Biodiversity

Biodiversity refers to the variety of living species on Earth, including plants, animals, bacteria and fungi. The biodiversity of a specific region or place is called an ecosystem. Ecosystems are like a web to maintain balance and support life. Biodiversity supports everything in nature that we need to survive such as food, clean water, breathable air, medicine and shelter. Meaning if our ecosystems are in danger our clean water and air and so on are also in danger. Our biodiversity is like a safety net that upholds the planet's resilience. With no change in human activity, we are heading to an unlivable planet.

Humans put pressure on wildlife, ecosystems and biodiversity by using more resources than ever before and we risk upsetting the balance of ecosystems and losing biodiversity. Many reports have shown a huge decline in the population of many species all around the world and many species are threatened with extinction. About 75% of the land surface environment and 66% of the ocean environment have been significantly altered. More than 1/3 of the world's land and surface and nearly 75% of the world's freshwater resources are now devoted to crop or livestock production. Even though crops are still plants they cannot provide an ecosystem because of the monoculture. This also happens many times when organisations or governments are planting trees to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by planting hundreds of trees from the same species are planted together. However, a monoculture cannot provide a stable and strong ecosystem and is therefore ineffective when it comes to restoring biodiversity. Also, climate change worsens the impact of other stressors on nature. Even though climate change is a naturally occurring process, human activity accelerated global warming and thus climate change massively by burning fossil fuels among other things. Because global warming happens so fast it is impossible for species and ecosystems to adapt to the new climate which results in the extinction of species and ecosystems slowly dying or falling apart.

Even the biggest and most important biodiversity hubs around the world are not immune to in immense pressure that humans put on wildlife and ecosystems. If we stop all emissions and pollution and we give ecosystems time and freedom, ecosystems will restore themselves.

What are the 6 major threats to biodiversity?

1. 1. Climate change
2. 2. Habitat loss & Degradation
3. 3. Pollution (All forms)
4. 4. Invasive species
5. 5. Overexploitation
6. 6. Other potential threads