Photo by Erin Langager
What is it?
Biodiversity describes the variety of plant and animal species found in an ecosystem, habitat, or generally throughout an area, region, or the world. Biodiversity refers to every living things (adapted from National Geographic).
Why is it important?
Biodiversity is all life on Earth. Every ecosystem and habitat is made up of a wide variety of species which all have complex interactions and relationships with one another. When one species becomes extirpated (locally extinct) or globally extinct, this can have cascading affects on the whole system. We do not understand all interactions species have with one another in any given ecosystem, so the loss of any one species can have major unforeseen consequences. We as humans rely on these systems to provide us with services necessary for our survival, such as oxygen production, water filtration, nutrient cycling, food, and medicine.
Our current global pandemic crisis (COVID-19) is a prime example of how a loss of biodiversity can threaten human health. As we continue to over-harvest species for food and other uses, and continue to expand development projects deeper into wild natural areas, we risk exposing ourselves to novel diseases through interactions with more remote wildlife.
Biodiversity plays an important role in mitigating global climate change. As more forests and natural areas are cleared or disturbed, we lose ecosystem services those areas provide (water filtration, oxygen production, carbon storage, support for animal life, etc.) as well as release additional carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Biodiversity also plays an important cultural and economic role in human society. There are huge markets for natural resources such as timber, fish, and agriculture, as well as money to be made through ecotourism. By degrading our natural spaces and over-harvesting specific species, we are depreciating the economic value of these resources and areas. Many religions have sacred sites that revolve around specific species or natural spaces. Parks, protected areas (PAs), and legislation specific to species can help protect those deemed sacred, however it is often not enough to keep species from becoming threatened or extinct as most species ranges exist outside the boundaries of the PAs.