ge7 m9

• Biodiversity is the term used to refer to the variety of living organisms on earth.
• Biodiversity provides you with fresh air, safe drinking water, and food.
• Biodiversity and the environment are so intricately linked, interacting, and interconnected which means that they both affect each other in ways that are direct and indirect.
• Humans rely heavily on the environment, specifically on the resources and services that it provides.
• “Biodiversity” is a portmanteau of the words “biological diversity”.
• The term biodiversity was coined in 1985 by Walter G. Rosen.
• The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) defines biodiversity as the variability of all living organisms that live in land and water.
• Biodiversity includes all the different varieties of plants and animals that live in different environments such as terrestrial, marine, and aquatic ecosystems
• Biodiversity is the variety of life, in all its forms, and all its interactions. Such diversity ranges from different scales: (1) within species, (2) between species, and (3) between and among ecosystems.
• The term ‘biodiversity’ maybe defined in different ways depending on what sociological group is concerned. This includes taxonomists, economists, agronomists and sociologists.
• Biologists: The diversity of all living beings
• Farmers: Potential resources derived from soils, territories, and regions
• Industry: Reservoir of genes useful in biotechnology; Set of exploitable biological resources
• General public: The landscapes and charismatic species threatened by extinction
• The “niche” is a concept in ecology that is usually considered to be the same as “habitat”. (they are not the same)
• “Niche is the set of ecological conditions under which a species can exploit a source of energy effectively enough to be able to reproduce and colonize further such sets of conditions.” – Amyan MacFadyen (1957).
• “Niche is the role that the organism plays in the ecosystem: ‘the habitat is the ‘‘address’’ so to speak, and the niche is the ‘‘profession.” – Eugene Odum (1975)
• Niche of a species includes the environment where the organism lives, and the organism’s activities and impacts to that environment.
• Besides its role in providing food, fiber, water, energy, medicines and other genetic materials, biodiversity also helps in regulating climate, water quality, pollution, pollination, flooding, and storm surges.
• Biodiversity has vital social value, providing wellbeing when walking through forests or by rivers, or green spaces in cities
• Biodiversity Ensures Health and Food Security. The variety of plants and animals provide us with food. Hence, biodiversity supports food security and human nutrition.
• Zoonotic means diseases that come from plants and can be passed to humans
• Biodiversity Helps Fight Disease. We get most of our medicines from plants. Second, it has been observed that protected natural areas have lower instances of diseases such as Lyme disease and malaria.
• Due to deforestation and urbanization, animals live in closer spaces and with more proximity to humans.
• Biodiversity Benefits Business. Since we get our plant-based and animal-based products from biodiversity, businesses are affected by biodiversity loss.
• Biodiversity Provides Livelihoods - Globally, three out of four jobs depend on water while the agricultural sector employs over 60% of the world's working poor.
• Biodiversity Protects Us - Without biodiversity, earth will not be habitable.
• Biodiverse ecosystems protect us from natural disasters such as floods, storms, provide us with safe drinking water, and regenerate our soils.
• the loss of mangroves puts people, their homes, and livelihoods at risk to flooding and sea-level rise.
• Conserving our natural ecosystems also helps fight climate change by absorbing large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere.
• Biodiversity can be considered as the foundation for human health because it supports and affects ecosystems where we get for our food and water; helps in regulating climate and prevention of disease; provides recreational benefits and offers aesthetic and spiritual enrichment.
• Biodiversity also contributes to creation of livelihoods, development of traditional and modern medicines, and the economy in general.
• There is a clear link between biodiversity, climate, and global health pandemics that are currently happening.
• The human activities that disrupt ecosystems are: 1) Land use change; 2) agricultural expansion, 3) and wildlife trade.
• Biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse is one of the top five risks in the World Economic Forum's 2020 Global Risks Report
• Biodiversity loss is not only an environmental issue as it also undermines the achievement of most of the UN sustainable development goals
• There is a clear link between diseases and loss of biodiversity.
• Biodiversity loss leads to only a few species and these species will carry the diseases that are transmissible to humans.
• With landscape changes (i.e. natural to urban), the populations of species that carry diseases also increases. This includes mammals such as bats, rodents, and various primates.
• When mature and old-growth forests are cleared to create farms, plantations, or pastures, wildlife can move into new habitats and come into contact with species they do not normally encounter, which may then spread infectious diseases.