What is Biodiversity?
There are many definitions of biodiversity. However, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity definition that was officially accepted by the 188 member countries is the most frequently cited:
"Biological diversity means the variability among living
organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine
and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they
are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and
of ecosystems."
Biodiversity today is the outcome of billions of years of
evolution. This diversity includes the wide variety of plants,
animals, and microorganisms. Biodiversity also includes genetic
differences within each species. Chromosomes, genes, and DNA determine
the uniqueness of each individual and each species. Yet another aspect
of biodiversity is the variety of ecosystems such as those that occur
in deserts, forests, wetlands, mountains, lakes, rivers, and
agricultural landscapes. In each ecosystem, living creatures,
including humans, form a community, interacting with one another and
within the air, water, and soil around them.
At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, world leaders agreed on
a comprehensive strategy for 'sustainable development' - meeting our
needs while ensuring that we leave a healthy and viable world for
future generations. One of those key agreements adopted at Rio was the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
The three main goals of the CBD:
- the conservation of biological diversity;
- the sustainable use of its components; and
- the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from the use of genetic resources.
The CBD defines sustainable use as the:
"Use of components of biological diversity in a way and at a
rate that does not lead to the long-term decline of biological
diversity, thereby maintaining its potential to meet the needs and
aspirations of present and future generations."
Importance of Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the web to which all life depends. It provides a
large number of goods and services that sustain our lives. For
example, biodiversity of inland waters is a source of food, income, and
livelihood for many of the world's population. Other values of inland
water ecosystems include water supply, energy production, transport,
recreation and tourism, maintenance of the hydrological balance,
retention of sediments and nutrients, and provision of habitats for
various fauna and flora. These are goods and services offered by
inland water ecosystems. There are many other types of ecosystems that
offer a plethoria of goods and services that sustain life.
The CBD publication 'Sustaining Life on Earth - How the Convention on Biological Diversity promotes nature and human well-being' provides
an in-depth overview of the importance of biodiversity. The
publication lists the following goods and services provided by
ecosystems.
- Provision for food, fuel, and fiber
- 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
The World Resources Institute Valuing Ecosystem Services study
asks what are Mother Nature's life-support services worth? The study
shows just how much we depend on ecosystem goods and services in our
everyday lives. Without fertile soil, fresh water, breathable air, and
an amenable climate our economies, social structure, and very existence
will collapse.
In one of the first efforts to calculate a global number, a
team of researchers from the United States, Argentina, and the
Netherlands has put an average price tag of US$33 trillion a year on
these fundamental ecosystem services, which are largely taken for
granted because they are free. That is nearly twice the value of the
global gross national product (GNP) of US$18 trillion. (See How Much Are Nature's Services Worth? and Ecosystems Services: Free, But Valuable.)
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