Article I (Biodiversity)

Biodiversity is the variation of life form within a given ecosystem, biome or on the entire earth. It is also define as the variety of species, their genetic make-up, and the natural communities in which they occur. It is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems. Raymond F. Dasmann, a wildlife scientist and conservationist was the one who first used the term that was not widely adopted for more than a decade. In the 1980’s, “biodiversity” came into common usage in science and environmental policy. It comes from the words “biological” and “diversity” that combined together and defined the same.

Biological diversity or biodiversity can have many explanations and it is most commonly used to change the more plainly defined and long established terms, species diversity and species richness. “Totality of genes, species, and ecosystem of a region”, it is the Biologists definition for biodiversity because there is an advantage of it that seems to describe most situation and present a unified vision of the usual three levels at which biological variety has been identified. These are species diversity, ecosystem diversity, morphological diversity and genetic diversity.

It also supports a number of natural ecosystem processes and services. Ecosystem is defined as a community of the living organisms combined with their associated physical environment. Some ecosystem services that benefit society are air quality, climate, water purification, pollination and prevention on erosion.

Biodiversity provides foods for human. Although about 80 percent of our food supply comes from just 20 kinds of plants, humans need at least 40,000 species of plants and animals a day. Many people around the world depend on these kinds for their food, medicine, shelter, and clothing. There is available potential for increasing the variety of food products, provided that the high present loss rate can be stopped.

One of the key health issues related with biodiversity is that of drug discovery and the availability of medical wealth. There are 50 percent of the pharmaceutical compounds on the market in the US are derived from natural compounds found in plants, animals and microorganisms, while about 80 percent of the world population depends on medicines from nature for primary healthcare.

The recent phenomenon of global warming is also considered to be a major threat to global biodiversity. The coral reefs for example, which is biodiversity hotspots will lost in 20 to 40 years if global warming continues at the recent style. Coral reefs are useful to the environment and to people in a number of ways. However, all around the world, much of the world’s marine biodiversity face threats from human and activities as well as natural. It is feared that very soon, many reefs could die off. The small organisms called pelagic, needs oxygen that’s why they are living over water and not in too deep like what the big organisms are.

To prevent the biodiversity in danger, we have to be environmental and be protective to every situation. Don’t waste food, paper, fiber and any things that came from biodiversity. Save the things that is helpful to us and we can use for our daily routine. Also, peoples are needed to stop illegal logging because it’s a big lost for every life. Not only us humans but also the animals who are like us, their foods are from trees. We are losing plants and animals due to deforestation.

The climate is changing. The earth is warming up, and there is now devastating scientific compromise that it is happening. With global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are moving back. Many are agreed that climate change may be one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing end in weather patterns. Environmental issues are also a major global issue. Humans depend on a sustainable and healthy environment, and yet we have damaged the environment in numerous ways.

Biodiversity is very important to us because, it feeds the world, it heals and soothes and it protects all of us. It boosts ecosystem productivity where each species, no matter how small, all have an important role to play. For example, a larger number of plant species means a greater variety of crops, greater species diversity ensures natural sustainability for all life forms; and healthy ecosystems can better survive and recover from a variety of calamities. And so, while we dominate this planet, we still need to preserve the diversity in wildlife.

Biodiversity’s ecological services are very important to our everyday life. The air we breathe is a product of photosynthesis by green plants. Insects, worms, bacteria, and other small organisms break down wastes and support in the decay of dead plants and animals to enrich soils. More than 90 percent of the calories consumed by people worldwide are produced from 80 plant species. Almost 30 percent of medicines are developed from plants and animals, and many more are derived from these sources. Not a day, hour, or even second goes by that we do not depend on biodiversity for survival.