Importance Of Biodiversity Essay

Great Essays
In many regions of the world, the loss of biodiversity is at its peak. Biodiversity, or biological diversity, is the whole range of different varieties of living things and systems on this earth. It includes animal species, plant species, ecosystems and landscapes. We need biodiversity for its immense capabilities. Conservation is an important piece in biodiversity, with species and populations decreasing, conservation is a necessity. Conservation is planned management of a natural resource to prevent destruction or neglect. The goal of conservation is to educate the public on the true needs of the society and how to conserve threatened ecosystems. Biodiversity is an important part of our culture. It is the key to resilience; the ability …show more content…
In the past three decades alone, many wild animals in Africa have suffered a massive decline in population because of poaching, the illegal killing of animals for body parts. Immense amounts of elephants and rhinos are killed yearly for their ivory tusks, which have an ample profit on the black market. Africa houses thousands of species of animals, so it’s important that we conserve and protect these species before it’s too late. There are many things we can do to ensure the survival of most species, for example, in attempt to save animals from possible extinction; anti-poaching laws have been passed by governments throughout Africa. Other regions of the world have been affected also, for example, in India there were often conflicts between the priorities of people and the need for conservation. The greatest threats to wildlife are competition for resources and expansion for the people of India in unsustainable ways to house a growing population. With a growing population, there’s a higher demand for natural resources, space and industry. These are the three leading causes of endangerment and/or extinction today. Clearing of space causes a loss of ecosystems for many species, this then causes a lack of biodiversity, which we need to maintain a stable ecosystem. The more natural resources we use, the lesser the supply we will then have. Even though we don’t consider them useful, we depend on natural resources a lot more than we think. As humans, we depend on other living organisms to provide us with resources needed to survive. Also, the growth of industry increases the amount of pollution being let into the atmosphere, which causes loss of habitats due to climate change. Climate has a big effect on the stability of an ecosystem. It could cause a quarter of animals and plants to become extinct. This factor affects us all over the globe, with an increase of global warming and

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    If the animals keep on dying from the ways I listed then there would be less biodiversity. Biodiversity is the variety of habitats and Ecosystems. Biodiversity is a good thing because there would be plenty of plants and animals so there is more choices for the animals. The food chain also is good the larger it is the better. If the simple food chain mentioned above was the only possible choice for the animals involved for instance, snakes could only eat rabbits, and hawks could only eat snakes then both snakes and hawks would die out, should the rabbit population drop because of an outside factor, like disease.…

    • 439 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    This paper will provide an overview of some of the available research available that will illustrate the impact elephants have on their African environment. Elephant populations in Africa steadily declined for much of the twentieth century due to habitat loss and poaching (Wittemyer…

    • 177 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Humanity is blessed to have evolved on earth. Biodiversity and beauty can be seen almost anywhere, but it has been decreasing quite rapidly in short period of time. Reading The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert is a must to understand how significant humanity’s impact is on our world. The decision to destroy or to save it rests in our hands. Most of this responsibility falls on you, Director Pruitt; you have the resources and power to uphold the ethical treatment of our lands and animals.…

    • 1238 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Have you ever heard of the West African Black Rhinoceros? As of 2011 this species is extinct and society could have prevented it (Gerkens). The species is thought to have died off, because of poaching, but taking precautions could have prevented their extinction. This is just one example of Earth’s deterioration with irreversible consequences that could have been averted. Societies use Earth and all of its resources and expects no repercussions.…

    • 1490 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Morelle cites five different perspectives, ranging from professionals in wildlife to well known organizations, in regard to the decline of wildlife. Through the use of reasoning, emotional appeals and credible sources, Morelle effectively convinces her audience that the decline of wildlife poses a serious problem and action must be taken to slow the situation. Morelle starts the article with a statement made by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) claiming that vertebrate population would reduce to two-thirds by 2020 and that…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert describes Earth's five previous mass extinctions and how humans are to blame for leading our biodiversity into a sixth mass extinction. As an animal lover and an Earth-history enthusiast, I was excited to begin The Sixth Extinction. Kolbert begins by documenting her scientific journeys, relating biodiversity's current extinction rates, to the previous five, showing the interconnectedness through history. Following this, Kolbert emphasizes that we are currently in a geological period called the Anthropocene, named after the significant impact humans have on the surrounding environment. Additionally, Kolbert researches individual species to find a reason why they suddenly went extinct.…

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “We should preserve every scrap of biodiversity as priceless while we learn to use it and come to understand what it means to humanity” (Edward Owen Wilson, 2006). The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1981 and stretches for more than 2300 kilometres along the northeast coast of Australia, including an area of about 347 800 square kilometres of seabed. It is the largest coral reef ecosystem in the world with 2500 coral reefs and is home to more than 1500 species of fish and 5000 species of mollusc. Approximately 215 species of birds are found on its islands and cays. Despite the GBR being given World Heritage status the health of the GBR has declined to date.…

    • 1716 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    (Allan and Flecker 1993). Biodiversity is incredibly important to maintain…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The areas of Putah Creek within the vicinity of the university campus have been conserved to certain extents and heavily used by humans. The creek has been altered and manipulated over the past decades by humans and the alterations in the creek and nature are obvious at each of the stops of the self-guided trip. The trip featured the riparian plants in the reserves by the creek and the arboretum walkway. According to the field guide, UC Davis has been maintaining a policy of sustainability to conserve energy and acres of land is set aside as reserves to preserve the native species inhabiting the area. Although efforts to conserve wildlife in Putah Creek and surrounding areas have made some progress, human interference and the cumulative damage…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many medicines, for example, are derived from plants. When such plants are threatened by the loss of biodiversity, the health of the citizens are as well. Biodiversity also provides a type of "cushion" when natural disasters occur. The diversity of organisms makes extinction more difficult, and without it, minor tragedies can cause immense damage. Biodiversity is the key to stability and must be preserved whenever…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A study on the economic benefit behind the lion hunting in Africa concluded, “The suggestion that trophy hunting plays a significant role in African economic development is misguided…Revenues constitute only a fraction of a percent of GDP and almost none of that ever reaches rural communities.” (Croswell) The actions that hunters make by killing animals for pleasure does not help conservation in the wild and all it does is create issues. It also leads to the extinction of a species which can create a problem in the animal…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    According to scientists, around 150-200 species of plant and animal go extinct every 24 hours. This statistic doesn’t seem so shocking until the realization comes that this is almost 1,000 times the natural rate for extinction. Humans contribute a great amount to this pandemic. A prime example is that of the dodo bird, which was famously hunted into extinction. Around 20,000 species are currently listed as threatened by extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).…

    • 952 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Many species in the world are endangered and eventually becoming extinct. The main problem that generates extinction is human activity; people cause extinction every day and unknowingly to them, it is killing innocent animals. Due to pollution, natural forces, human interaction, and loss of habitats, animal extinction is a major crisis in the world; people are the only ones that can save the animal population before it is too late. Pollution is among the most insidious threats to animal extinction. It can be as obvious as sewage and oil spills in water or as invisible as chemicals used every day.…

    • 1772 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Berkes (2004) discusses community based conservation which would allow society to become part of the environment and allow the idea of simultaneous development and conservation to flourish. This would prevent society from exploiting and overconsuming the habitat in order to suit development needs and would focus on the relationship between human and nature. Berkes (2004) also raises the idea of forest conservation which expresses the emotiveness of the wilderness and displays natures astonishing biodiversity. Forest conservation is a way of planning and maintaining the biodiversity of an area so it can be preserved for future generations. It is these different strategies and perspectives presented by critics that subsidize to the establishment and management of protected areas in the…

    • 862 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    For several thousands of years, humans and other living species have coexisted together, but as the human population continues to dramatically increase, the need for an extraneous amount of resources does as well. Over the past two decades, the human impact on wildlife is easily seen worldwide. Forests have been diminishing at an alarming rate. Deforestation is becoming more of a problem each day. Due to deforestation, biodiversity is decreasing, habitats are being severely polluted, and inhabitants of the forest are being forced out of their comfort zone.…

    • 1292 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays