Science - Biodiversity (Grade 8)

• The Asia-Pacific region is perhaps the most biodiverse area on Earth. Unfortunately, it is also where biodiversity is most at risk.
• As much as 80 percent of the world's endangered species are found in the Asia-Pacific region.
• The wide variety of life on Earth has been reduced by human activities at a global scale. The greatest threat to Earth's biodiversity is the loss and degradation of habitats.
• As forests become degraded day by day, many animals face extinction faster that they can be identified. Even plant species are dying before they can be tested as potential cures for deadly diseases.
• Top Six Reasons for Losing Earth's Biodiversity

  • Habitat Destruction, Degradation, and Fragmentation
  • Invasive Species
  • Population Using Too Many Resources
  • Pollution
  • Climate Change
  • Overexploitation
• As of 2021, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an organization dedicated to conserving natural resources came out with a red list of threatened species.
• Of the 134, 425 species on the list, more than 37, 400 species are threatened with extinction.
• Other Endemic Philippine Animal Species Included in the Red List

  • Cebu Flowerpecker
  • Philippine Cockatoo
  • Philippine Crocodile
  • Visayan Warty
  • Sulu Hornbill
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

  A 1975 treaty signed by 175 countries that bans the hunting, capturing, and selling of threatened or endangered species
• The treaty has some limitations since countries have different enforcement rules with violators paying only minimal fines.
• Since some countries did not sign the treaty, there are countries that trade their own rare species for profit and are not exempted from the clauses.
• Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit

  In 1992, subject to the treaty's 191 countries agreed to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which aims to commit and reduce the rate of global biodiversity loss
• General objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity

  • Conserve biological diversity
  • Make biodiversity sustainable in the long term
  • Fairly share the benefits of the use of genetic resources such as plant breeding and biotechnology
• The CBD also focuses on saving ecosystems rather than individual species and includes efforts to control and prevent the spread of harmful invasive species.
• Gene or seed bank

  Seeds of endangered plant species are stored in cold environment. About three million seed samples are already stored in more than 100 seed banks around the globe.
• Svalbard Global Seed Vault

  A new underground vault opened in 2008 in remote island in Norway near the Arctic to store seeds of endangered plant species
• Botanical gardens

  Help in conserving species. The world's botanical gardens contain at least 30 percent of all known plant species or almost two-thirds of all plant genera.
• Arboreta

  Special gardens that house living trees
• Republic Act No. 9147, also known as the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act

  Aims to ensure the conservation of the Philippines' wildlife resources and their habitats for sustainability
• Objectives of the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act

  • Promote ecological balance and enhance biological diversity
  • Regulate the collection and trade of wildlife
  • Protect wildlife, and their habitats
  • Initiate or support scientific studies on the conservation of biological diversity
• Wetland sanctuaries

  Help migratory bird population to flourish
• National parks

  Help protect species since human activities are regulated in these places
• Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary (MHRWS)

  A protected area under Republic Act No. 11038, also known as the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992. In 2014, the protected area was designated a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
• At the MHRWS, the Philippine eagle and other endemic fauna and flora, is done.
• Wildlife farms

  Take away the pressures of hunting from some endangered species, such as crocodiles, by raising them in large numbers and commercially selling their parts
• Butterfly farms

  Established to reduce the threat of catching rare butterflies in the wild and only reproduce needed species for commercial purposes
• Zoos and breeding centers

  Provide temporary shelters for animals and raise animals not only for recreation but also with the long-term goal of reintroducing the species into protected wild habitats
• Philippine Eagle Center

  Has successfully bred 21 Philippine eagles in captivity for two decades and conducted the first release of captive-bred eagle in the wild, specifically in declared protected lands such as the Cabuaya Forest and the Taft Forest Wildlife Sanctuary
• Philippine Carabao Center

  In the Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija, under the DOA, successfully produced the first test-tube buffalo using reproductive technology in 2004
• Aquaria

  Exhibit aquatic organisms for the recreation and education of the public, but have limited space and budget, so they have not served as effective gene banks for endangered aquatic species