Conserving Biodiversity Conservation And Diversity Conservation

There are all kinds of services that ecosystems provide. In the presentations from Module 3, services listed are:

Conservation of our biodiversity not only demonstrates foresight, it protects the natural resources so vital to our own continued existence. The value of any single species to an ecosystem is immeasurable; the environment will not endure without its species, despite size or niche. These animals are not dispensable. And, they are apt to face extinction in the not too distant future, unless a resolve for their preservation is insisted by the public and enforced by governments internationally.

“Biological diversity is of fundamental importance to the functioning of all natural and human-engineered ecosystems, and by extension to the ecosystem services that nature provides free of charge to human society ”(Lloyd, 2014). Biodiversity is very important to both plants, animals and humans on Earth and if one species is destroyed it throw the balance off .

The concept of ecosystem-based management was established as a framework to maintain the production and consumption of natural capital, or ecosystem services. As common with all change, there has been some resistance for wildlife managers to make this shift and a lack of research at a local and national scale about the status of ecosystem services and evaluating trade-offs between multiple ecosystem services (Nicholson et al. 2009). As an inherently anthropocentric concept, it is also plagued with moral and ethical considerations derived by placing value on nature and wildlife to benefit strictly humans and as a questionable basis for conservation of those services strictly for continued delivery of benefits (Fisher 2008).

In the piece “Selling out on nature” (McCauley, 2006), Douglas J. McCauley describes how conservation efforts are fueled by the economic advantages it possesses and are carried out solely for the purpose of benefiting our economic markets. McCauley states that ecosystem services are “economic benefits provided by natural ecosystems” (27), arguing that the only incentive for mankind to save nature depends on how profitable nature can be. He emphasizes that our attention should not be put forth in commodifying nature but rather, inculcating respect and love for it so that we can preserve it for many years to come. I oppose McCauley’s argument because it’s impractical and unachievable. Humanity will

In the race to preserve, conserve and maintain biodiversity and its functions in anticipation of the unprecedented and

Integration of ecological, social, and economic goals and recognition of humans as key components of the ecosystem………………………………………………………..............3

In areas of the world different species are becoming extinct at a rapid pace. This could be due to the environmental forces acting against them or through acts such as hunting. The reason why conservation biology has a deadline is because the effects of rising populations and the destruction with habitats as a result of the increase. If the event where extinction could occur is caught early enough then scientists would be able to perform conservation biology; however, in many instances if the environmental forces such as pollution or warming climate continues then the species affected would perish. This is the deadline for many species as scientists have been able to predict what might happen in the future and have until that time to get the problem solved.

The world is declining in biodiversity, 52% of it is gone. About 1% of the world species go extinct a year. That’s 1’000 to 10’000 species loss. Accompanying it, 19’300 species are endangered. Latin America loss 83% of its wildlife. Over half of Malaysia’s river fish species disappear during deforestation. Half of Australian state governments exploit the uses of national parks. The Alpine suffer dramatic biodiversity loss. The earth is clearly losing biodiversity. This is huge unnoticed threat that we need to address. Mankind depends on the ecosystem which depends on biodiversity. There are changes that need to be made and uphold to prevent difficulties from further escalating. This problem isn’t going to fix itself.

Ecosystem services are defined as the direct and indirect benefits to human well being that are derived from ecosystems and ecosystem function (Gomez-Baggethun and Barton 2013, TEEB 2011), or in other words, “the conditions and processes through which natural ecosystems, and the species that make them up, sustain and fulfill human life” (Daily, 1997, p. 3). The ecosystem service framework may be used to assess present day function, monitor change over time, and inform future planning, conservation, and restoration to maximize the ecosystem function and services generated at multiple scales (Daily et al. 2009; Sukhdev et al. 2010).

In "What is the point of saving endangered species?", Michael Marshall addresses the issues surrounding wildlife conservation such as the high expenses, the fact that certain animals are dangerous, and not all species provide us with benefits anyway. He rebuts these statements with the arguments that most people simply want to save nature because they like it and that there are both economical and medicinal benefits. However, he also acknowledges that these don't apply to every species, then includes his main argument, and the most important reason to save wildlife: ecosystem services. Marshall ends with the statement that although it is unreasonable to believe every species can be saved, it is still important to maintain a rich biodiversity.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment’s Summary for Decision-Makers brought to light the fact that the rate of species extinction, over time, has increased at an alarming rate. This is distressing because species extinction means loss of biodiversity: a measure of a healthy environment. There are five main drivers, that are interconnected, that influence biodiversity loss and species extinction. While all five are interconnected they are strongly related to one in particular. That driver is human population size. The other four drivers are habitat destruction, overexploitation of resources, pollution, and the introduction of alien species. Biodiversity loss and species extinction, and the healthiness of the environment, are all influenced by

6) Describe at least three ways in which ecosystem services support human societies. For each one, discuss the measures an/ or technologies that would need to be taken or developed to replace these services if they were no longer provided to us by natural systems. Are there some ecosystem services that cannot be replaced at any cost?

An ecosystem “is a community of plants and animals interacting with each other in a given area.” (Rinkesh, ND). There are three different categories: freshwater, terrestrial and ocean ecosystems. Each can be broken into subsections, for example terrestrial ecosystems include: rainforests, savannas, deserts, tundra, grasslands and forests. Each subsection supports a different range of plants and animals interacting in different ways while supporting and providing a range of different ecosystem services. Key ecosystem services include supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural services. The services help the ecosystem to stay sustainable and provide exploitable commodities for humanity. Provisioning services allow humans to grow crops and food in the ecosystem to sell or consume. Ecosystems regularly experience both physical and human environmental problems, like pollution or over fishing.

Simultaneously, thousands of other species across the globe face the same threat: extinction. Biodiversity is an essential part of our world, our global ecosystem. As Planet Earth?s resources diminish and its creatures vanish, those who recognize the need to preserve what is disappearing look to international politics to accomplish what individuals cannot. The most important instrument for implementation of international policy has been the Convention On International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which went into effect in 1975.