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Why is biodiversity so important? - Kim Preshoff

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It;s important because it betters the ecosystem and makes every animal a role in it

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Biodiversity is important beccause it divieds species and genetic so they do not cause mayhem with each other so they seperate from each other to keep having to much of everything.

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Yaseen abdelgjani

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Diversity finds its origin in the word diverse, meaning different. Difference in what? Difference in basically anything - cultures, ideas, values, lifestyles, classes, goals etc. No two people placed side by side will portray the same sets of values or ideals or any of the other factors mentioned above.

Take a group of people and the diversity range will further broaden. Diversity does not mean divide, mind you. It just means a difference, which is essential in today's times. But why is diversity important? Let us find out in the following article.

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Why is Diversity Important? Look Beyond the Disparity to Know Why

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The globalized world of today finds an amalgamation of different cultures, all brought into one common place, which is what diversity is. Diversity teaches us to accept differences in others and look beyond the base emotions of language, culture, race and color- all that makes us racists or sexists, for example.

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Human Nature - Conservation International Blog

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Humanity must stop the pace of wildlife extinctions - or face extinction, according to the United Nations.

The world has two years to seal a new pact on wildlife protection, the head of the UN body on wildlife, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), told The Guardian last week. In two days, the EU and 195 member nations of the CBD will gather for two weeks to try to stem the tide of species extinctions.

Nothing less than humanity is at stake, observers say.

"Biodiversity is life on Earth, and every extinction chips away at it, undermining the stability of the planet," said Olivier Langrand, executive director of the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF), which gives grants to organizations to conserve biodiversity hotspots. "We believe that if governments, businesses, civil society organizations and communities work together now, we can halt the biodiversity crisis," Langrand said.

But how exactly is biodiversity so important to humanity? Why is biodiversity necessary for the stability of the planet? It may not be self-evident, so here are four reasons.

Wildlife support healthy ecosystems that we rely on.

Conservation researchers Paul R. and Anne Ehrlich posited in the 1980s that species are to ecosystems what rivets are to a plane's wing. Losing one might not be a disaster, but each loss adds to the likelihood of a serious problem.

Whether in a village in the Amazon or a metropolis such as Beijing, humans depend on the services ecosystems provide, such as fresh water, pollination, soil fertility and stability, food and medicine. Ecosystems weakened by the loss of biodiversity are less likely to deliver those services, especially given the ever-growing human population.

One example of this is Kenya's Lake Turkana - the world's largest desert lake, a habitat for a variety of wildlife including birds, Nile crocodiles and hippos and a source of food and income for about 300,000 people. The lake is under heavy pressure because of overfishing, cyclical drought, changing rainfall patterns and the diversion of water by upstream developments, and these changes are leading to a loss of biodiversity, declines in fisheries' yields and a reduced ability to support humans. Without conservation methods in place, this could be the fate of many more ecosystems.
2. Biodiversity is an essential part of the solution to climate change.
Nature can provide more than 30 percent of the solution to climate change by holding global warming below 2 degrees Celsius - and biodiversity is an essential part of the picture.

The destruction of forest ecosystems is responsible for 11 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans, so conserving forests would stop the release of these gases into the atmosphere. Trees and plants also store carbon in their tissue, making it even more necessary to protect them.

Some ecosystems, such as mangroves, are particularly good at storing carbon and keeping it out of the atmosphere - where it contributes to climate change. 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.

"For a relatively small investment, high-biodiversity forests and other ecosystems can be conserved and restored as a powerful means to rein in climate change while also helping communities cope with associated storms, flooding and other impacts," Langrand said.
3. Biodiversity is good for the economy.
At least 40 percent of the world's economy and 80 percent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources.

Altogether, the food, commercial forestry and ecotourism industries could lose US$ 338 billion per year if the loss of biodiversity continues at its current pace.

Meanwhile The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) initiative estimates that global sustainable business opportunities from investing in natural resources could be worth US$ 2 to 6 trillion by 2050.

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.
4. Biodiversity is an integral part of culture and identity.
Species are frequently integral to religious, cultural and national identities. All major religions include elements of nature and 231 species are formally used as national symbols in 142 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.
Julie Shaw is director of communicators for the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund. Further reading CEPF is a joint initiative of l'Agence Française de Développement, Conservation International, the European Union, the Global Environment Facility, the Government of Japan and the World Bank.

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Why is biodiversity important? - Human Nature - Conservation...

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Humanity must stop the pace of wildlife extinctions - or face extinction, according to the United Nations. The world has two years to seal a new pact on wildlife protection, the head of the UN body on wildlife, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), told The Guardian last week.

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Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the amount of variety of life on Earth. It is the number of different species of plants, animals, and microorganisms. It includes organisms from Earth's vastly different ecosystems, including deserts, rainforests, coral reefs, grasslands, tundra, and polar ice caps.

Our biodiversity is very important to the well-being of our planet. Most cultures, at least at some time, have recognized the importance of conserving natural resources. Many still do, but many do not.

Healthy ecosystems and rich biodiversity:

Increase ecosystem productivity; each species in an ecosystem has a specific niche-a role to play.

Support a larger number of plant species and, therefore, a greater variety of crops.

Protect freshwater resources.

Promote soils formation and protection.

Provide for nutrient storage and recycling.

Aid in breaking down pollutants.

Contribute to climate stability.

Speed recovery from natural disasters.

Provide more food resources.

Provide more medicinal resources and pharmaceutical drugs.

Offer environments for recreation and tourism.

How do we replace lost biodiversity? Our environments and the species that live in them need a diverse population of genes. More genetic defects are caused by inbreeding. With reduced diversity in the gene pool, the chance for extinction increases.

All species, including humans, are adversely
affected by the loss of species diversity.

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Exploring the Environment - Global Climate Change (ETE-GCC) Modules developed by the Center for Educational Technologies at Wheeling Jesuit University includes six new global climate change problem-based learning modules funded through a cooperative agreement with NASA.

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Biodiversity is important because too much of the same species in one environment isn't good to have, spread out biodiversity in an area is something good because there is more diversity instead of just one species with different traits being around. Some animals might rely on other species for food, or to survive. Like for example during class today for one of the questions we had to do in pairs. Genetic Diversity has disadvantages.

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Biodiversity is important because, it creates the organisms surroundings/environment. Like the species that surround the environment create the environment. For example the rainforest. Well, it first rains onto the soil creating trees & plants. The trees grow letting monkeys to live and do whatever monkeys do. The trees also produce bananas which monkeys eat, then the banana peel falls to the ground (will get back to this later.) Ants also live in the rainforest. They live in the ground/soil. So when the banana falls to the ground, the banana can, 1. Biodegrade in the ground leaving nutrients for plants to grow. Or 2. The ants use the banana to eat. Now if these species where to be move out of there environment, they would most likely die, from not being in there usual environment, or they would adapt to there environment.
The End!

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When most people think of biodiversity, they think of verdant Amazonian rainforests or vibrant coral reefs in tropical seas. But even a typical house in the suburbs teems with an amazing diversity of life. Spiders, insects and other arthropods crawl in nooks and crannies. Molds, algae and fungi bloom on our foods and in our showers. Grasses and weeds grow in the front yard. And birds and mammals camp out in our attics, eaves and chimneys.

In the home, however, many of us consider that diversity a bad thing and combat it with insecticides, household cleaners, weed killers and exterminators. On a global scale, however, biological diversity -- or biodiversity -- is vitally important to the health of our planet and humanity.

To understand why biodiversity is important, we have to think like biologists. Unlike nonscientists, biologists don't think of biodiversity strictly in terms of the number of species found on Earth. In fact, the variety of living things found across the planet -- also known as species diversity or species richness -- is just one part of biodiversity. Genetic diversity, which refers to genetic variation within and between populations, has a big role, too. For example, think about bald eagles in North America. Most bald eagles live in Alaska and British Columbia. Another large population lives in the Gulf States, from Texas and Baja California across to South Carolina and Florida. The number of genes -- discrete units of hereditary information consisting of unique DNA code -- found within all North American bald eagles represents their total genetic diversity.

Our eagle example also demonstrates another aspect of diversity. The Pacific Northwest represents a unique ecosystem. The Gulf Coast of Florida is another unique ecosystem with different characteristics. Having a rich variety of ecosystems, what biologists call ecosystem diversity, constitutes another important level of biodiversity.

Preserving biodiversity at any level may not seem like a big deal -- at first. After all, scientists have described and named nearly 2 million species of organisms. They think 10 million species or more exist on Earth, but haven't been discovered [source: Campbell]. What's the loss of a few species here and there? Well, according to evolutionary biologist E. O. Wilson, species loss may go against biophilia, or the tendency of humans to focus on life and lifelike processes. If this is true, then contributing to the destruction of living things goes against what it means to be human. It also reinforces the notion that we shouldn't deprive future generations of the same diversity of life we enjoy today.

That's the moral argument. We'll tackle the practical side of biodiversity next.

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When most people think of biodiversity, they think of verdant Amazonian rainforests or vibrant coral reefs in tropical seas. But even a typical house in the suburbs teems with an amazing diversity of life. Spiders, insects and other arthropods crawl in nooks and crannies. Molds, algae and fungi bloom on our foods and in our showers.

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Why is biodiversity important?

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Why Is Biodiversity Important? Who Cares? - Global Issues

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Biodiversity is important, more than just the 'I want my children to enjoy it' reason. For example, the richness of diversity allows medicines and foods to be naturally available. The natural disaster prevention mechanisms in most ecosystems and other free services we all get from the surrounding environment are not easily replaceable or replicable, so maintaining biodiversity is important.