Chapter 2 - Society
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Welcome to the Biodiversity page
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Biodiversity is about the genetic diversity within species, the diversity of habitats, and the large biological units known as biomes. Earth’s many ecosystems rely on a delicate, complicated, and fascinating tanglement of life.
| The fundamental concept appropriate to the biome considered together with all the effective inorganic factors of its environment is the ecosystem, which is a particular category among the physical systems that make up the universe. In an ecosystem the organisms and the inorganic factors alike are components which are in relatively stable dynamic equilibrium. Succession and development are instances of the universal processes tending towards the creation of such equilibrated systems. (1)
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Content source
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| (1)
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A. G. Tansley - The Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts and Terms -Ecology, Vol. 16, No. 3. (Jul., 1935), pp. 284-307
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Why biodiversity is important
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| There's a powerful economic argument for preserving our living natural environment: The biosphere promotes the long-term material prosperity and health of the human race to a degree that is almost incalculable. But moral reasons, too, should compel us to take responsibility for the natural world. Over millions of years, nature's ecosystems engineers have been especially effective in the promotion of overyielding. They have coevolved with other species that exploit the niches they build. The result is a harmony within ecosystems. The increased likelihood of acquiring an outstandingly productive species can be viewed as just one means by which the enrichment of biodiversity boosts productivity. (If you draw on a pool of 1,000candidates for a basketball team, you are more likely to get a star than if you draw on a pool of 100 candidates.) (2)
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Content source
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| (2)
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E.O. Wilson - What is Nature Worth? - The Wilson Quarterly - 1976
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Endangering biodiversity
Irresponsible production and consumption of our natural resources come at a catastrophic cost. We are destroying our planet at an unprecedented rate and losing a vast number of plants, animals, insects, and marine life in the process — to the detriment of our own future. Humanity’s health and well-being are dependent on a biodiverse planet.
Climate change is causing biodiversity loss, and biodiversity loss is causing climate change. Here’s how: destroying and degrading ecosystems releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than burning fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the consequences of burning fossil fuels — rising global temperatures, an increase in wildfires, and ocean acidification, to name a few — are threatening habitats and wildlife alike.
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Do you want to know more?
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United Nations
| UN BiodiversityLab
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| With over 400 of the world’s best data layers on nature, climate change, and sustainable development, UNBL supports country-led efforts to use national and global spatial data for planning, monitoring, and reporting and to take action for people and planet.
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| https://unbiodiversitylab.org/en/
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United Nations
| The Biodiversity Plan
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| The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted during the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) following a four year consultation and negotiation process. This historic Framework, which supports the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and builds on the Convention’s previous Strategic Plans, sets out an ambitious pathway to reach the global vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050. Among the Framework’s key elements are 4 goals for 2050 and 23 targets for 2030.
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| https://www.cbd.int/
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| Buiness for Nature
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| Business for Nature is a global coalition of more than 85 influential partner organizations as well as forward-thinking companies. Together, we drive credible business action and policy ambition to achieve a nature-positive economy for all by 2030.
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| https://www.businessfornature.org/
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| International Union for Conservation of Nature
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| IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) is a membership Union of government and civil society organisations. Together, we work to advance sustainable development and create a just world that values and conserves nature. Created in 1948, IUCN is now the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network, harnessing the knowledge, resources and reach of our more than 1,400 Member organisations and 16,000 experts. This diversity and expertise makes IUCN the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it.
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| https://www.iucn.org/
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European Union
| European Environment Agency - Biodiversity
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| Europe’s rich array of biodiversity, habitats and species are under threat due to human activities and climate change. This degradation affects our well-being and economy. The EU is taking action to restore and protect the vital systems that support life on our planet.
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| https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/topics/in-depth/biodiversity
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| One Earth
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| The One Earth Solutions Framework indexes 75+ of the most effective solution pathways based on peer-reviewed scientific literature organized across three broad pillars of collective action—energy transition, nature conservation, and regenerative agriculture. This framework is how we organize the universe of possible levers to achieve the Paris Climate Agreement goals, limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C through 2100.
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| https://www.oneearth.org/
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| illuminem
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| A global community of change-makers: sustainability leaders, industry experts, and planet earth enthusiasts
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| https://illuminem.com/
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