Threats to biodiversity and conservation of biodiversity

Our ecosystem involves complex interlocking of individual species which have evolved over millions of years. In this complex jig-saw puzzle kind of framework, the loss of any species has a significant impact on the remaining species. There is a danger of collapse of the ecosystem with some key pieces being lost. 8 million species of plants and animals are known to science. Though new species have continually identified, the rate of extinction is very high. Human action expected to exterminate 25% of world’s species in next 20 to 30 years. Extinction is a law of nature and as a result some species have evolved while others have died ever since life originated on earth. But this extinction has come to an alarming rate due to human activities that affect the eco-system. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), the biodiversity information and assessment wing of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has stated in 1992 that an estimate of 12. 5 million species in the earth is quite reasonable. This estimate is shown in Table 4. 3. 90 percent or more of these species are to be found in the moist tropical forests, comprising of about 8 per cent of the world’s land surface. The biodiversity-rich regions of the world are Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America. Forests play a major role in conserving biodiversity. Climate of a place and the species inhabited by it are regulated by the forests. An increase of the amount of Carbon Monoxide is the most common consequence of forest depletion resulting both from cutting and burning of trees. It is this carbon dioxide which reaches the upper later of atmosphere and gives rise to the greenhouse effect resulting in global warming. Flooding and erosion of soil also result from deforestation as roots of trees assist in keeping the soil from being washed away. Other indirect effects include the melting of snow and ice cover over the Polar Regions and as a result sea levels have risen by as much as 100-200mm in last 100 years. The disturbed weather conditions like drought, floods, acid rain, hurricanes causing havoc to human race as well as plants and animals species on the earth clearly indicate imbalance in ecological systems. Since climatic changes also affect the life forms that sustain, many species are under the threat of being lost with climatic changes taking a drastic shape. Timber from forests is a valuable resource Environmental pollution is a major contributor to biodiversity loss in many countries. Although biodiversity is often talked about, there are little concerted efforts to save biodiversity. Short-term and piecemeal economic, political and social measures are less effective in conservation of biodiversity. The measures are to be long-term, well planned and scientific; these will have to be built into all development activities. The countries will have to give adequate attention to the measures suggested under such international conventions as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Ramsar Convention, World Heritage Convent It is important to control the economic activities that are highly inefficient and are threatening the ecological balance on earth. Resources like forests, wildlife must be conserved at a sustainable rate by taking various approaches to save them. We must be far-sighted in our efforts for conservation and management and keep clear objectives and have mechanisms for action to get any real results. Protected area networks such as more national parks and wildlife sanctuaries provide habitats to the plants and the animal species and thus conserve ecosystems appropriate to their survival. Surveys must be done to collect adequate data on the species of plants and animals.