Biodiversity is declining faster than it has at any other time in human history. People represent just 0. Plus, scientists agree that climate change is happening much too fast for species to adapt and survive. No one is immune to the adverse impacts of biodiversity loss and degraded ecosystems. Children, in particular, are affected because their bodies are still developing and their behaviour — like playing on the ground or eating dirt — can expose them to more harmful chemicals and organisms.
Biodiversity is essential for healthy child nutrition and provides plant, animal and microbial genetic resources necessary for food production and diversified, balanced diets. Biodiversity provides vital ecosystem functions such as soil fertilization, nutrient recycling, pest and disease regulation, erosion control and crop and tree pollination.
Biodiversity supports ecosystems to provide and purify water. Every two minutes a child dies from a water-borne disease. But through the continuous recycling of water, biodiversity maintains ecosystem services needed to sustain drinking water supplies.
Ecosystems also play a significant role in purifying water. Biodiversity is essential to increase the resilience of communities and reduce their vulnerability in the face of shocks such as climate change and natural disasters.
Biodiversity loss destabilizes ecosystems that can regulate the climate and mitigation of floods. This leads to weakening of community resilience, and their ability to adapt and protect the health and safety of their children. Biodiversity loss can increase the incidence and distribution of certain infectious diseases which are lethal for children.
Diseases that spread from animals to humans are a serious threat: studies show that 75 per cent of all emerging diseases come from wildlife, including COVID Deforestation drives wild animals out of their natural habitats and closer to humans and is linked to 31 per cent of outbreaks such as Ebola, and the Zika and Nipah viruses.
And climate change has altered and accelerated the transmission patterns of infectious diseases while contributing to human displacement. Biodiversity is an important and irreplaceable source for medicines and advances in understanding disease, thereby supporting child health. Plants, fungi, microbes and animals are the sources of unique and innovative molecules that form the basis for new medicines. Not only is protecting their ways of life important, but their traditional knowledge also can help to protect biodiversity.
If we take action now, we can protect biodiversity, lift up marginalized communities, and make progress against inequality and poverty. Sustainable development relies on biodiversity. From hunger and water, to gender and equity, achieving our global goals requires the protection and restoration of ecosystems, as well as the sustainable and equitable use of biodiversity. At the core of protecting biodiversity is the recognition that it intersects with and underpins all aspects of human well-being and development.
The need for urgent action is clear. The coming year is critical for governments to take decisive action on biodiversity, starting with commitments at the UN Summit on Biodiversity in September and continuing through May , when countries will meet to approve a new set of targets, the Post Global Biodiversity Framework.
However, government commitments alone will not be enough. Individual actions — from avoiding plastic pollution to supporting sustainable agriculture — can help protect biodiversity and be part of a global transition to a more sustainable world. See more work from Edgar and Kynan on Instagram and be sure to follow. By Melissa Turley Toufanian June 29, By Chandler Green January 23, Biodiversity is Essential for our Planet, our Climate, our Health Urgent global action on biodiversity is critical.
Here are five reasons we need urgent action on biodiversity: 1. We would have to interlink these protected areas to allow animals to move between them and maintain genetic diversity. We can all help conserve biodiversity by changing our diet. For example, we destroy an enormous amount of forest every year to make space for cattle to produce meat for us to eat.
By cutting out meat from our diets, we reduce forest clearing and biodiversity destruction. Also, palm oil — derived from the oil palm tree and found in everyday foods such as chocolate, packaged bread, and ice cream — is a significant driver of deforestation. There are critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable species worldwide that have palm oil exploitation as their main threat.
We can all help conserve biodiversity by eating fewer products made from palm oil. Finally, another way to conserve biodiversity is to better highlight the value of nature.
We can do this by estimating the financial value of ecosystems and the economic benefits of preserving them. Placing a value and cost on conserving the watershed and building a water treatment plant made it evident that conservation was the better option. We deliver two energy conservation programs that help income-eligible Ontarians increase the energy efficiency of their homes. Since less energy used means fewer greenhouse gases emitted, these programs also help preserve biodiversity.
To learn more, visit our website. In conclusion, we are facing an unprecedented biodiversity crisis that threatens the very future of humanity.
Species numbers have collapsed around us, and once they go extinct, they will be gone forever. While the issue of biodiversity loss can seem overwhelming and hopeless, there are steps that every one of us can take to help. By changing our diet and pressuring politicians to take the issue seriously, we can reverse the destruction of nature. For new content, be sure to check out our insights page regularly. Also, follow us on Facebook , LinkedIn , and Twitter , and sign up for our newsletter.
What is Biodiversity? Just How Diverse is Biodiversity? Why is Biodiversity Important? There are numerous reasons why biodiversity is essential, and we must preserve it.
We Rely on Healthy Ecosystems to Survive Firstly, biodiversity is vital as humans rely on healthy ecosystems to survive. Biodiversity is Essential for Human Health Research demonstrates that there is a direct link between disease outbreaks and the destruction of biodiversity. Biodiversity is a Vital Part of the Solution to Climate Change An important reason to conserve biodiversity is that it is vital in the fight against climate change.
Biodiversity is Good for the Economy Another good reason to conserve biodiversity is that it is good for the economy.
Biodiversity is a Fundamental Component of Human Culture Different species are often fundamental to various cultural and national identities. How Bad is Biodiversity Loss? Mammals If we look specifically at mammals, which are the easiest species to monitor, we see that the number of animals on earth has fallen by half since What is Destroying Biodiversity?
0コメント