Impacts of Biodiversity loss

- S. R. maharjan

Biodiversity or Biological diversity is a term that describes the variety of living beings on
earth or degree of variation of life. Biological diversity encompasses microorganism, plants,
animals and ecosystems such as coral reefs, forests, rainforests, deserts etc.
Biodiversity has a number of functions on the Earth. These are as follows:

 Maintaining balance of the ecosystem: Recycling and storage of nutrients,

combating pollution, and stabilizing climate, protecting water resources, forming and
protecting soil and maintaining ecological balance.

 Provision of biological resources: Provision of medicines and pharmaceuticals, food for

the human population and animals, ornamental plants, wood products, breeding stock and
diversity of species, ecosystems and genes.

 Social benefits: Recreation and tourism, cultural value and education and research.

Different factors affecting biodiversity loss are – habitat destruction, climate change, invasive
species, pollution, human overpopulation and over-harvesting. Experts estimate that around
30% of all species on earth will be extinct by 2050. According to the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN), globally about one third of all known species are threatened
with extinction. Even it is estimated that 25% of all mammals will be extinct within 20 years.

People depend on biodiversity in their daily lives, in ways that are not always apparent or
appreciated. Human health ultimately depends upon ecosystem products and services (such as
availability of fresh water, food and fuel sources) which are requisite for good human health
and productive livelihoods. Biodiversity loss can have significant direct human health impacts
if ecosystem services are no longer adequate to meet social needs. Indirectly, changes in
ecosystem services affect livelihoods, income, local migration and, on occasion, may even
cause political conflict.
Additionally, biophysical diversity of microorganisms, flora and fauna provides extensive
knowledge which carry important benefits for biological, health, and pharmacological
sciences. Significant medical and pharmacological discoveries are made through greater
understanding of the earth's biodiversity. Loss in biodiversity may limit discovery of potential
treatments for many diseases and health problems.
There is growing concern about the health consequences of biodiversity loss and change.
Biodiversity changes affect ecosystem functioning and significant disruptions of ecosystems
can result in life sustaining ecosystem goods and services. Biodiversity loss also means that
we are losing, before discovery, many of nature's chemicals and genes, of the kind that have
already provided humankind with enormous health benefits. Specific pressures and linkages
between health and biodiversity include:
Biodiversity plays a crucial role in human nutrition through its influence on world food
production, as it ensures the sustainable productivity of soils and provides the genetic
resources for all crops, livestock, and marine species harvested for food. Access to a
sufficiency of a nutritious variety of food is a fundamental determinant of health.
Nutrition and biodiversity are linked at many levels: the ecosystem, with food production as
an ecosystem service; the species in the ecosystem and the genetic diversity within species.
Nutritional composition between foods and among varieties/cultivars/breeds of the same food
can differ dramatically, affecting micronutrient availability in the diet. Healthy local diets,
with adequate average levels of nutrients intake, necessitates maintenance of high biodiversity
levels.
Intensified and enhanced food production through irrigation, use of fertilizer, plant protection
(pesticides) or the introduction of crop varieties and cropping patterns affect biodiversity, and
thus impact global nutritional status and human health. Habitat simplification, species loss and
species succession often enhance communities vulnerabilities as a function of environmental
receptivity to ill health.
we may be able to re-forest our lands, restore soil fertility, control floods and droughts or arrest
climate change, if we make an effort. But we can never get back the species we have lost.

In a short-term way, the wiping out of a species or a drastic decrease in its numbers can affect the
livelihoods of people, for example, those directly dependent on forests. It can cause economic
loss for an industry or country. For example, Canada had to ban cod fishing in the 1990s because
the number of fish had decreased dangerously, threatening the survival of the fish.

In the long run, the loss or depletion of biodiversity can threaten our very existence. For
example, most of the world’s food comes from about 20 species of plants. If any one or more of
these plants are affected by some killer disease, it would be necessary to develop new varieties
with the help of their relatives in the wild.

This, in fact, happened in the 1970s when a virus was destroying rice crops in Asia. A search of
over 6000 wild rice varieties yielded one that could resist the disease and was used to develop a
disease-resistant variety of rice. This is just one example. There are thousands of species of
plants and animals in the wild which could provide us with food and medicine in the future.

They could yield cures for diseases that are not yet known. The saddest part of the story is that
we are losing many of these species even before knowing anything about them. For, of the 10-14
million species believed to exist at present, we have identified only 1.8 million, and of these 1.8
million, we have studied only about a third
Our world is not only getting hotter and more polluted, it’s getting poorer biologically as wild
species disappear. Our new study shows that these extinctions compromise healthy
ecosystems—and their ability to provide for us—just as strongly as global warming and
pollution do.” “We know that declines in seagrasses, forage fish, and other species can disrupt
ecosystems that provide food and jobs for Chesapeake Bay communities," says Duffy. "Our
new results show that the link between declining wild species and loss of productivity is both
strong and general.”

A recent global studyshows that 14% of the 72 known seagrass species are at an elevated risk
of extinction, while 3 species qualify as endangered. Closer to home, the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service currently lists 75 species as endangered or threatened in Virginia. Endangered
or threatened species in Chesapeake Bay include the shortnose sturgeon, the Atlantic sturgeon,
and all 5 species of sea turtles that frequent Bay waters. The American eel is under
consideration for a threatened listing.

Biodiversity, Productivity, and Extinction

Studies over the last two decades have demonstrated that more biologically diverse ecosystems
are more productive. As a result, there has been growing concern that the very high rates of
modern extinctions—due to habitat loss, overharvesting, and other human-caused
environmental changes—could reduce nature’s ability to provide goods and services like food,
clean water, and a stable climate.

But until now, it’s been unclear how biodiversity losses stack up against other human-caused
environmental changes that affect ecosystem health and productivity.

“Some people have assumed that biodiversity effects are relatively minor compared to other
environmental stressors,” says biologist David Hooper of Western Washington University, the
lead author of the Naturepaper. “Our new results show that future loss of species has the
potential to reduce plant production just as much as global warming and pollution."

of published studies to compare how various global environmental stressors affect two
processes important in all ecosystems: plant growth and the decomposition of dead plants by
bacteria and fungi. The new study involved the construction of a database drawn from 192
peer-reviewed publications about experiments that manipulated the number of species and
examined the impact on ecosystem processes.

The global synthesis found that in areas where local species loss this century falls within the
lower range of projections (loss of 1 to 20 percent of plant species), there will likely be
negligible impacts on ecosystem plant production, and effects of species loss will rank low
relative to the impacts projected for other environmental changes.

In ecosystems where extinctions fall within intermediate projections (21 to 40 percent of

species), however, species loss is expected to reduce plant production by 5 to 10 percent, an
effect that is comparable in magnitude to the expected impacts of climate warming and
increased ultraviolet radiation due to ozone loss from the atmosphere.
At higher levels of extinction (41 to 60 percent of species), the impacts of species loss ranked
with those of many other major drivers of environmental change, such as ozone pollution, acid
deposition on forests, and nutrient pollution. “Losing half the plant species in an area is like
dousing it in acid rain”, says Duffy.

“Within the range of expected species losses, we saw average declines in plant growth that
were as large as changes seen in experiments simulating several other major environmental
changes caused by humans,” Hooper says. “I think several of us working on this study were
surprised by the strength of those effects.

Biodiversity and the many ecosystem services that it provides are a key factor determining
humanwell-being. Biodiversity loss has-direct and indirect negative effects on several factors:

Food security: The availability of biodiversity is often a "safety net" that increases food security
and the adaptability of some local communities to external economic and ecological
disturbances. Farming practices that maintain and make use of agricultural biodiversity can also
improve food security.
Vulnerability: Many communities have experienced more natural disasters over the past several
decades. For example, because of the loss of mangroves and coral reefs, which are excellent
natural buffers against floods and storms, coastal communities have increasingly suffered from
severe floods.
Health: A balanced diet depends on the availability of a wide variety of foods, which in turn
depends on the conservation of biodiversity. Moreover, greater wildlife diversity may decrease
the spread of many wildlife pathogens to humans.
Energy security: Wood fuel provides more than half the energy used in developing countries.
Shortage of wood fuel occurs in areas with high population density without access to alternative
and affordable energy sources. In such areas, people are vulnerable to illness and malnutrition
because of the lack of resources to heat homes, cook food, and boil water.

Clean water: The continued loss of forests and the destruction of watersheds reduce the quality
and availability of water supplied to household use and agriculture. In the case of New York
City, protecting the ecosystem to ensure continued provision of clean drinking water was far
more cost-effective than building and operating a water filtration plant.
Social relations: Many cultures attach spiritual, aesthetic, recreational, and
religious values to ecosystems or their components. The loss or damage to these components can
harm social relations, both by reducing the bonding value of shared experience as well as by
causing resentment toward groups that profit from their damage.
Social Consequences of Biodiversity Degradation
Freedom of choice: Loss of biodiversity, which is sometimes irreversible, often means a loss of
choices. The notion of having choices available irrespective of whether any of them will be
actually picked is an essential constituent of the freedom aspect of well-being. More...
Basic materials: Biodiversity provides various goods - such as plants and animals - that
individuals need in order to earn an income and secure sustainable livelihoods. In addition to
agriculture, biodiversity contributes to a range of other sectors, including "ecotourism",
pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and fisheries. Losses of biodiversity, such as the collapse of the
Newfoundland cod fishery can impose substantial costs at local and national level.