What is biodiversity and why is it important

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 to preserving biodiversity.

Almost all cultures have their roots in our biological diversity in some way or form. Biodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play. And so, while we dominate this planet, we still need to preserve the diversity in wildlife. The cost of replacing these if possible would be extremely expensive. It therefore makes economic and development sense to move towards sustainability.

A report from Nature magazine also explains that genetic diversity helps to prevent the chances of extinction in the wild and claims to have shown proof of this. To prevent the well known and well documented problems of genetic defects caused by in-breeding, species need a variety of genes to ensure successful survival.

Without this, the chances of extinction increases. And as we start destroying, reducing and isolating habitats, the chances for interaction from species with a large gene pool decreases. Side Note Unfortunately the original link to the Nature. However, for similar information, you could look at Consequences of changing biodiversity , Nature , - , 11 May and Causes, consequences and ethics of biodiversity , Nature , —, 11 May While there might be survival of the fittest within a given species, each species depends on the services provided by other species to ensure survival.

It is a type of cooperation based on mutual survival and is often what a balanced ecosystem refers to. The relationship between soil, plants, bacteria and other life is also referred to as the nitrogen cycle:. As an example, consider all the species of animals and organisms involved in a simple field used in agriculture.

Shiva, a prominent Indian scientist and activist goes on to detail the costs associated with destroying this natural diversity and traditional farming techniques which recognize this, and replacing this with industrial processes which go against the nature of diversity sustainability.

Bees provide enormous benefits for humankind as another example. As reported by CNN May 5, , One third of all our food—fruits and vegetables—would not exist without pollinators visiting flowers. But honeybees, the primary species that fertilizes food-producing plants, have suffered dramatic declines in recent years, mostly from afflictions introduced by humans.

Bees are vital to bio diversity. There are , plants for example for which bees are essential to pollination, from melons to pumpkins, raspberries and all kind of fruit trees — as well as animal fodder — like clover.

Researchers are finding reasons for the massive decline hard to pinpoint, but suspect a combination of various diseases, environmental pollution, environmental degradation leading to less diversity for bees to feed from, for example and farming practices such as pesticides, large monoculture cropping, etc.

Biodiversity Why it matters and how to protect it. A panther chameleon, found in the tropcial forests of Madagascar.

Renee Grayson, Flickr. Ming Chun Tang. The first step is understanding the basics, unraveled in easy-to-digest terms here in this explainer: What is biodiversity? How is biodiversity measured? What are the benefits of biodiversity?

What are the main threats to biodiversity? How can we protect biodiversity? Rhinerrhiza divitiflora , also known as the Raspy Root Orchid. Biodiversity provides four main types of benefits to humans: nutritional, cultural, health, and climate-related.

A pool of Spoonbills. Craig ONeal, Flickr. Most Popular. Which landscapes should we restore first? From West Africa, here comes the next miracle grain: fonio. This means you are free to redistribute our material for non-commercial purposes. All we ask is that you give Landscapes News appropriate credit and link to the original Landscapes News content, indicate if changes were made, and distribute your contributions under the same Creative Commons license. Forests and wetland ecosystems provide crucial buffers to extreme storms and flooding related to climate change.

These ecosystems are complex, which means they function best, and are more resilient to the effects of climate change, when all the pieces of the ecosystem are in place — meaning the biodiversity is intact.

Millions of people also depend on nature and species for their day-to-day livelihoods. This is particularly true for struggling communities in developing countries, who often turn to high-biodiversity ecosystems as their source of food, fuel, medicines and other products made from natural materials for their own use and as sources of income. Nature-related tourism is also a significant income generator for many people as well. Species are frequently integral to religious, cultural and national identities.

All major religions include elements of nature and species are formally used as national symbols in countries. Unfortunately, more than one-third of those species are threatened, but the bald eagle and American bison are examples of conservation successes because of their role as national symbols.

Ecosystems such as parks and other protected areas also provide recreation and a knowledge resource for visitors, and biodiversity is a frequent source of inspiration for artists and designers. Facebook twitter YouTube Instagram. Please enter a valid email. Thank you for joining the CI Community. ClientEarth Communications 28th June What is biodiversity and why is it important?

Why is biodiversity important? Without biodiversity, our entire support system for human, as well as animal life, would collapse. We rely on nature to provide us with food and clean water, for a lot of medicines, and to prevent flooding and other extreme weather effects.

That is, of course, a terrifying prospect, but we really do need to tackle both. Why is it so important to not just stop, but to reverse biodiversity loss?