Why Is Biodiversity Important 13062014

1. Why Is Biodiversity
Important? Who
Cares?
By
David Sengani

2. Introduction
OAt least 40 per cent of the world’s economy
and 80 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.

3. What is Biodiversity
OThe variety of life on Earth, number of species of
Oplants,
Oanimals, and
O microorganisms,
Othe enormous diversity of genes in
these species,
Othe different ecosystems, such as
deserts, rainforests and coral reefs

4. Why is Biodiversity
Important?
OBiodiversity boosts ecosystem productivity where
each species, no matter how small, all have an
important role to play.
OFor example,
OA larger number of plant species means a greater
variety of crops
OGreater species diversity ensures natural
sustainability for all life forms
OHealthy ecosystems can better withstand and
recover from a variety of disasters.

5. A healthy biodiversity offers
many natural services
OA healthy biodiversity provides a number of
natural services for everyone: such as
OProtection of water resources
OSoils formation and protection
ONutrient storage and recycling

6. Cont.…
OPollution breakdown and absorption
OContribution to climate stability
OMaintenance of ecosystems
ORecovery from unpredictable events

7. Biological resources
OFood
OMedicinal resources and pharmaceutical
drugs
OWood products
OOrnamental plants
OBreeding stocks, population reservoirs
OFuture resources
ODiversity in genes, species and ecosystems

8. Social benefits
OResearch, education and monitoring
ORecreation and tourism
OCultural values

9. Interdependence of Species
OWhile there might be “survival of the fittest”
within a given species,
Oeach species depends on the services
provided by other species to ensure
survival.
O It is a type of cooperation based on mutual
survival and is often what a “balanced
ecosystem” refers to

10. Soil, bacteria, plants; the
Nitrogen Cycle
OThe relationship between soil, plants,
bacteria and other life is also referred to as
the nitrogen cycle:

12. Bees: crucial agricultural
workers
OBees provide enormous benefits for humankind as
another example.
OAs reported by CNN (May 5, 2000),
O“One third of all our food—fruits and vegetables
—would not exist without pollinators.
OHoneybees, the primary species that fertilizes
food-producing plants.
O Honeybees suffered dramatic declines in
recent years, mostly from afflictions introduced
by humans.”

13. Management strategies
OTo act quickly to ensure that the ancient
pact between flowers and pollinators stays
intact,
OTo safeguard our food supply and to protect
our environment for generations to come.
O To ensure that bees continue to provide
pollination and that our diets remain rich in
the fruits and vegetables we now take for
granted.

14. Biodiversity providing lessons
for scientists in engineering
OFor a number of years now, scientists have been looking more
and more at nature:
OTo see how various species work,
OHow they produce,
OHow they consume resources,
Trying to mimic the amazing feats that millions of years of
evolution has produced.

15. Cont..
OAs just one small example, some spiders
can produce their silk with a higher tensile
strength than many alloys of steel even
though it is made of proteins. So biologists
are looking at these processes in more
depth to see if they can reproduce or
enhance such capabilities.

16. Putting an economic value
on biodiversity
OIt was noted earlier that ecosystems provide many services to us, for free.
OAlthough some dislike the thought of trying to put an economic value on
biodiversity (some things are just priceless), there have been attempts to do so in
order for people to understand the magnitude of the issue: how important the
environment is to humanity and what costs and benefits there can be in doing (or
not doing) something.
OThe Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) is an organization — backed
by the UN and various European governments — attempting to compile, build and
make a compelling economics case for the conservation of ecosystems and
biodiversity.
OIn a recent report, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for National and
International Policy Makers 2009, TEEB provided the following example of sectors
dependent on genetic resources:

17. Loss of Biodiversity and
Extinctions
ODespite knowing about biodiversity’s importance
for a long time,
OHuman activity has been causing massive
extinctions. As the Environment New Service,
reported back in August 1999
O“the current extinction rate is now approaching
1,000 times the background rate and may climb
to 10,000 times the background rate during the
next century, if present trends continue resulting
in a loss that would easily equal those of past
extinctions.”

19. Kirstenbosch:
Boomslang
(walkway)