What is Biodiversity?
Biodiversity, the variability among living organisms from all sources, underpins all life on Earth. This includes diversity within species, between species and across ecosystems, representing the genetic makeup of plants, animals, microorganisms and the complexity of ecosystems.
Biodiversity is the term popularised by the sociobiologist Edward Wilson to describe the combined diversity at all the levels of biological organisation.
Benefits from Biodiversity
- More than 75% of global food crops rely on pollinators, contributing US$ 235–577 billion annually to global agricultural output.
- Over 50% of modern medicines are derived from natural sources, including antibiotics from fungi and painkillers from plant compounds.
- Forests store 80% of terrestrial biodiversity, absorbing approximately 2.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, helping mitigate climate change.
- Invasive alien species contribute to 60% of species extinctions, causing US$ 423 billion in global economic damage each year.
- Healthy ecosystems provide 75% of global freshwater resources, with wetlands playing a key role in water purification. However, since 1970, 35% of wetlands have been lost.
- Indigenous Peoples, representing an estimated 6% of the global population, are crucial stakeholders and rights holders in the conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity. They manage over 38 million square kilometres of land globally, which includes nearly 40% of all protected areas.
Threats to Biodiversity
Biodiversity loss is occurring at an alarming rate, with recent estimates showing that species extinctions are currently 10 to 100 times higher than the natural baseline. This is largely due to human activities like deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and climate change. This loss threatens essential ecosystem services, including pollination, soil fertility, and water purification, with direct consequences for human health. For example, the degradation of wetlands, which filter freshwater, has led to a 35% decline in global wetland coverage since 1970, increasing waterborne diseases and reducing water availability for over 2 billion people.
Biodiversity underpins all life on Earth. Recent studies point out that biodiversity has declined at an alarming rate in the past years, largely as a result of human activity. The loss of biodiversity can have significant impacts on human health if we do not guarantee that the ecosystem services it provides are protected.
Biodiversity loss has many consequences, not only for the environment but also for human beings. These consequences span economic disruption to zoological pandemics and human alienation from the natural world. Our current trajectory of habitat alteration and destruction is putting thousands of species in danger of extinction.
- Land degradation affects soil and water, which are fundamental to food production
- Imbalances in ecosystems can lead to the emergence of pests that damage crops.
- Limit discovery of potential treatments for many diseases and health problems.
IUCN Red List
Established in 1964, The International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species.
The IUCN Red List is a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. Far more than a list of species and their status, it is a powerful tool to inform and catalyze action for biodiversity conservation and policy change, critical to protecting the natural resources we need to survive. It provides information about range, population size, habitat and ecology, use and/or trade, threats, and conservation actions that will help inform necessary conservation decisions.
Currently, there are more than 169,000 species on The IUCN Red List, with more than 47,000 species threatened with extinction, including 44% of reef building corals, 41% of amphibians, 38% of trees, 37% of sharks and rays, 34% of conifers, 26% of mammals, 26% of freshwater fishes and 12% of birds.
Endangered species of India
Name: Mukesh Verma
Department: Botany NEET
Narayana Jaipur Center (NIHQ)