Biodiversity in peril!

Over seven billion people live on earth. Many cities have developed over the recent decade. Urban cities are overpopulated. Rural areas need attention. Oceans, rivers, lakes, forests, mountains and valleys need protection. The technical advances have had major impact on our planet. We have exploited our natural resources. As a result, we have already damaged mother Earth. Many calls have been made to save her, but to date, nothing drastic has been done to protect her.

The biosphere – a treasure for humanity

All the essential products and services upon which we depend on are made possible by the biodiversity of our planet – the biosphere, the life within it – plant and animal life with the water and air vital to life. This is the earth’s natural capital – a kind of life insurance for the human race.

Thanks to biodiversity, we have a deposit of raw materials for food, clothing, and shelter. We have fibers for clothing and ready supply of industrial and building materials. Plastic, glue and photographic film all contain natural starches. Adhesive, inks, lubricants and polishes come from vegetable or animal oils and fats. Paper, cardboard, packaging materials, varnish, erasers, tires and even babies’ diapers and chewing gums are manufactured using materials found in trees.

A medicinal chest and a help for agronomy

Since early times, people have used substances found in plants and wild animals. Today, wild plants remain one of the principal sources of molecules for the pharmaceutical industry. Aspirin, the world’s most popular pain-relief medicine is made from a compound discovered in a riverside tree – the willow. Curare, a natural poison used as a mortal weapon by the Amazonian Indians, is used in surgery for its power as a muscle relaxant.

Substances, deriving mainly from marine organisms also contain promising components for medical research because many of these animals use toxic substances as a means of defense. More than 500 marine organisms (crab, mollusks, sea lice, etc) produce chemical substances with anti-cancer properties.

Genetic heritage preserved in natural environments is being used more and more in modern farming. Natural environments and traditional farming methods help to preserve wild animal species and plant varieties, whether ancient or hardy. These provide a vast reservoir of potential genetic materials for modern agriculture.

Land in peril

Today, the scientific community unanimously agrees that natural environments are changing at a rate unprecedented in the history of the Earth. For a long time, three or four species disappeared from the face of the Earth. In the last few centuries, the rate has increased to approximately 27,000 species yearly.

Population growth and the conquest development of economic activities continually increase people’s needs in terms of natural resources. The Earth contains riches preserved since it came into being four billion years ago and has already fed over 80 billion human beings for the past 100,000 years. While the planet may have the capacity to maintain a multitude of lives, it must also be given some time to recover. Since the middle of the last century, however agriculture, industrial, tourist and other human activities have exerted unrelenting pressure on natural environments and have over-exploited living resources. Thus, was the case of Boracay and the many other natural environments visited by tourists.

The changing of ecosystems is the main cause of the loss of biodiversity around the world. Since the 1900s, half of the tropical forests have been destroyed (800 million hectares). Each minute, 40 more hectares are converted for cattle farming, intensive agriculture or the timber industry, Today, this deforestation is being pursued at breakneck speed: 0.6 percent of the remaining area is lost each year. Farms are converted to man-made villages.

Water in peril

Marshes which purify water are drained for farming and urban expansion. The cutting of small trees and bushes for firewood in dry regions result in the loss of pasture and desertification.

Due to the use of modern fishing techniques, ocean riches are being exhausted. The quantities of fish caught today are lower and the fish are smaller in size.

Many species of birds, tropical fish, turtles, cats, monkeys and plants are also threatened by poachers. Undue exploitation of furs, skins, tortoise shells, feathers, seashells, bulbs and the leaves of endangered plants has led to the extinction of many species.

Environmental pollution and introduction of exotic species

Since the middle of the 20th century, the acceleration of industrial development has led to the increasing pollution. Fossil fuels, mineral ores and chemical products are processed and used in greater quantities. This has led to the release into nature of large amounts of chemicals that contaminate rivers and lakes, the air and soil. Carbon dioxide is the chief pollutant of the atmosphere. The levels of this gas recorded in our atmosphere are the highest the Earth has known for 100,000 years.

Pollution affects the climate of the planet and the capacity of living creatures to reproduce. In highly polluted regions there has been a drop in the reproduction rates of a large number of species, including people.

In many cases, when animals or plants have been imported from other continents, whether deliberate or accidental, the introduction often leads to the gradual elimination of rare native species.

Today, fishermen and hunters occasionally introduce new species of fish and game into the environment without serious analysis of the possible consequences. Marine systems also suffer from the introduction of foreign organisms when tankers discharge ballast water, the water that helps keep them stable when empty, into foreign ports.

Disasters to come

If the loss of biodiversity continues at the present rate, the danger of climate change is inevitable. In fact, we are already feeling the effects of it right now. Global warming has already arrived. In recent years we have witnessed great calamities, stronger typhoons, disastrous floods, more earthquakes and forest fires that have continued to threaten mankind.