Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the number of different species, genetic diversity and ecosystem diversity. Maintaining biodiversity is very important ecologically and biologically. Firstly, all life forms are parts of the nature and each of them has a specific role in it. The loss of any one life form is irreversible. Also, every species helps scientists understand how life has evolved and how it will continue to evolve. The organisms in an ecosystem are interdependent. Each species forms important parts of food chains and plays a specific role in the ecosystem. For example, herbivores consume producers and transfer energy and essential nutrients to carnivores, and detrivores speed up the cycling processes of essential materials. This maintains a self-sufficient ecosystem. The diversity of ecosystem is biologically important as well. This is because organisms usually live in particular types of habitats, where physical factors are suitable for them to survive. Biodiversity is also important for our heritage. Biodiversity is also important to economy and medicine. As most of the food crops are domesticated from wild tropical plants. Plant breeders and farmers rely on their genetic diversity to improve crop yield, develop new crop strains and increase the resistance of crops to pests and diseases. Also, most of the wild plants supply oils, dyes, fiber, paper and other useful products. And large part of the world’s population relies on plants and plant extracts as medicines, which are called herbal medicines. Therefore loss of species means losing resources for humans in the production of food, medicines and many other useful items. Biodiversity is also important for aesthic and recreational. Wild plants and animals are a source of beauty, wonder, joy and recreational pleasure for people. Wildlife tourism is a fast-growing way of tourism. It enables people to visit natural environments for relaxation. It also helps to educate people about the importance of conservation of the natural environment. As a kind of business, it can also generate a considerable amount of revenue for private sectors and the government every year. We also need to consider the moral. Every wild species has an inherent right to exist or to struggle for survival without human interference, just like every human being has the right to survive. Each species has its intrinsic value on the Earth, irrespective of its usefulness to human. Therefore, humans have no right to kill wildlife or disturb their survival. In addition, to preserving individual species, attention should also be placed on the whole spectrum of biodiversity. Hence, it is also important to protect entire ecosystem.

We can maintain biodiversity through ecological approach and species approach. The ecological approach focuses on the maintenance of biological diversity in the natural environment, because the natural ecosystems offer the best strategy for long-term protection and survival of organisms. In practice, this approach involves the establishment of natural reserves. Great attention is placed on the identification and protection of sites with a large variety of organisms. Threatened species are resettled in more secure and protected habitats. The government has established laws and ordinances to protect wildlife. Hunting of wild animals and collection of wild plants are forbidden unless permission has been obtained from the authorities. Disturbed lands can be also converted into natural ecosystems after through studies of site condition and planning. Existing native species can then perpetuate and exotic species can also be introduced. The re-establishment of wildlife habitats also the advantage of regeneration soil damaged by agriculture or mining. However, certain parts of the world are critically short of protected areas, especially the tropical rain forests and tropical grasslands. Organisms in these places are lack of protection and become endangered. The species approach focuses on the conservation of biological diversity in human-controlled settings. The general practices include artificial breeding of endangered species in the zoos and cultivating crops seeds that are genetically diverse from the wild species. Many zoos and botanic gardens have been set up for carrying out artificial breeding. This increases the populations of endangered species. Special techniques such as artificial insemination and host mothering are used to increase the number of offspring of certain endangered species. By using these techniques, the numbers of some of these species have been successfully increased sufficiently for re-establishment as a small population in the wild.