The Importance Of Biodiversity

1302 Words6 Pages
The earth is losing its essence. The variations of animal and plant species that give our planet true qualities and character are being destroyed. In recent times, the extinction rate of numerous plants and animals escalated greatly, and the birthrate of new species has declined as the common habitat is being devastated. Some naysayers argue that the rate of extinction is normal and that it is simply a byproduct of our evolution and technological advancement, but most researchers do not deny the fact that the planet’s vast biodiversity is rapidly declining,.. According to their studies half the plant and animal species would disappear by the end of the 21st century. The depletion process of our biodiversity and the changes in our ecosystems…show more content…
It can also be defined as the wide array of different species that are present in our planet. The United Nations Environment Programme defines it as “a measure of the variety of organisms present in different ecosystems. These variations include genetic variation, ecosystem variation, or species variation.” Biodiversity can be examined on numerous levels. At the highest level, biodiversity includes all the different species of any ecosystem.. On a much smaller scale, you can concentrate on biodiversity inside of an area as small as a lake’s biological system or an area park where biodiversity can be broken down to the different specifications organisms constitute within their gene pool. Historically, British researchers in the late 80s were able to identify biogeographic regions that are significant reservoirs of biodiversity. They were able to conclude in their research that biodiversity is not evenly spread throughout the planet, instead, there are areas that carry a dense amount of the overall biodiversity that is present on earth. These areas are tropical regions generally referred to as hotspots and include places such as; Madagascar, Costa Rica, Congo Basin and Amazonia. Throughout history these biologically rich areas have always been threatened by human intervention. The act of increasing in population alone by humans threatens these ecosystems. To add insult to injury humans have historically been exploiting these bio diverse…show more content…
The rapid acceleration in population growth subsequently had a domino effect on the environment. This increase in number leads to the gradual destruction of habitats, and in places where species are not capable of adapting elsewhere, human intervention leads to the mass extinction of endemic species. When areas that are abundant in biodiversity become overpopulated by humans, habitat depletion and overharvesting will soon follow. Such is the case in British Columbia, Canada, largely considered one of the main hotspots in North America, where over 80% of its grass prairie habitat has been lost for agriculture. The same can be said for Madagascar. Alok Jha, a science correspondent for the guardian newspaper, coins Madagascar as a jewel in biodiversity terms because of its isolation from the major continents. Unfortunately, Madagascar has seen the worst of human exploitation. Increase in Madagascar’s population prompted deforestation such as logging for timber, agricultural fires to clear lands, overexploitation of its natural resources such as overfishing, and the introduction of alien species that has decimated Madagascar’s local species and for them into extinction. How population growth has affected biodiversity the most though, is through the burning of fossil fuels. When population increases in a region more fossil fuels, such as oil, gas and coal are burnt to keep up with the
Open Document