, more fre,uent e0treme weather events and changing patterns of rainfall and drought can be e0pected to have significant impacts on biodiversity. Im)act in the #rctic The Arctic, Antarctic and high latitudes have had the highest rates of warming, and this trend is pro<ected to continue, as the above1mentioned Flobal Biodiversity *utloo$ ? notes .p. >B/. In the Arctic, it is not <ust a reduction in the e0tent of sea ice, but its thic$ness and age. Hess ice means less reflective surface meaning more rapid melting. The rapid reduction e0ceeds even scientific forecasts and is discussed further on this site4s climate change introduction.

In addition, 8)hole species assemblages are adapted to life on top of or under ice O from the algae that grow on the underside of multi1year ice, forming up to =>@ of the Arctic *cean4s primary production, to the invertebrates, birds, fish and marine mammals further up the food chain.; The iconic polar bear at the top of that food chain is therefore not the only species at ris$ even though it may get more media attention. The world4s northern freezer is on rapid defrost as large volumes of warm water are pouring into the Arctic *cean, speeding the melt of sea ice.

8'apidly rising greenhouse gas concentrations are driving ocean systems toward conditions not seen for millions of years, with an associated ris$ of fundamental and irreversible ecological transformation. %hanges in biological function in the ocean caused by anthropogenic climate change go far beyond death, e0tinctions and habitat loss fundamental processes are being altered, community assemblages are being reorganized and ecological surprises are li$ely.; Increasing Ocean #ci+ification Although it has gained less mainstream media attention, the effects of increasing greenhouse emissions O in particular carbon dio0ide O on the oceans may well be significant. #*AA *cean Acidification +emonstration, #ational *ceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (ebruary =B, =363 As e0plained by the A" agency, the #ational *ceanic and Atmospheric Administration .#*AA/, the basic chemistry of ocean acidification is well understood. These are the ? main concepts &ore %*= in the atmosphere means more %*= in the oceanN Atmospheric %*= is dissolved in the ocean, which becomes more acidicN and The resulting changes in the chemistry of the oceans disrupts the ability of plants and animals in the sea to ma$e shells and s$eletons of calcium carbonate, while dissolving shells already formed. "cientists have found that oceans are able to absorb some of the e0cess %*= released by human activity. This has helped $eep the planet cooler than it otherwise could have been had these gases remained in the atmosphere. Gowever, the additional e0cess %*= being absorbed is also resulting in the acidification of the oceans )hen %*= reacts with water it produces a wea$ acid called carbonic acid, changing the sea water

chemistry. As the Flobal Biodiversity *utloo$ report e0plains, the water is some ?3@ more acidic than pre1industrial times, depleting carbonate ions O the building bloc$s for many marine organisms. In addition, 8concentrations of carbonate ions are now lower than at any time during the last 533,333 years. The impacts on ocean biological diversity and ecosystem functioning will li$ely be severe, though the precise timing and distribution of these impacts are uncertain.; ."ee p. >5 of the report./

Although millions of years ago %*= levels were higher, today4s change is occurring rapidly, giving many marine organisms too little time to adapt. "ome marine creatures are growing thinner shells or s$eletons, for e0ample. "ome of these creatures play a crucial role in the food chain, and in ecosystem biodiversity. "ome species may benefit from the e0tra carbon dio0ide, and a few years ago scientists and organizations, such as the European !ro<ect on *%ean Acidification, formed to try to understand and assess the impacts further. *ne e0ample of recent findings is a tiny sand grain1sized plan$ton responsible for the se,uestration of =>P>3@ of the carbon the oceans absorb is affected by increasing ocean acidification. This tiny plan$ton plays a ma<or role in $eeping atmospheric carbon dio0ide .%*=/ concentrations at much lower levels than they would be otherwise so large effects on them could be ,uite serious. *ther related problems reported by the Inter !ress "ervice include more oceanic dead zones .areas where there is too little o0ygen in the sea to support life/ and the decline of important coastal plants and forests, such as mangrove forests that play an important role in carbon absorption. This is on top of the already declining ocean biodiversity that has been happening for a few decades, now. Increasing ocean stratification As climate change warms the oceans .even <ust an increase of about 3.=% per decade, on average/, the warmer water .which is lighter/ tends to stay on top of what is then a layer of colder water. This affects tiny drifting marine organisms $nown as phytoplan$ton. Though small, 8!hytoplan$ton are a critical part of our planetary life support system. They produce half of the o0ygen we breathe, draw down surface %*=, and ultimately support all of our fisheries,; says Boris )orm of %anada4s +alhousie Aniversity and one of the world4s leading e0perts on the global oceans .,uoted by Inter !ress "ervice O I!"./ In the same news report, IPS e0plains that phytoplan$ton can only live in the top 633 or =33 meters of water, but if it is getting warmer, they eventually run out of nutrients to feed on unless the cold, deeper waters mi0 with those near the surface.

*cean stratification has been widely observed in the past decade and is occurring in more and larger areas of the world4s oceans, I!" also adds. 'esearchers have found a direct correlation between rising sea surface temperatures and the decline in phytoplan$ton growth around the world. Increasing oceanic +ea+ -ones The past half1century has seen an e0plosive growth in a,uatic dead zones, areas too low in dissolved o0ygen to support life.