Biodiversity refers to the variety of living organisms on Earth encompassing plants, animals, and even the tiniest microbes; the intricate existence they inhabit is crucial for human life you'd think we'd take great care of it right? However, this diversity is under threat due to human activities challenging the delicate balance of life on Earth.
Overexploitation: One threat which many do not know of is over-exploitation. Things we consume daily lead to unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, including overhunting, overfishing, and illegal wildlife trade. Some favourite foods such as Red Lobster or Sushi are fuelling the demand for seafood, causing international overfishing and depletion of fish stocks worldwide leading to the collapse of marine ecosystems and threatening food security for millions of people. Many other species are hunted or harvested at unsustainable rates meaning there won't be enough of that species to reproduce at the same rates they are being harvested or hunted (which is done to get their meat for organs and other body parts) driving populations to the brink of extinction.
Pollution: We've heard it all: drive your car is less, don't buy plastic straws etc. Pollution from industrial activities and agriculture contaminates air, water and soil harming both wildlife and ecosystems. it's even killing us, as seen in polluted cities where many citizens wear masks to cope with extreme levels of pollution. Chemical pollutants such as pesticides are used just so Erehwon can make the famous “Haley Bieber's Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie” and heavy metals accumulate in the environment poisoning organisms and disrupting ecological processes. Plastic pollution in particular poses a great threat to marine biodiversity with millions of tons of plastic waste entering the ocean each year, choking marine life and destroying habitats.
Habitat Destruction: One of the biggest threats to biodiversity is the destruction of habitats. Human evolvements such as deforestation, urbanisation and conversion of natural landscapes for agriculture and infrastructure projects, (for example, the construction of new hotels for tourism just so we can relax on Thai or Bali beaches), have led to the loss of critical habitats for countless species with more than 1.6 million square miles of forest destroyed since the 1990s. This makes it extremely difficult for species to survive in increasingly broken up landscapes.
Obvi, this ultimately leads to climate change.
Climate Change: Climate change is perhaps the most significant threat to biodiversity, constantly on the news, creating scandals and being chased by the paparazzi. What an A-list celebrity, no? Rising temperatures changing rainfall patterns and extreme weather events are reshaping and disrupting ecosystems around the globe. Species that are unable to adapt or flee face heightened risks of extinction. Coral reefs, forests, polar regions, the land of the infamous polar bears, and other vulnerable ecosystems are particularly at risk from the impacts of climate change with far-reaching consequences for biodiversity and human well-being.
Since the threats facing biodiversity stem from us humans and are so foreseeable why can't we just solve it? After all, they are the very ecosystems that sustain us, right?! But it's a bit more complicated than that because all the factors listed are needed to satisfy our demands such as shelter (infrastructure), and nutrition (satisfying the demand for food) to survive. However, those factors are destroying other parts of the earth needed to survive (biodiversity). So ironically we're destroying stuff vital for us to create stuff vital for us. It's a paradox. Or is it? How would you try to balance biodiversity without neglecting other parts of society?
Bibliography:
https://homework.study.com/explanation/what-are-ecological-processes.html#:~:text=Ecological%20processes%20refer%20to%20the,return%20them%20to%20the%20soil.
https://scholarworks.calstate.edu/downloads/fj2368677#:~:text=The%20popularization%20of%20sushi%20plays,irreversible%20harm%20to%20aquatic%20ecosystems.
<a href="https://www.flaticon.com/free-icons/fish" title="fish icons">Fish icons created by Good Ware - Flaticon</a>
Yorumlar