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Biodiversity and Sustainable Development – Erakina

February 4, 2022 4 Mins Read
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Significance of Biodiversity for Green Development-Erakina

Our planet earth is full of a biological variety of different species. Lets see how this whole world is a house for all the variety of living things. 

What is Biodiversity? 

All the living species such as plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, humans, are all together referred to as biodiversity. Earth is so vast that there are a number of species which are still required to discover and many species which are at the verge of extinction. There are about 8.7 million species of plants and animals, but only 1.2 million species are discovered and known to the world so far. The remaining are still a huge mystery for everyone and still, discoveries are going on. There is not just diversity among species but also diversity within a species. The organisms evolved over generations adopting unique traits which enable scientists to differentiate between the species. Some of the organisms evolved to a major extent that they can no longer reproduce and hence they are considered as different species. The species which can reproduce with each other falls under the same species. 

Not in the whole world but discoveries have to be made in the single ecosystem, as it can consist of a vast number of diversities. A single ecosystem means a grassland, a forest, or a lake. An ecosystem with a large number of different species is considered the most suitable environmental conditions for various natural activities to be carried out. 

The ecosystem is consist of organisms from the smallest to the largest, some of them are very tiny to be seen from naked eyes, though we can see a whole different world of such organisms through a microscope in just one pinch of sand. 

Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, Southwestern United States, and Madagascar are some of the areas in the world with more biodiversity as compared to other areas. The regions where there is enormous biodiversity are called hotspots. The Endemic species(found in only a specific location) are also found in hotspots.

Grasshopper

Organism Belong to Insects Species. 

The world’s most diverse group of organisms are insects, contributing to about 58 percent of the total global biodiversity.  

Butterfly

Beautiful feather butterfly belongs to Insect Species. 

bettle

Black Beetle belongs to Insects Species. 

The above pictures are of Grasshopper, Butterfly, and Beetle which belong to the same species, that is Insects. We can differentiate them according to their color, shape, and sizes,e. They belong to one species yet are very distinct from each other. 

Sustainable Development

Carrying out economic development without deploying or exploiting natural resources to make a better world for our future generation, this approach is known as sustainable development. In order to fulfill our unnecessary needs, the environment has to sacrifice a lot in various ways such as air and water pollution, deforestation, soil erosion, land degradation, loss of habitat for various species, etc. we can actually suffer more with these damages while enjoying the output acquired from them. 

Goals of Sustainable Development 

It is also known as global goals. In 2015 the United Nations came together and took a pledge to save the environment and to establish peace, harmony and prosperity all over the world by 2030. 

  • The main role of sustainable development is to encourage the development of the world by applying the methods or strategies in which the environment suffers less or no harm. 
  • To fulfill the necessities of today’s generation without sacrificing the quality of the environment to protect it for future generations. 
  • To encourage the sustainable use of natural resources, to develop strategies to reduce land degradation, fight desertification, proper management of forests, and to revert biodiversity loss. 

Threat to Biodiversity

  • Loss of Habitat and Degradation- loss of habitat can cause loss of a species, many species move to other regions and are able to adopt its conditions but it is not possible for every species. For instance, Polar bears need cold temperatures to live, they used to live in the Arctic, on the ice-covered sea where they feed on the seals. This ice is melting due to various natural and non-natural factors such as natural calamities or man-made climate change. It needs to be stopped soon or the world will lose the polar bears. 
  • Pollution- All kinds of pollution are somehow harmful for our planet earth.
  • Invasive species- The introduction of any exotic species in a foreign habitat can also be a threat to native species.  
  • Overexploitation- Utilization of the natural resources and animals to a greater extent can also be a huge threat to biodiversity.  

Ways to Protect Biodiversity

  • Reduce, reuse and recycle- One of the oldest and most common methods, is to create as much less waste as we can(reduce), to make more use of one thing(re, use,) and make multiple use out of a thing instead of throwing it(recycle). 
  • Government interference- Certain laws have to be made to have control and supervision on how the people are using the natural resources and to what extent.  
  • Habitat restoration- After an area has been utilized for any specific purpose, it can be restored by planting the plants found in that habitat, this method has shown to be effective to restore biodiversity in that area. 

Nature preserves, reduction in the number of invasive species, captive breeding and seed banks(areas where large varieties of plant seeds are stored), reducing climate change, use of sustainable products, sustainable living, proper education are some other effective ways to protect biodiversity. 

By-Vaidehee Bhawsar

07/01/2022

Erakina

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