Celebrate biodiversity, celebrate life

The country’s possession of the largest eagle in the world, heaviest bat in the world, with the largest wings smallest edible fish in the world, largest flower in the world, smallest primateamong other finds — has put the Philippines on the map of tropical countries with an abundant cache of natural treasures. More than statistics though, the amazing biodiversity of plants and animals life translates to a valuable collectioncollection that offers immeasurable benefits to humankind. to any population.

 Biological diversity or biodiversity refers to all species of plants, animals and microorganisms and the ecosystems and ecological processes of which they are part. Humans derive their food, health, medicine, fiber, and other needs from the biodiversity.environment’s diverse collection of plant and animal life. For instance, about 75 percent of human nutrition is provided by only seven species: wheat, rice, maize, potato, barley, sweet potato and cassava. Roughly 20 percent of protein requirements of humans in developing countries is provided by animals, particularly from fish for Filipinoss. In the Philippines, at least 68 common plants are being used as medicines.

As the nation marks "Biodiversity Week" on the third week of May, Haribon, a foundation devoted to the nature conservation for the peopleprotection and preservation of the environment, will entreats Filipinos to celebrate the amazing biological diversity of our country. be at the forefront of activities that will emphasize the critical importance of the country’s diverse range of natural resources.

 Apart from its fauna, the Philippines also boasts of 12,000 species of plants, with more than 8,000 flowering plants. The rest are ferns, fern allies, mosses, hepatics, liverworts, fungi and algae. Of this number, 3,500 are endemic to the country and are not found elsewhere. Sadly, most of these endemic plants are also on the brink of extinction.

The same goes for the country’s endemic or native exotic collection of animals, 18 of which are endangered and nearing with extinction. If this happens, our children will no longer have a chance to see the Philippine Eagle, Cebu Flowerpecker, Tamaraw, Visayan Spotted Deer, Dinagat Hairy-tailed Cloud Rat, Monitor Lizard, Philippine Crocodile, among others. Extinction is caused by deforestation due to logging and mining,habitat loss, over-exploitation, the introduction of exotic species, pollution, and more recently, global warming. While govern-ment-and private-initiated prog-rams work round-the-clock to ensure the preservation of wildlife, there is still much to be done in terms of completely solving this dilemma.