Module 9: STS

• Megadiversity countries


  • Brazil
  • Columbia
  • United States
  • South Africa
  • Philippines
  • Papua New Guinea
  • Malaysia
  • The Democratic Republic of Congo
  • Australia
  • Indonesia
  • China
  • Mexico
  • Venezuela
  • Ecuador
  • Peru
  • India
  • Madagascar

  
• The Philippines is one of the 17 megadiversity countries of the world
• Megadiversity


  A term used to define the world's top biodiversity-rich countries

  
• Criteria to qualify as a megadiverse country

  • Have at least 5,000 endemic plants
  • Have a marine ecosystem within the borders

  
• According to Conservation International, an environmental non-profit 70% of the world's flora and fauna exist in only 17 countries
• These nations comprise just under 10% of the surface of the earth
• The Philippines is the top megadiverse country in terms of environmental degradation and species loss
• Biodiversity


  The variety of life on Earth and the essential interdependence of all living things
• Three components of biodiversity

  • Diversity of genes
  • Diversity of number of species
  • Variety of ecosystems
• Species


  A group of organisms of similar individuals that are capable of interbreeding
• Carolus Linnaeus is the father of Modern Taxonomy (1700's)
• Taxonomists estimate that there are somewhere between 3M-50M different species living today

  
• 65% of all known species are INVERTEBRATES
• IUCN


  International Union for Conservation of Nature
• The IUCN has members from government and non-government agencies, scientists and experts who work on a voluntary basis and thousands of full-time employees in over 50 countries
• The IUCN is best known for it's IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

  
• Ecosystem


  A biological community that includes all living things interacting in a certain area or region with non-living things such as weather, climate, temperature, soil, air , sun, among others
• Habitat


  The physical and chemical description of where a creature lives
• Examples of habitats


  • Arctic Canada (habitat of the polar bear Ursa Maritima)
  • Heather moorland (habitat of the grouse)
  • Freshwater lakes and ponds (habitat of species of fish like Pike)
• Importance of biodiversity


  • Ethical and moral values
  • Aesthetic value
  • Utilitarian values
  • Ecological values
• The well-being of all future generations is a social responsibility of the present generation, hence the existence of an organism warrants conservation of the organism
• Biodiversity hotspots


  Areas that contain at least 1,500 endemics (species that occur nowhere else) and have lost at least 70% of their habitat due to various anthropogenic factors
• Although these hotspots occupy only 1.4% of the world's land area, but they house ¾ of the world's most threatened mammals, birds, and amphibians
• Edward O. Wilson, an American evolutionary biologist, predicted that the planet loses approximately 27,000 species per year
• Pressures to biodiversity


  • Habitat destruction
  • High population density and growth rates
  • Species introductions/invasive alien species
  • Global climate change
  • Illegal wildlife trade
  • Deficiencies in the knowledge on biodiversity
  • Inadequate enforcement of environmental laws and poor political will
  • Failure to put value on the environment
• 2010 International Year of Biodiversity
• The human exploitation of the Earth and its resources poses a greater danger than past catastrophic physical disasters
• Pressures to biodiversity


  • habitat destruction
  • high population density and growth rates
  • species introductions/invasive alien species
  • global climate change
  • illegal wildlife trade
  • deficiencies in the knowledge on biodiversity
  • inadequate enforcement of environmental laws and poor political will
  • failure to put value on the environment
• Over 100,000 plant/animal species lost in the last 5 years
• Habitat loss is biggest current threat to biodiversity
• Deforestation and forest degradation has increased since the Rio Earth Summit
• Protecting animals, plants, and ecosystems means protecting humanity's health
• Biodiversity protection legislation


  The key to biodiversity protection
• Categories of protected areas

  • Strict nature reserve
  • Natural park
  • Natural monument
  • Wildlife sanctuary
  • Protected landscapes and seascapes
  • Resource reserve
  • Natural biotic areas
  • Other categories established by law, conventions or international agreements which the Philippine Government is a signatory

  
• Endangered species


  Species or subspecies that is not critically endangered but whose survival in the wild is unlikely if the causal factors continue operating/ in imminent danger of extinction
• Threatened species


  Species that are likely to become endangered—at least locally—in the foreseeable future
• Vulnerable species


  Species or subspecies that is not critically endangered nor endangered but is under threat from adverse factors throughout their range and is likely to move to the endangered category in the future/ are naturally rare or have been locally depleted by human activities to a level that puts them at risk
• Endemic species


  Species or subspecies which is naturally occurring and found only within specific areas of the country
• Exotic species


  Species or subspecies which do not occur naturally in the country
• The Philippines is considered the smallest of the 17 megadiverse countries of the world covering only 2/100 of the total land area of the earth