The rich tapestry of life on our planet is the outcome of over 3.5
billion years of evolutionary history. It has been shaped by forces such
as changes in the planet's crust, ice ages, fire, and interaction among
species. Now, it is increasingly being altered by humans. From the dawn
of agriculture, some 10,000 years ago, through the Industrial
Revolution of the past three centuries, we have reshaped our landscapes
on an ever-larger and lasting scale. We have moved from hacking down
trees with stone tools to literally moving mountains to mine the Earth's
resources. Old ways of harvesting are being replaced by more intensive
technologies, often without controls to prevent over-harvesting. For
example, fisheries that have fed communities for centuries have been
depleted in a few years by huge, sonar-guided ships using nets big
enough to swallow a dozen jumbo jets at a time. By consuming ever more
of nature's resources, we have gained more abundant food and better
shelter, sanitation, and health care, but these gains are often
accompanied by increasing environmental degradation that may be followed
by declines in local economies and the societies they supported.
In 1999, the world's population hit 6 billion. United Nations experts predict the world will have to find resources for a population of 9 billion people in 50 years. Yet our demands on the world's natural resources are growing even faster than our numbers: since 1950, the population has more than doubled, but the global economy has quintupled. And the benefits are not equally spread: most of the economic growth has occurred in a relatively few industrialized countries. At the same time, our settlement patterns are changing our relationship with the environment. Nearly half the world's people live in towns and cities. For many people, nature seems remote from their everyday lives. More and more people associate food with stores, rather than with their natural source. The value of biodiversity Protecting biodiversity is in our self-interest. Biological resources are the pillars upon which we build civilizations. Nature's products support such diverse industries as agriculture, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, horticulture, construction and waste treatment. The loss of biodiversity threatens our food supplies, opportunities for recreation and tourism, and sources of wood, medicines and energy. It also interferes with essential ecological functions. Our need for pieces of nature we once ignored is often important and unpredictable. Time after time we have rushed back to nature's cupboard for cures to illnesses or for infusions of tough genes from wild plants to save our crops from pest outbreaks. What's more, the vast array of interactions among the various components of biodiversity makes the planet habitable for all species, including humans. Our personal health, and the health of our economy and human society, depends on the continuous supply of various ecological services that would be extremely costly or impossible to replace. These natural services are so varied as to be almost infinite. For example, it would be impractical to replace, to any large extent, services such as pest control performed by various creatures feeding on one another, or pollination performed by insects and birds going about their everyday business. "Goods and Services" provided by ecosystems include:
In 1999, the world's population hit 6 billion. United Nations experts predict the world will have to find resources for a population of 9 billion people in 50 years. Yet our demands on the world's natural resources are growing even faster than our numbers: since 1950, the population has more than doubled, but the global economy has quintupled. And the benefits are not equally spread: most of the economic growth has occurred in a relatively few industrialized countries. At the same time, our settlement patterns are changing our relationship with the environment. Nearly half the world's people live in towns and cities. For many people, nature seems remote from their everyday lives. More and more people associate food with stores, rather than with their natural source. The value of biodiversity Protecting biodiversity is in our self-interest. Biological resources are the pillars upon which we build civilizations. Nature's products support such diverse industries as agriculture, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, horticulture, construction and waste treatment. The loss of biodiversity threatens our food supplies, opportunities for recreation and tourism, and sources of wood, medicines and energy. It also interferes with essential ecological functions. Our need for pieces of nature we once ignored is often important and unpredictable. Time after time we have rushed back to nature's cupboard for cures to illnesses or for infusions of tough genes from wild plants to save our crops from pest outbreaks. What's more, the vast array of interactions among the various components of biodiversity makes the planet habitable for all species, including humans. Our personal health, and the health of our economy and human society, depends on the continuous supply of various ecological services that would be extremely costly or impossible to replace. These natural services are so varied as to be almost infinite. For example, it would be impractical to replace, to any large extent, services such as pest control performed by various creatures feeding on one another, or pollination performed by insects and birds going about their everyday business. "Goods and Services" provided by ecosystems include:
- Provision of food, fuel and fibre
- Provision of shelter and building materials
- Purification of air and water
- Detoxification and decomposition of wastes
- Stabilization and moderation of the Earth's climate
- Moderation of floods, droughts, temperature extremes and the forces of wind
- Generation and renewal of soil fertility, including nutrient cycling
- Pollination of plants, including many crops
- Control of pests and diseases
- Maintenance of genetic resources as key inputs to crop varieties and livestock breeds, medicines, and other products
- Cultural and aesthetic benefits
- Ability to adapt to change
Biodiversity under threat
When most people think of the dangers besetting the natural world, they
think of the threat to other creatures. Declines in the numbers of such
charismatic animals as pandas, tigers, elephants, whales, and various
species of birds, have drawn world attention to the problem of species
at risk. Species have been disappearing at 50-100 times the natural
rate, and this is predicted to rise dramatically. Based on current
trends, an estimated 34,000 plant and 5,200 animal species - including
one in eight of the world's bird species - face extinction. For
thousands of years we have been developing a vast array of domesticated
plants and animals important for food. But this treasure house is
shrinking as modern commercial agriculture focuses on relatively few
crop varieties. And, about 30% of breeds of the main farm animal species
are currently at high risk of extinction. While the loss of individual
species catches our attention, it is the fragmentation, degradation, and
outright loss of forests, wetlands, coral reefs, and other ecosystems
that poses the gravest threat to biological diversity. Forests are home
to much of the known terrestrial biodiversity, but about 45 per cent of
the Earth's original forests are gone, cleared mostly during the past
century. Despite some regrowth, the world's total forests are still
shrinking rapidly, particularly in the tropics. Up to 10 per cent of
coral reefs - among the richest ecosystems - have been destroyed, and
one third of the remainder face collapse over the next 10 to 20 years.
Coastal mangroves, a vital nursery habitat for countless species, are
also vulnerable, with half already gone.
Global atmospheric changes, such as ozone depletion and climate change,
only add to the stress. A thinner ozone layer lets more ultraviolet-B
radiation reach the Earth's surface where it damages living tissue.
Global warming is already changing habitats and the distribution of
species. Scientists warn that even a one-degree increase in the average
global temperature, if it comes rapidly, will push many species over the
brink. Our food production systems could also be seriously disrupted.
The loss of biodiversity often reduces the productivity of ecosystems,
thereby shrinking nature's basket of goods and services, from which we
constantly draw. It destabilizes ecosystems, and weakens their ability
to deal with natural disasters such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes,
and with human-caused stresses, such as pollution and climate change.
Already, we are spending huge sums in response to flood and storm damage
exacerbated by deforestation; such damage is expected to increase due
to global warming.
The reduction in biodiversity also hurts us in other ways. Our cultural
identity is deeply rooted in our biological environment. Plants and
animals are symbols of our world, preserved in flags, sculptures, and
other images that define us and our societies. We draw inspiration just
from looking at nature's beauty and power. While loss of species has
always occurred as a natural phenomenon, the pace of extinction has
accelerated dramatically as a result of human activity. Ecosystems are
being fragmented or eliminated, and innumerable species are in decline
or already extinct. We are creating the greatest extinction crisis since
the natural disaster that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
These extinctions are irreversible and, given our dependence on food
crops, medicines and other biological resources, pose a threat to our
own well-being. It is reckless if not downright dangerous to keep
chipping away at our life support system. It is unethical to drive other
forms of life to extinction, and thereby deprive present and future
generations of options for their survival and development.
Can we save the world's ecosystems, and with them the species we value
and the other millions of species, some of which may produce the foods
and medicines of tomorrow? The answer will lie in our ability to bring
our demands into line with nature's ability to produce what we need and
to safely absorb what we throw away.
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