For many decades, various environmentalists, biologists and other scientists, have viewed the entire earth as a massive living organism or system due to the interdependent nature of all species within it. Some cultures have recognized this kind of inter-relationship for a very long time. Some have termed this Gaia. While there are disagreements and differences on how this works, it suggests that ecological balance and biodiversity are crucial for all of earth, not just humans.
Although some dislike the thought of trying to put an economic value on biodiversity some things are just priceless , there have been attempts to do so in order for people to understand the magnitude of the issue: how important the environment is to humanity and what costs and benefits there can be in doing or not doing something. The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity TEEB is an organization — backed by the UN and various European governments — attempting to compile, build and make a compelling economics case for the conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity.
The BBC notes that biodiversity is fundamental to economics. For example,. Despite these free benefits, it has long been recognized that we tend to ignore or underestimate the value of those services. So much so that economic measures such as GDP often ignores environmental costs. The economic benefits of protecting the environment are well-understood, even if seemingly rarely practiced:.
Numerous studies also show that investments in protected areas generate a cost-benefit ratio of one to 25 and even one to in some cases, [Pavan Sukhdev, from TEEB] said. Planting and protecting nearly 12, hectares of mangroves in Vietnam costs just over a million dollars but saved annual expenditures on dyke maintenance of well over seven million dollars.
It has perhaps taken about a decade or so — and a severe enough global financial crisis that has hit the heart of this way of thinking — to change this mentality in which time, more greenhouse gases have been emitted — inefficiently. Economists talk of the price signal that is fundamental to capitalism; the ability for prices to indicate when a resource is becoming scarcer. At such a time, markets mobilize automatically to address this by looking for ways to bring down costs.
As a result, resources are supposedly infinite. Running out of resources should therefore be averted. The price signal also implies the poorest often pay the heaviest costs. For example, commercially over-fishing a region may mean fish from that area becomes harder to catch and more expensive, possibly allowing that ecosystem time to recover though that is not guaranteed, either. This then has an impact on various local social, political and economic issues.
In addition to that, other related measurements, such as GNP are therefore flawed, and even reward unproductive or inefficient behavior e. Efficiently producing unhealthy food — and the unhealthy consumer culture to go with it — may profit the food industry and a private health sector that has to deal with it, all of which require more use of resources.
Our continued inefficient pumping of greenhouse gases into the environment without factoring the enormous cost as the climate already begins to change is perhaps an example where price signals may come too late, or at a time when there is already significant impact to many people. The air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat all rely on biodiversity, but right now it is in crisis — because of us. What does this mean for our future and can we stop it?
It is the variety of life on Earth, in all its forms and all its interactions. Biodiversity is the most complex feature of our planet and it is the most vital. More formally, biodiversity is comprised of several levels, starting with genes, then individual species, then communities of creatures and finally entire ecosystems, such as forests or coral reefs, where life interplays with the physical environment.
These myriad interactions have made Earth habitable for billions of years. A more philosophical way of viewing biodiversity is this: it represents the knowledge learned by evolving species over millions of years about how to survive through the vastly varying environmental conditions Earth has experienced.
For many people living in towns and cities, wildlife is often something you watch on television. But the reality is that the air you breathe, the water you drink and the food you eat all ultimately rely on biodiversity. Some examples are obvious: without plants there would be no oxygen and without bees to pollinate there would be no fruit or nuts.
Others are less obvious — coral reefs and mangrove swamps provide invaluable protection from cyclones and tsunamis for those living on coasts, while trees can absorb air pollution in urban areas. Others appear bizarre — tropical tortoises and spider monkeys seemingly have little to do with maintaining a stable climate.
But the dense, hardwood trees that are most effective in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere rely on their seeds being dispersed by these large fruit-eaters. When scientists explore each ecosystem, they find countless such interactions, all honed by millions of years of evolution. If undamaged, this produces a finely balanced, healthy system which contributes to a healthy sustainable planet.
The sheer richness of biodiversity also has human benefits. Many new medicines are harvested from nature, such as a fungi that grows on the fur of sloths and can fight cancer. Wild varieties of domesticated animals and crops are also crucial as some will have already solved the challenge of, for example, coping with drought or salty soils. From an aesthetic point of view, every one of the millions of species is unique, a natural work of art that cannot be recreated once lost.
Mind-bogglingly diverse. Biodiversity is essential for healthy child nutrition and provides plant, animal and microbial genetic resources necessary for food production and diversified, balanced diets. Biodiversity provides vital ecosystem functions such as soil fertilization, nutrient recycling, pest and disease regulation, erosion control and crop and tree pollination. Biodiversity supports ecosystems to provide and purify water. Every two minutes a child dies from a water-borne disease.
But through the continuous recycling of water, biodiversity maintains ecosystem services needed to sustain drinking water supplies.
Ecosystems also play a significant role in purifying water. Biodiversity is essential to increase the resilience of communities and reduce their vulnerability in the face of shocks such as climate change and natural disasters.
Biodiversity loss destabilizes ecosystems that can regulate the climate and mitigation of floods. This leads to weakening of community resilience, and their ability to adapt and protect the health and safety of their children.
Biodiversity loss can increase the incidence and distribution of certain infectious diseases which are lethal for children. Diseases that spread from animals to humans are a serious threat: studies show that 75 per cent of all emerging diseases come from wildlife, including COVID Deforestation drives wild animals out of their natural habitats and closer to humans and is linked to 31 per cent of outbreaks such as Ebola, and the Zika and Nipah viruses.
And climate change has altered and accelerated the transmission patterns of infectious diseases while contributing to human displacement. Biodiversity is an important and irreplaceable source for medicines and advances in understanding disease, thereby supporting child health. Plants, fungi, microbes and animals are the sources of unique and innovative molecules that form the basis for new medicines. Conservation researchers Paul R. Losing one might not be a disaster, but each loss adds to the likelihood of a serious problem.
Whether in a village in the Amazon or a metropolis such as Beijing, humans depend on the services ecosystems provide, such as fresh water, pollination, soil fertility and stability, food and medicine. Ecosystems weakened by the loss of biodiversity are less likely to deliver those services, especially given the needs of an ever-growing human population.
Without conservation methods in place, this could be the fate of many more ecosystems. Research indicates that there is a close link between disease outbreaks and the degradation of nature. Seventy percent of emerging viral diseases have spread from animals to humans. As the global wildlife trade continues and development projects expand deeper into tropical forests, humans are increasing their exposure to wild animals — and the diseases they may carry.
This shows that we must take care of nature to take care of ourselves. Deforestation is also accelerating climate breakdown , which in turn may boost the spread of disease by allowing disease carriers like mosquitoes to extend their geographic ranges and infect new populations of humans. In a landmark study published in , a group of researchers led by Bronson Griscom, who researches natural climate solutions at Conservation International, discovered that nature can deliver at least 30 percent of the emissions reductions needed by to prevent climate catastrophe.
Protecting biodiversity plays a crucial part in achieving these emissions reductions.
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