Simply put, biodiversity refers to the incredibly rich variety of life on Earth. The word itself is a contraction of “biological diversity” and refers to every living thing on the planet. It encompasses all bacteria, insects, plants, animals, humans and more.
Biodiversity is usually discussed on three levels. Genetic diversity deals with the different genes found in all individual plants, animals and living organisms. Species diversity denotes the differences found within and between populations of species, and between the different species on Earth. Finally, ecosystem diversity takes in the processes, habitats, communities and variations within any geographic area.
Why is biodiversity important?
Biodiversity functions as a network between all life forms as they interact with each other. Taking place as part of an ecosystem, either regionally or globally, it is this diversity which allows ecosystems to function. Remove something from it and the network begins to break down.
Can you measure biodiversity?
Biodiversity can be difficult to define simply, let alone quantify, but there are various ways we can measure it. These range from measuring species richness and extinction rates, to how much of the planet is set aside for nature to flourish.
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In recent years, these measurements have led to alarming discoveries, pointing to the fact that the effect on our global biodiversity by human encroachment in the past 50-70 years has been swift and damaging.
In the blink of an eye in planetary terms, more than 70 percent of the ice-free land surface has come under human control. The mass of all artificial objects has come to exceed all biomass. This impact of this is huge, with around one million endangered species under threat from human activity, prompting some scientists to speculate that we are now entering a sixth mass extinction event.
Our destruction of the planet’s biodiversity doesn’t just affect the natural world. Long term losses of biodiversity can endanger access to essentials like drinking water and medicines, with human health and economic prosperity also threatened.
Is all hope lost?
Despite all this, our ecosystems and their biodiversity are not entirely beyond repair. With a move towards sustainable consumption and production, and a proper effort to tackle climate change, there is a way back.
Efforts to restore ecosystems include rewilding – replanting native trees and reintroducing native species of animals, and leaving nature to take its course – and more active interventions to restore and manage ecosystems. The same applies to Earth’s oceans and coasts, where sustainable fishing, pollution management and the restoration of coral reefs and mangrove swamps can restore lost biodiversity.
In cities, stricter planning laws, proper cleaning of former industrial sites, tree planting and the introduction of more green spaces and wetlands can also have positive effects.
It has also been recommended that we fundamentally restructure our food production to limit its impact on nature, and for example consume less meat, and cast aside traditional measures of success like GDP in favour of a system which values nature as an economic asset.
The benefits to restoring Earth’s biodiversity reach far beyond maintaining the number of species on the planet. By regenerating ecosystems and removing threats to biodiversity, we are better placed to provide clean water, reduce air pollution, control pests and invasive species, increase pollination, suffer fewer diseases spread from animals – such as covid-19 – and build our resistance to extreme weather and natural disasters.
Estimates suggest on average every $1 spent on ecosystem regeneration sees a $10 return from such “ecosystem goods and services”.