Biodiversity and children in a changing environment

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What is biodiversity?

  • Biodiversity – or biological diversity – is the variety of life on Earth. It includes every form of life - from the smallest microbe to the largest plants and animals - and the interactions between them.
    • It includes the range of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity throughout every part of the Earth from high up in the air to within the sands of the Sahara and into the deepest ocean trenches
  • We don’t even know anything about most of the species in the world. Scientists estimate there are between 10 and 15 million species. Less than 2 million have ever been described.
  • The issues of biodiversity and cultural diversity are similar. The world has a multitude of different cultures. Respect and acknowledgement of everyone and everything’s purpose and place is what will pave the way for peace and balance in human societies and between humans and the environment.

What is happening to the Earth’s biodiversity?

  • Animals and plants are being driven to extinction at more than 1,000 times the normal rate due to people felling forests, destroying wetlands, overfishing and polluting the oceans and waterways
    • Nearly one in four mammals, one in three amphibians, one in eight birds and a quarter of coniferous trees are threatened with extinction.
      • If global warming exceeds 1.5-2°C, 20-30% of plant and animal species will be at risk of extinction.
    • Cultural diversity is also threatened; one language disappears every two weeks.

    Why is biodiversity important?

    • Biodiversity forms the web of life. Humans are merely one part of this web of life and we fully depend on it.
      • Food security: Biodiversity ensures the sustainable productivity of soils and provides the genetic resources for all crops, livestock and marine species harvested for food. Adequate nutrition, in turn, is the prime requirement for ensuring the normal (physical and mental) development of children.
        • Genetic diversity protects crops from being wiped out by pest and disease outbreaks
        • Since 1900, about 75% of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost
      Example: in India, there are now fewer than 50 rice varieties, where once it had 30,000
    • Clean water: Biodiversity is vital to healthy ecosystems. Healthy ecosystems, particularly wetlands, are necessary for water purification and for helping to keep the supply of water stable. A clean supply of water is necessary to improve child health and sanitation
    • Medicines: Biodiversity provides invaluable information and raw materials that underpin health care systems, and thus support child health.
      • An estimated 80 per cent of people in developing countries rely on traditional medicines for primary health care, mostly derived from endemic plants.
      • Almost all modern medicines are derived directly or indirectly from plants, animals and microbes. As biodiversity is degraded, options for discovering new medicines decrease.
      Example: in the U.S., foresters destroyed trees called the Pacific yew because they thought it was a weed. In 1991, it was discovered that the yew can help fight cancer, but now there are not enough trees left to use to treat patients
    • Resilience: The loss of biodiversity destabilizes ecosystems and reduces options for change and adaptation, making communities more vulnerable to natural disasters and climate change.
      • 60 per cent of the services provided by the world’s ecosystems that support human well being are either degraded or heading that way.

Is there anything being done to stop the loss?

  • The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity have committed to achieving a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth by 2010
    • To achieve this goal biodiversity conservation has to be integrated into development and poverty reduction strategies
    • Each individual can help by reducing the amount of waste they produce and being aware of how the things they buy or use are made