Common Misunderstandings about Biodiversity

Transcription

1 Chapter XI Common Misunderstandings about Biodiversity Why it is so crucial to preserve biodiversity A living fossil: Gymnocrinus richeri

2 Biodiversity is a renewable resource therefore we can afford to exploit it at the current rate as it will come back This statement is wrong. Biodiversity could indeed be a renewable resource should it be exploited with respect of the renewal rate of species populations and without destroying the surrounding environments in the process. However, this is not the practices observed today. Expert have warned that at the current rate at which we are exploiting natural resources, most commercial species populations will collapse within 30 years. Through all the pressures that human beings are putting on the environment, experts estimate that we are losing biodiversity at a rate of a least a thousand time greater than the natural rate of extinction. One must understand that when species become extinct they forever disappear from the surface of the Earth. The disappearance of species is definitely not sustainable All rights reserved. 239

3 To save biodiversity we can simply create reserves while continuing business as usual everywhere else The concept of simply preserving very isolated places on Earth will not work. Such principles have been well explained in scientific work done in the area of biogeography. Small islandlike ecosystems are much more vulnerable to threats and are doomed to extinction in relatively short timeframes. Furthermore, many species require a sufficient gene pool to survive. That is the more individuals in a population, the more the species will be able to survive. Restricted ecosystems have a too small gene pooi. In order to succeed in preserving biodiversity we must not only put restricted areas under reserve but also reduce our overall pressures on the surrounding environment All rights reserved. 240

4 Preserving biodiversity in very restricted ecosystems such as inside a glasshouse or isolated parks will not be sufficient to save species from extinction All rights reserved. 241

5 It does not matter to lose biodiversity, we will be able to see animals in museums Many do not understand that every species on the planet has a role to play in maintaining stable ecosystems upon which the human species rely on. If species continue to disappear at the current rate, many of these ecosystems will collapse with severe consequences for human beings. Our food supplies and health is directly related to diverse life forms. Most of the very diverse ecosystems are in very remote areas that most people would never go to. So if it gets destroyed it does not matter because we don t see it anyway This is a wrong approach. Such remote ecosystems hold very specialised species which hold great potential in terms of new discoveries, potential remedies. We should preserve existing remote ecosystems at all cost as their value is unpriceable All rights reserved. 242

6 We can continue business as usual until species are on the verge of extinction. When this comes we can simply stop what we are doing for species to recover Such strategy will not work. First it is very difficult to assess when a species is becoming extinct. We know that many species are becoming extinct because we see a sharp drop in their population numbers. However, there are also many species we don t even know exist for the reason that they have never been studied to date. We can simply collect DNA samples of existing species. In the future we will be able to revive the species through new DNA technology Such statements seem to come out of fiction novels. Most scientist would agree that it is unlikely that we will one day be able to re-generate species from their DNA ones these species are extinct All rights reserved. 243

7 In order to preserve species, we should put a price on them Putting a price on species is a risk. If ecosystems are valued according to a price fixed on species, large corporations are in a position to buy the resource in order to destroy it. The only corporations in a position to do this are also the most destructive: Mining and oil companies. Many have tried to put a value on species. Such concept does not work for the reason that one given species is invaluable All rights reserved. 244

8 We are still living in a relatively biodiverse world and there is still time to go in either directions: continuing on the path of current destruction or going towards a more sustainable alternative focusing on conservation. However, time is running out, fast All rights reserved. 245

9 Religion & Biodiversity preservation are not incompatible. Despite divergence in opinion between scientist and religious groups on the origin of life, the objective of preserving Biodiversity on Earth is a shared interest. It is primordial in order to succeed in making significant progress in preserving biodiversity that all groups, no matter their difference in religious or fundamental believes come together in a common cause of preserving life on Earth. Such matter was highlighted by world reknown biologist Edward.O.Wilson in his award winning book: The Creation All rights reserved. 246

10 No matter what our religious or fundamental believes are we all need biodiversity and we should all act to preserve it as a common benefit to humanity All rights reserved. 247