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Essay on Biodiversity in 500 Words for Students

how to write an essay about biodiversity

  • Updated on  
  • Dec 7, 2023

Essay on Biodiversity

Essay on Biodiversity: Biodiversity refers to the variety of animals and plants in the world or a specific area. Even in today’s modern world where so many technological advances have taken place, we still rely on our natural environment and resources to survive, A healthy and vibrant ecosystem is not disturbed by human activities. We humans are the largest consumers of natural resources, and you know what? We are also a real threat to the natural environment? Biodiversity is not just about a variety of animal and plant species, but, also offers us water, climate, disease control, nutrition cycle, oxygen release, etc. According to one report released by the United Nations, around 10 lakh plant and animal species are on the verge of extinction. The worst thing is that this number is almost at a doubling rate.

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Why is Biodiversity Important?

Biodiversity supports all life forms on earth. To understand the importance of biodiversity, we don’t need to think or act like a biologist. All we need is a holistic understanding. 

  • Biodiversity promotes resilience and stability in our ecosystem. If there is any natural disturbance in the environment, a diverse ecosystem will be able to survive and recover better.
  • Fields like agriculture, forestry, and medicine completely rely on biodiversity. We get genetic resources from biodiversity, which is essential for agriculture and medicine fields.
  • A healthy biodiversity environment means healthy humans. The medicinal drugs we use are derived from plants, animals, and microorganisms.
  • In many parts of the world, biodiversity is an integral part of cultural identity. Indigenous tribes are connected with their natural environment and species. 
  • Forest areas and oceans play an important role in regulating global temperature and storing carbon dioxide.
  • Our environment is constantly changing and the species around it also need to adapt to for to survive. Therefore, genetic diversity within species is also important.
  • Natural activities like soil formation, nutrient cycling, water purification, etc, are all dependent on biodiversity.

Also Read: NCERT Solutions Class 9 Natural Vegetation and Wildlife

What is Biodiversity Loss?

Biodiversity loss means the global extinction of various species, resulting in the loss of biological diversity. One of the main factors responsible for biodiversity loss is the conversion of natural habitats into agricultural and urban areas. Cutting down forests and using the land for commercial activities results in destroying the livelihood of all the species in the region. Other factors responsible for biodiversity loss are listed below.

  • Overexploitation
  • Climate change
  • Global trade and transportation
  • Emerging diseases
  • Pollution 

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What is Biodiversity Conservation?

Biodiversity conservation refers to the preservation of species, natural resources, and habitats from the rate of extinction. To achieve the goals of biodiversity conservation, effective management, and sustainable practices are required.

  • Biodiversity conservation includes protected areas like biodiversity hotspots, national parks, and wildlife sanctuaries.
  • One of the most effective ways to conserve biodiversity is rehabilitation and restoring degraded habitats is crucial.
  • Promoting sustainable practices in agriculture, forestry, and other resource-dependent activities is essential for the conservation of biodiversity.
  • Encouraging the participation of local and indigenous communities can be one solution to achieving the goals of biodiversity conservation. Indigenous and local knowledge can contribute to effective conservation strategies.

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Quotes on Biodiversity

Here are some popular quotes on biodiversity. Feel free to add them to your writing topics related to the natural environment.

  • ‘Look closely at nature. Every species is a masterclass, exclusively adapted to the particular environment in which it has survived. Who are we to destroy or even diminish biodiversity?’ – E O Wilson
  • ‘Biodiversity is our most valuable but least appreciated resource.’ – E O Wilson
  • ‘Biodiversity is the greeted treasure we have. It’s diminishment is to be prevented at all cost.’ – Thomas Eisner
  • ‘Animal protection is education to humanity.’ – Albert Schweitzer
  • ‘Only beautiful animals or ugly people wear fur.’ – Unknown
  • ‘Babies and animals are the mirrors of the nature.’ – Epicurus

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Ans: Biodiversity refers to the variety of plants and animals in our natural environment or a particular region. Biodiversity supports all life forms on earth. To understand the importance of biodiversity, we don’t need to think or act like a biologist. All we need is a holistic understanding. Biodiversity promotes resilience and stability in our ecosystem. If there is any natural disturbance in the environment, a diverse ecosystem will be able to survive and recover better. Fields like agriculture, forestry, and medicine completely rely on biodiversity. We get genetic resources from biodiversity, which is essential for agriculture and medicine fields.

Ans: Biodiversity conservation refers to the preservation of species, natural resources, and habitats from the rate of extinction. To achieve the goals of biodiversity conservation, effective management, and sustainable practices are required.

Ans: Some of the popular biodiversity hotspots in India are the Himalayas, Indo-Burma, Western Ghats & Sundaland.

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With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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Essay on Conservation of Biodiversity for Students and Children

500+ words essay on conservation of biodiversity.

Conservation of biodiversity is vital for maintaining the Earth’s environment and sustaining life on the planet. There are a number of ways in which the richness of biodiversity helps in maintaining the ecological system. Conservation of biodiversity is important for the survival of living beings on Earth. Hence, a lot of emphases is being given on the conservation of biodiversity these days.

essay on conservation of biodiversity

The Extinction in Biodiversity

Due to human activities, numerous varieties of animals go extinct each year. Western Black Rhinoceros, Dodo, Tasmanian tiger, Golden Toad, Woolly Mammoth, Caribbean Monk Seal, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, and Japanese Sea Lion are some of the species of animals that have gone extinct.

Lemur, Mountain Gorilla, Vaquita, Sea Turtles, Amur Leopard, and Tiger are some of the species that are on the verge of extinction. Apart from these many species of plants and trees including Lepidodendron, Araucaria Mirabilis, Wood Cycad and Kokia Cookie have gone extinct and many species are endangered.

Need to Conserve Biodiversity

Earth is a beautiful planet which has given us many things which occur naturally. Natural resources, rivers, valleys , oceans, different species of animals and beautiful varieties of plants and trees are among some of these.

In today’s world, we are busy developing our surroundings and spoiling our beautiful environment. Today, we have exploited most of the things that were available abundantly in nature. Thus, there arises a need to conserve these natural things. Among other things, there is a serious need for the conservation of biodiversity.

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Importance of Conservation of Biodiversity

Conservation of biodiversity is important for many reasons. Here are some of the main reasons to conserve biodiversity:

  • Process of Food Chain: Different species of animals and plants serve as the source of food for other animals and living organisms. Thus, conserving biodiversity help to keep the food chain among the living organisms.
  • Nutritional Needs: The decline in the variety of plants and animals would mean the decline in the variety of food we eat. So, this is likely to result in nutritional deficiencies.
  • Cleaner Air: Plants and trees have a greater ability to purify the air and keep the atmosphere clean. As there is a decrease in the number and types of trees and plants, it impacts the quality of air in a negative way.
  • Better Cultivation of Crops:   Fertility of soil is maintained by many insects, organisms and microorganisms work on different levels. So we have to maintain the level of microorganism which is better for the cultivation of crops.
  • For Medical Reason s: For making different medicines many species of trees and plants are used so as to cure various diseases.

Methods to Conserve Biodiversity

Methods that can help in the conservation of biodiversity are

  • Control Population: The greater the population the higher the needs which would result in further exploitation of flora and fauna and decline in biodiversity. For the conservation of biodiversity, we have to control the human population and allow other species of plants and animals to replenish on our planet.
  • Control Pollution: The changing climate, deteriorating air quality and the growing amount of pollution on land and water bodies are leading to different types of diseases in many. It is essential to reduce the activities leading to pollution so as to conserve biodiversity.
  • Reduce Deforestation: Due to deforestation, there is the loss of habitat. Due to this reason, wild animals are unable to survive in the new environment and die.
  • Avoid Wastage: We need to understand that natural resources are not only essential for us but are also vital for the survival of other species. We must thus utilize only as much as we require them so that these remain available in abundance in nature for future use.
  • Spread Awareness: Apart from this, one of the best methods to conserve biodiversity is by spreading awareness. The government can do so at a bigger level. While we can spread awareness by word of mouth and through social media.

Conservation of biodiversity is of utmost importance. We must all make efforts to conserve biodiversity rather than contributing towards its declination. Thus, the richness of biodiversity is essential for the survival of living beings on Earth.

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Essay on Biodiversity

Narayan Bista

Introduction to Biodiversity

Biodiversity encompasses the array of life on Earth, spanning species, ecosystems, and genetic resources crucial for sustaining the planet. In a delicate ecological balance, each component plays a unique role, contributing to the stability and resilience of our shared environment. However, this complex web is continuously in danger because of human activities like pollution, habitat destruction, and climate change. Understanding the significance of biodiversity is paramount, as it directly influences ecological functions, economic prosperity, and human well-being. This essay explores the profound importance of biodiversity and emphasizes the urgent need for concerted global efforts to preserve and protect it.

Essay on Biodiversity

Significance of Biodiversity

Comprehending the importance of biodiversity for the well-being of our planet and all its inhabitants can be approached from several perspectives:

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  • Ecological Stability: Biodiversity contributes to the resilience and stability of ecosystems. Ecosystems with diverse components are more resilient and capable of enduring and rebounding from environmental changes, including extreme weather events and disease outbreaks.
  • Economic Value: Biodiversity is a source of invaluable resources for various industries. Medicinal plants, agricultural crops, and genetic diversity in livestock contribute to developing pharmaceuticals, food security, and improved breeds.
  • Human Well-being: Biodiversity significantly impacts human health. Plant and animal sources contribute to many traditional medicines, and exposure to natural environments positively affects mental health.
  • Cultural Significance: Biodiversity is often deeply intertwined with cultural practices, traditions, and spiritual beliefs. It inspires art, literature, and rituals, connecting communities to their natural surroundings.
  • Ecosystem Services: Biodiversity underpins essential ecosystem services, such as pollination, water purification, and soil fertility. These services are critical for human survival and agricultural productivity.
  • Genetic Diversity: Biodiversity ensures a wide range of genetic material, making species more adaptable to changing environmental conditions. Genetic variety must exist for species to evolve and survive over the long term.
  • Scientific Understanding: Studying biodiversity enhances our understanding of life on Earth, contributing to scientific knowledge and advancements in various fields, including ecology, genetics, and medicine.

Threats to Biodiversity

Threats to Biodiversity

Biodiversity faces many threats, primarily driven by human activities, posing significant risks to Earth’s intricate web of life. Major threats to biodiversity include the following:

  • Habitat Destruction: Natural habitats are lost and fragmented due to urbanization, deforestation, and land conversion for agriculture, upsetting ecosystems and displacing numerous species.
  • Pollution: Air, water, and soil pollution from industrial, agricultural, and domestic sources degrade ecosystems, harm wildlife, and lead to the decline of certain species.
  • Climate Change: The alterations in temperature and precipitation patterns, driven by human-induced climate change, have repercussions on ecosystems, leading to changes in species distribution, shifts in habitat ranges, and placing those incapable of adaptation in jeopardy.
  • Overexploitation: Unsustainable harvesting of plants and animals for food, medicine, and trade, coupled with illegal activities such as poaching, threatens many species with extinction.
  • Invasive Species: Introducing non-native species disrupts local ecosystems by outcompeting native species for resources, spreading diseases, and altering ecological processes.
  • Habitat Fragmentation: Human development often fragments natural landscapes, isolating populations and reducing genetic diversity, decreasing resilience and adaptability.
  • Disease: The spread of diseases, often exacerbated by human activities and global transportation, can devastate wildlife populations, particularly where species lack immunity.
  • Resource Depletion: Unsustainable exploitation of natural resources, such as overfishing and excessive logging, depletes ecosystems and threatens the balance of various species within them.
  • Lack of Conservation Awareness: Insufficient awareness and understanding of the importance of biodiversity contribute to inadequate conservation efforts, hampering initiatives to protect and preserve ecosystems.
  • Globalization: Increased global trade and movement of goods amplify human impact on biodiversity by spreading invasive species, diseases, and pollutants.

Ecological Functions of Biodiversity

Ecosystems depend on biodiversity to remain healthy and function properly. The ecological functions of biodiversity contribute to the natural environment’s stability, resilience, and sustainability. Here are the key ecological functions of biodiversity:

  • Ecosystem Stability: Biodiversity enhances the stability of ecosystems by promoting balance among species.
  • Diverse ecosystems possess greater resilience to disruptions, such as disease outbreaks or extreme weather events, as various species may exhibit distinct responses to these challenges.
  • Interdependence of Species: Ecosystem species often depend on each other for survival. Biodiversity fosters complex interactions and relationships, such as symbiosis and predation, contributing to ecosystems’ overall health and functioning.
  • Resilience to Environmental Changes: Ecosystems with diversity are more adaptable to changes in their surroundings. The genetic diversity within species allows for adaptation to changing conditions, ensuring the persistence of life even in dynamic and unpredictable environments.
  • Nutrient Cycling: Biodiversity is integral to nutrient cycling, facilitating the transfer of essential elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus between living organisms and the environment. Microorganisms, plants, and animals contribute to nutrient cycling in various ways.
  • Pollination and Seed Dispersal: Many plants rely on animals for pollination and seed dispersal. Within the realm of biodiversity, diverse insect and bird species play a crucial role in ensuring the continuation of essential processes vital for the reproduction and survival of plant species.
  • Soil Fertility: Biodiversity in soil, including microorganisms and invertebrates, contributes to soil fertility by breaking down organic matter, decomposing dead organisms, and enhancing plant nutrient availability.
  • Biological Control of Pests: Biodiversity, especially in terms of predator-prey relationships, helps control the populations of pests. Natural predators can regulate the numbers of herbivores, preventing overgrazing and maintaining a balanced ecosystem.
  • Climate Regulation: Forests, wetlands, and other ecosystems with high biodiversity contribute to climate regulation by sequestering carbon dioxide and influencing local climate patterns. The intricate relationships between different species help in maintaining ecosystem balance.

Economic Value of Biodiversity

Biodiversity holds substantial economic value, providing many resources and services vital for human well-being and economic development. Explore the economic significance of biodiversity through various aspects:

  • Medicinal Resources: Plants, animals, and microorganisms contribute to the derivation of many traditional pharmaceuticals. Biodiversity is a rich source of compounds with potential therapeutic properties, contributing to the pharmaceutical industry and human health.
  • Agricultural Diversity: Biodiversity is essential for agriculture as diverse ecosystems support a variety of crops and livestock breeds. Genetic diversity within species ensures resilience to diseases, pests, and changing environmental conditions, enhancing food security.
  • Crop Improvement: Researchers can employ a useful genetic characteristic found in wild relatives of cultivated plants to improve crops. Biodiversity provides a genetic reservoir for developing more resilient, productive, and disease-resistant crop varieties through selective breeding and genetic engineering.
  • Pollination Services: Biodiversity, particularly diverse insect species like bees, plays a crucial role in pollinating crops. This service is fundamental for producing fruits, vegetables, and nuts, contributing significantly to global agriculture.
  • Ecosystem Services: Biodiversity contributes to various ecosystem services, including water purification, soil fertility, and climate regulation. These services support agricultural productivity, reduce the need for artificial inputs, and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
  • Tourism and Recreation: Biodiversity-rich areas, such as national parks, wildlife reserves, and natural landscapes, attract tourists and generate economic revenue through tourism activities, accommodations, and recreational services.
  • Biotechnology and Industry: Biodiversity is a source of inspiration for biotechnological innovations. Enzymes, chemicals, and materials derived from diverse biological resources have applications in various industries, contributing to economic growth.
  • Cultural and Aesthetic Value: Biodiversity contributes to cultural identity and aesthetics, fostering ecotourism and generating economic benefits. Unique flora and fauna, along with traditional knowledge related to biodiversity, attract visitors and support local economies.
  • Fisheries and Aquaculture: Marine and freshwater biodiversity support fisheries and aquaculture industries. A diverse range of fish species provides food, livelihoods, and economic value to communities worldwide.
  • Research and Education: Biodiversity is a subject of extensive scientific research, leading to innovations in various fields. Additionally, biodiversity education and awareness initiatives contribute to human capital development and environmental stewardship.

Biodiversity and Human Well-being

Biodiversity is fundamental in shaping and enhancing human well-being, from physical health to cultural and spiritual enrichment. The intricate connections between biodiversity and human well-being are multifaceted:

  • Medicinal Resources: The development of pharmaceuticals and traditional remedies has benefited from the abundance of therapeutic plants and organisms in biodiversity. Many communities rely on diverse biological resources for healthcare, emphasizing the direct link between biodiversity and human health.
  • Food Security: Agricultural biodiversity provides a diverse range of crops and livestock, ensuring a variety of nutritious foods for human consumption. This diversity contributes to balanced diets, reducing the risk of malnutrition and enhancing food security.
  • Cultural Importance: Cultural practices, traditions, and identity are deeply intertwined with biodiversity. Indigenous communities often have profound connections to specific plants, animals, and landscapes, contributing to cultural richness and diversity.
  • Spiritual and Recreational Benefits: Natural environments, characterized by diverse ecosystems, provide spaces for recreation and spiritual well-being. Biodiversity-rich areas, such as forests and parks, offer opportunities for relaxation, reflection, and connection with nature.
  • Mental Health: There is evidence that being in nature, especially in biodiverse settings, positively impacts mental health. Green spaces and natural settings reduce stress and improve mood and overall well-being.
  • Aesthetic Value: Biodiversity enhances the aesthetic quality of landscapes, contributing to the visual and sensory experiences that positively impact human well-being. The beauty of diverse flora and fauna has aesthetic, artistic, and inspirational value.
  • Eco-Tourism and Recreation: Biodiversity-rich areas attract tourists seeking unique and diverse natural experiences. Eco-tourism contributes to local economies, providing employment opportunities and supporting community well-being.
  • Traditional Knowledge: Indigenous and local communities often possess traditional biodiversity-related knowledge, including sustainable resource management practices. This knowledge contributes to community resilience and well-being.
  • Clean Air and Water: Biodiverse ecosystems maintain air and water quality. Forests, wetlands, and other natural habitats contribute to the purification of air and water resources, directly impacting human health.
  • Economic Livelihoods: Many communities rely on biodiversity for their economic livelihoods, including fishing, agriculture, and ecotourism. Sustainable use of biodiversity resources supports local economies and livelihoods.

Conservation Efforts

Conservation efforts are crucial for safeguarding biodiversity and mitigating the threats to ecosystems and species. Effective conservation involves a combination of strategies, policies, and community engagement. Here are key aspects of conservation efforts:

  • Protected Areas: Many species depend on the creation and maintenance of protected areas, such as national parks, animal reserves, and marine sanctuaries, as vital habitats. These areas serve as refuges where ecosystems can thrive without significant human interference.
  • Habitat Conservation: Focusing on preserving and restoring natural habitats is essential. This involves initiatives to prevent deforestation, protect wetlands, and maintain critical ecosystems that support a wide range of species.
  • Species Recovery Programs: Implementing programs dedicated to recovering endangered and threatened species helps prevent extinction. These programs often involve breeding and reintroduction efforts, habitat restoration, and monitoring of population dynamics.
  • Community-Based Conservation: Involving local communities is crucial for the long-term effectiveness of conservation projects. Collaborative approaches that respect indigenous knowledge and engage communities in sustainable resource management contribute to biodiversity conservation and human well-being.
  • International Cooperation: Conservation is a global concern, and international collaboration is essential. International agreements, like the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity), and collaborative efforts, such as the GEF (Global Environment Facility), promote cooperation in biodiversity conservation.
  • Sustainable Resource Management: Promoting sustainable practices in resource utilization, such as sustainable forestry, fisheries management, and eco-friendly agriculture, helps balance human needs with preserving biodiversity.
  • Education and Awareness: It is essential to educate the public about the value of biodiversity and the necessity of conservation. Education programs and campaigns help foster a sense of responsibility and encourage sustainable practices among individuals and communities.
  • Corporate Responsibility: Encouraging corporate responsibility and sustainable business practices is essential. Companies can contribute to conservation by adopting environmentally friendly policies, reducing their ecological footprint, and supporting conservation initiatives.
  • Research and Monitoring: Continuous scientific research and monitoring of ecosystems and species provide essential data for conservation planning. This includes understanding population dynamics, tracking migration patterns, and assessing the impact of environmental changes.
  • Legislation and Policy: Strong legal frameworks and policies are necessary to regulate activities that may harm biodiversity. These include laws addressing habitat destruction, pollution, poaching, and the trade of endangered species.
  • Climate Change Mitigation: Addressing climate change is integral to biodiversity conservation. Efforts to diminish greenhouse gas emissions and develop adaptation methods lessen the negative consequences of climate change on ecosystems and species.

Challenges and Threats

Biodiversity conservation faces numerous challenges and threats, many exacerbated by human activities. Addressing these challenges is essential to ensure ecosystems’ long-term health and sustainability. Here are some significant challenges and threats to biodiversity:

  • Habitat Destruction: Deforestation, urbanization, and land conversion for agriculture lead to the loss and fragmentation of natural habitats. This poses a significant threat to countless species, reducing biodiversity.
  • Pollution: Pollution from industrial, agricultural, and urban sources, including air and water pollution , adversely affects ecosystems and poses risks to the health of many species.
  • Climate Change: Human actions like the combustion of fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes cause global climate change . This results in ecosystem alterations, species distribution disruptions, and adaptation challenges.
  • Overexploitation: Unsustainable harvesting of plants, animals, and natural resources for food, medicine, and trade can lead to population declines, biodiversity loss, and, in extreme cases, extinction.
  • Invasive Species: Introducing non-native species can outcompete or prey on native species, leading to the decline or extinction of indigenous flora and fauna.
  • Habitat Fragmentation: Urbanization and infrastructure development often fragment natural landscapes, isolating populations and disrupting migration patterns, reducing genetic diversity and adaptability.
  • Disease: The spread of diseases, often facilitated by global transportation and trade, poses a significant threat to wildlife populations, particularly in cases where species lack immunity.
  • Lack of Conservation Awareness: Insufficient public awareness and understanding of the importance of biodiversity hinder conservation efforts. Lack of awareness can lead to unsustainable practices and policies.
  • Illegal Trade: Illicit trade in wildlife, including poaching and trafficking of endangered species, threatens many animals and plants and contributes to the decline of populations.
  • Population Growth and Resource Demand: Increasing human populations and growing resource demands put additional pressure on natural habitats, leading to habitat destruction, overharvesting, and increased resource competition.
  • Lack of Funding and Resources: Inadequate financial resources and funding for conservation initiatives hamper the implementation of effective measures to protect and manage biodiversity.
  • Land Use Change: Changes in land use, driven by agricultural expansion, infrastructure development, and other human activities, contribute to habitat loss and degradation.
  • Synergistic Effects: The combined and interactive effects of multiple stressors, such as habitat loss, pollution, and climate change, can have more severe impacts on biodiversity than individual threats alone.

Future Prospects

The future of biodiversity presents challenges and opportunities as humanity navigates the complex interplay between conservation, sustainable development, and global environmental changes. Here are key considerations for the future prospects of biodiversity:

  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Integrating biodiversity conservation into broader sustainability goals, such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, is crucial. A harmonious future requires striking a balance between environmental preservation and economic progress.
  • Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation: It is absolutely essential to address climate change in order to preserve biodiversity. Future conservation activities must include both adaptation measures to assist species in adjusting to changing climates and mitigation efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Integrated Conservation Strategies: Adopting holistic and integrated approaches to conservation that consider the interconnectedness of ecosystems, species, and human communities will be crucial for long-term success.
  • Technology and Innovation: Leveraging technology and innovation, such as satellite monitoring, remote sensing, and genetic technologies, can enhance conservation efforts by providing valuable data, tracking species, and supporting habitat management.
  • Ecosystem Restoration: Investing in ecosystem restoration projects, such as reforestation and habitat rehabilitation, can help reverse the impacts of habitat destruction and contribute to the recovery of biodiversity.
  • Global Cooperation: Strengthening international cooperation and agreements for biodiversity conservation is essential. Collaborative efforts worldwide are needed to address transboundary issues and protect migratory species.
  • Community Engagement and Indigenous Knowledge: Empowering local communities and respecting indigenous knowledge is crucial for effective biodiversity conservation. Engaging communities in conservation initiatives fosters stewardship and sustainable resource management.
  • Education and Awareness: To get broad support and encourage responsible conduct, it is imperative to raise public awareness and educate people about the value of biodiversity and the risks it confronts.
  • Policy Integration: Integrating biodiversity considerations into various policy domains, including agriculture, forestry, and urban planning, is crucial. Coordinated efforts across sectors can enhance the resilience of ecosystems.
  • Green Finance and Sustainable Investments: Directing financial resources towards green investments, sustainable practices, and conservation projects is critical for supporting biodiversity conservation efforts at local, national, and global levels.
  • Resilient Cities and Infrastructure: Designing and planning urban areas and infrastructure focusing on biodiversity can contribute to creating resilient, sustainable cities that support human well-being and natural ecosystems.
  • Conservation in High Seas and Antarctica: Addressing conservation challenges in areas beyond national jurisdiction, such as the high seas and Antarctica, is crucial. Developing effective governance frameworks for these areas will be essential for protecting marine biodiversity.
  • Legislation and Enforcement: Strengthening environmental laws, regulations, and enforcement mechanisms is vital for deterring illegal activities that threaten biodiversity and ensuring compliance with conservation measures.

The future of biodiversity requires a concerted global effort to balance human development with ecological sustainability. Embracing integrated conservation strategies, leveraging technology, and fostering international cooperation are essential. The imperative lies in respecting indigenous knowledge, empowering local communities, and promoting education to raise awareness. As climate change accelerates and biodiversity faces unprecedented threats, the resilience of ecosystems depends on innovative solutions and responsible policies. Committing to green finance, sustainable practices, and legislative measures, humanity can pave the way for a harmonious coexistence with nature, ensuring a biodiverse future that sustains life on Earth for generations to come.

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Essay on Biodiversity

Biodiversity is a term made up of two words - Bio meaning Life, and Diversity meaning Variety. The term biodiversity refers to the variety of life on Earth. Plants, animals, microbes, and fungi are all examples of living species on the planet.

Types of Biodiversity  

Genetic Biodiversity- Genetic diversity is the variation in genes and genotypes within a species, e.g., every human looks different from the other. 

Species Biodiversity- Species Diversity is the variety of species within a habitat or a region. It is the biodiversity observed within a community.

Ecosystem Biodiversity- Ecological biodiversity refers to the variations in the plant and animal species living together and connected by food chains and food webs.

Importance of Biodiversity 

Biodiversity is an integral part of cultural identity. Human cultures co-evolve with their environment and conservation is a priority for cultural identity. Biodiversity is used for Medicinal purposes.

Many plants and animals are used for medicinal purposes, like vitamins and painkillers. It contributes to climate stability. It helps in controlling the effects of climate change and managing greenhouse gases. 

Biodiversity provides more food resources. It supplies many vital ecosystems, such as creating and maintaining soil quality, controlling pests, and providing habitat for wildlife. Biodiversity has a relationship with Industry. Biological sources provide many Industrial materials including rubber, cotton, leather, food, paper, etc.

There are many economic benefits of Biodiversity. Biodiversity also helps in controlling pollution. Biodiversity helps in forming a healthy ecosystem. Biodiversity also acts as a source of recreation. Along with other factors, biodiversity helps in improving soil quality.

Long Essay on Biodiversity 

There are many economic benefits of Biodiversity. Biodiversity is a source of economic wealth for many regions of the world. Biodiversity facilitates Tourism and the Recreational industry. Natural Reserves and National Parks benefit a lot from it. Forest, wildlife, biosphere reserve, sanctuaries are prime spots for ecotourism, photography, painting, filmmaking, and literary works.

Biodiversity plays a vital role in the maintenance of the gaseous composition of the atmosphere, breakdown of waste material, and removal of pollutants.

Conservation of Biodiversity  

Biodiversity is very important for human existence as all life forms are interlinked with each other and one single disturbance can have multiple effects on another. If we fail to protect our biodiversity, we can endanger our plants, animals, and environment, as well as human life. Therefore, it is necessary to protect our biodiversity at all costs. Conservation of Biodiversity can be done by educating the people to adopt more environment-friendly methods and activities and develop a more harmonious and empathetic nature towards the environment. The involvement and cooperation of communities are very important. The process of continuous protection of Biodiversity is the need of the hour.

The Government of India, along with 155 other nations, has signed the convention of Biodiversity at the Earth Summit to protect it. According to the summit, efforts should be made in preserving endangered species. 

The preservation and proper management methods for wildlife should be made. Food crops, animals, and plants should be preserved. Usage of various food crops should be kept at a minimum. Every country must realize the importance of protecting the ecosystem and safeguarding the habitat. 

The Government of India has launched the Wild Life Protection Act 1972 to protect, preserve, and propagate a variety of species. The Government has also launched a scheme to protect national parks and sanctuaries. There are 12 countries - Mexico, Columbia, Peru, Brasil, Ecuador, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, India, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia, in which Mega Diversity Centres are located. These countries are tropical and they possess a large number of the world’s species.

Various hotspots have been made to protect the vegetation. There are various methods for conserving biodiversity. 

If biodiversity conservation is not done efficiently, each species would eventually become extinct due to a lack of appetite and hunger. This scenario has been a big issue for the last few decades, and many unique species have already become extinct. As a result of a lack of biodiversity protection, several species are still on the verge of extinction.

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FAQs on Biodiversity Essay

1. What are the three types of Biodiversity?

Biodiversity is referred to as the variability that exists between the living organisms from different sources of nature, such as terrestrial, marine, and other aquatic ecosystems. Biodiversity has three levels, which are genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity. This is also considered as the type of ecosystem.

2. What is Biodiversity and why is it important?

Biodiversity is responsible for boosting the productivity of the ecosystems in which every species, no matter how small, has an important role to play. For example, a greater variety of crops can be obtained from a plant species which is in large numbers. If species diversity is in a greater amount, then it ensures natural sustainability for all life forms.

3. What is the connection between Biodiversity and the Food Chain?

If a single species goes extinct from the food chain, it will have an impact on the species that survive on it, putting them on the verge of extinction.

4. How are human beings affecting biodiversity?

Pollution- Pollution not only affects human beings, but also affects our flora and fauna, and we should control the pollution to conserve our biodiversity.

Population- Population control is a must to maintain a balance in our ecological system. Humans contribute to pollution by bursting crackers and by not following all the traffic rules.

5. How does Deforestation affect biodiversity?

Deforestation- Trees are very important for survival. They help in balancing out the ecosystem. Deforestation leads to the destruction of habitat. Deforestation should be stopped to protect our animals and plants. Deforestation not only removes vegetation that is important for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but it also emits greenhouse gases.

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Essay on Biodiversity 1000+ Words

Biodiversity, short for biological diversity, is a remarkable tapestry of life that blankets our planet. It encompasses the variety of living organisms, ecosystems, and habitats that make Earth a vibrant and thriving place. In this essay, we will delve into the importance of biodiversity, the threats it faces, and why we should protect it.

The Marvelous World of Biodiversity

Imagine a world without colorful flowers, buzzing bees, towering trees, or majestic tigers. Biodiversity is what makes our world so diverse and beautiful. It includes everything from tiny microbes in the soil to the largest whales in the ocean. Earth’s rich biodiversity provides us with essential resources, from food to medicine, and enriches our lives in countless ways.

The Benefits of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is not just about pretty landscapes and exotic animals; it plays a crucial role in sustaining life on Earth. It helps maintain a stable and healthy environment. For instance, forests with diverse tree species are better at absorbing carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Biodiversity also supports pollinators like bees and butterflies, which are essential for our food supply. The more diverse our ecosystems, the more resilient they are to threats like diseases and extreme weather.

Food and Medicine

Biodiversity is the foundation of our food system. Different plant and animal species provide us with a wide range of foods, from fruits and vegetables to grains and meats. Moreover, many of the medicines we rely on come from plants and animals. For example, the bark of the willow tree gave us aspirin, and the Madagascar periwinkle plant provides a lifesaving medicine for cancer patients. Protecting biodiversity ensures that we have a diverse and healthy diet and access to essential medicines.

Cultural and Recreational Value

Biodiversity isn’t just about science and survival; it also enriches our cultures and leisure activities. Many indigenous communities around the world have deep cultural connections to the land and its diverse species. Biodiversity inspires art, literature, and music. Imagine a world without the fascinating stories of animals like the African elephant or the enchanting songs of birds like the nightingale. Biodiversity enhances our quality of life in ways we might not even realize.

Threats to Biodiversity

Despite its immense value, biodiversity is under threat. Human activities, such as deforestation, pollution, overfishing, and habitat destruction, are driving many species to the brink of extinction. Climate change, fueled by the burning of fossil fuels, poses another significant threat. Rising temperatures can disrupt ecosystems and push species out of their habitats. These threats not only endanger the creatures themselves but also disrupt the delicate balance of our planet.

Conservation Efforts

The good news is that people around the world are working hard to protect biodiversity. Conservation organizations, scientists, and governments are implementing measures to safeguard endangered species and preserve critical habitats. National parks and wildlife reserves provide safe havens for countless plants and animals. Additionally, there are international agreements like the Convention on Biological Diversity aimed at preserving biodiversity on a global scale.

What You Can Do

You, as a young environmental advocate, can also play a crucial role in protecting biodiversity. You can start by learning more about the species and ecosystems in your area. Participate in local conservation efforts, like planting trees or cleaning up parks. Reduce your environmental footprint by conserving water, reducing waste, and using energy-efficient appliances. Spread the word about the importance of biodiversity to inspire others to take action.

Conclusion of Essay on Biodiversity

In conclusion, biodiversity is a precious gift that we must cherish and protect. It sustains life on Earth, provides us with essential resources, and enriches our cultures and enjoyment of the natural world. However, it faces serious threats from human activities and climate change. By understanding the importance of biodiversity and taking action to conserve it, we can ensure a healthier and more vibrant planet for future generations. Let us celebrate the wonders of biodiversity and work together to safeguard the incredible diversity of life on Earth.

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Conservation of Biodiversity Essay for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

Conservation of Biodiversity Essay: Mother earth is the home for various species and a place where they can coexist.  The term biodiversity is a combination of two words – biological and diversity.   It means diverse living organisms simultaneously sustain themselves in an ecosystem.  The ecosystem encompasses various communities of creatures, including forests, coral reefs, wildlife, microbes, etc.  A surprising number of 8.7 million species inhabit the planet earth.

The existence of biodiversity is an essential element of the planet earth.  Every organism is interdependent and interconnected with one another.  Everything on this planet is in an intricate web.  However, human’s exploitation of the resources is threatening the ecological balance of biodiversity.  Thus, it becomes essential to conserve and support all the species.

You can read more  Essay Writing  about articles, events, people, sports, technology many more.

Long and Short Essays on Conservation of Biodiversity for Children and Kids in English

Given below are two essays in English for students and children about the topic of ‘Conservation of Biodiversity’ in both long and short form. The first essay of 400 to 500 words on ‘Conservation of Biodiversity’ is for students of class 7, 8, 9, and 10.  Moreover, it is helpful for the aspirants of competitive exams. Furthermore, 150 – 200 word’s essay on ‘Conservation of Biodiversity ‘will help students and children in class 6 or below.

Long ‘Conservation of Biodiversity’ Essay in English for classes 7, 8, 9, and 10 and Competitive Exam Aspirants. Below we have given a long essay on ‘Conservation of Biodiversity’ of 400 to 500 words. The article on the ‘Conservation of Biodiversity’ topic is best for students of 7 to 10.  Furthermore, competitive exam preparation will become easy if students refer to this article.

Long Conservation of Biodiversity Essay 500 words in English

Biodiversity is an amalgamation of two words – biological and diversity.  Therefore, the definition of the term ‘biodiversity’ encompasses a large variety of living organisms coexisting in an ecosystem.  Biodiversity ranges from the tiniest microbes to the largest mammal.  It also includes several species of bacteria, plants, animals, and humans.  The recent study discovered 8.7 million different species worldwide, out of which a normal man recognizes only 1.2 million species.

However, the existing biodiversity is at risk.  Both natural and human-activities are contributing to degrading the ecosystem. The changing climate and infestation of alien species are threatening the current biodiversity. Furthermore, in the pursuit of modernization, urbanization, and aggressive ambitions, humans are exploiting the natural habitat.  Several factors, such as habitat fragmentation, atmospheric pollution, over-consumption of the natural resources by the humans, etc. are putting additional pressure on the planet.

Over one million species are on the verge of extinction. Humans have altered the environment in the quest to dominate the planet.  Thus, the vast wealth of the earth is gradually vanishing.  There are such thirty or more spots on the planet where several species are under the threat of extinction.  Scientists have termed these regions as biodiversity hotspots.   These biodiversity hotspots are home to 60% of different kinds of species.

The need of the hour is to participate in conserving biodiversity.  Another word for conservation is caring for the environment.  The first step to prevent dwindling biodiversity is to protect the plants and animals in their natural habitat.

It would be possible to create a safe habitat for various species by putting an end to the fragmentation of land for selfish purposes.  Several species are sensitive to pollution.  For instance, salmons can only thrive in freshwater.  The concentration of toxic chemicals in the stream may lead to a declining population of salmons.  Furthermore, the burning of fossil fuels gives rise to carbon dioxide emission, which is harmful to some species.   A large number of species become homeless as a result of deforestation.  Moreover, deforestation also leads to climate change. It harms migrating species.

Native plants and animals survive when they interact with the environment freely.  It would be best not to disturb them in their natural habitat.  Thus, humans need to take responsibility for their actions, and consciously stop polluting the environment.

The government is preserving biodiversity by restoring the natural habitat and assigning protected areas.  Furthermore, an initiative to safeguard the forest-dwelling animals, the government is prohibiting wildlife trading and poaching.  The government will take further actions to mainstream biodiversity conservation.  The government is working towards capping fisheries, mining, farming, concrete construction in green zone areas, etc. enabling multiple species to interact and interconnect freely.

Short Essay on Conservation of Biodiversity 200 words in English

Short Conservation of Biodiversity Essay in English for Classes 6 and Below

Below we have given a short essay on ‘Conservation of Biodiversity’ of 150 to 200 words. This short piece on the topic ‘Conservation of Biodiversity’ is perfect for all students of grade 6 and below. Biodiversity consists of all living organisms on the earth.  It includes a variety of life forms, from plants, animals, bacteria, to fungi.  However, in today’s time, the earth is losing  flora and fauna as well as genetic diversity.

Owing to the dominating human species, several other species of plants and animals are becoming extinct at an alarming rate.  Pollution, deforestation, global warming, over-exploitation of the ecosystem, and impulsive hunting of animals diminish the earth’s natural biodiversity.

Human beings are the greatest threat to biodiversity.  Scientists have identified more than thirty regions in the world as global biodiversity hotspots.  On the one hand, these areas have abundant resources.  On the other hand, these are high-risk areas of endangered species. In ecosystems, every creature is interdependent and interconnected.  Elimination of a single species can disrupt the entire food chain.

In the quest to conserve biodiversity, it is compelling to reduce carbon footprints.  Afforestation, reusing, recycling, and reducing waste can contribute to protecting biodiversity from further harm.  The creation of wildlife sanctuary and biodiversity reserves can aid in the natural restoration of biodiversity. Thus, for the survival of every species, including humans, we must conserve biodiversity.  We should set an example to inspire the next generation to follow the same path.

10 lines on Conservation of Biodiversity Essay in English

Students who are preparing for competitive examinations or entrance examinations can use this piece on ‘Conservation of Biodiversity’ for reference.  Moreover, children can take note of these points to help them deliver a speech on the stage.   Children who are planning to participate in literary work or debate competition can also find it very useful.

  • Biodiversity is a mixture of several species of plants, animals, and microbial organisms coexisting on the planet earth.
  • The recent study reveals the existence of 8.7 million different species worldwide.
  • Human activities worldwide are threatening biodiversity.
  • Deforestation, burning of fossil fuels, an infestation of alien species, climate change, fragmentation of habitat are some of the reasons behind dwindling biodiversity.
  • Scientists have identified more than thirty regions in the world as biodiversity hotspots.
  • We should participate in conserving biodiversity.
  • We should not disturb the native plants and animals so they can live freely in their natural habitat.
  • Land fragmentation and deforestation is making several species homeless.
  • The government made law to preserve biodiversity and create wildlife sanctuaries.
  • Humans also need to take responsibility for their actions, and consciously stop polluting the environment.

FAQ’s on Conservation of Biodiversity Essay

Question 1. Which factor is responsible for dwindling biodiversity?

Answer: Humans are responsible for dwindling biodiversity.

Question 2. What is the figure of different species that inhabit the planet earth?

Answer: Approximately 8.7 million different species inhabit the planet earth.

Question 3. What do you mean by biodiversity hotspots, and how many are there currently?

Answer: Biodiversity hotspots are biological-rich regions around the world that are threatened by the loss of inhabitants. Currently, there are over 30 biodiversity hotspots that the world recognizes.

Question 4. How can an ordinary person conserve biodiversity?

Answer: It is essential to cut down on exploiting the earth’s resources.  Humans should restrict their activities that are harming the natural environment.  We should make a collective effort to stabilize various species around the world.

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Essay on Biodiversity

List of short and long essays on biodiversity, biodiversity essay for kids and school students, essay on biodiversity – essay 1 (150 words), essay on biodiversity: types, importance and conclusion – essay 2 (250 words), essay on biodiversity: with threats and importance – essay 3 (300 words), essay on biodiversity: introduction, importance, decline and steps – essay 4 (400 words), essay on biodiversity – essay 5 (500 words), biodiversity essay for competitive exam and upsc civil services exam, essay on biodiversity: with conclusion – essay 6 (600 words), essay on biodiversity: facts, importance and preservation – essay 7 (750 words), essay on biodiversity in india – essay 8 (1000 words).

Introduction:

Biodiversity also known as biological diversity is the variables that exist among several species living in the ecosystem. These living organisms include marine, terrestrial and aquatic life. Biodiversity aims to understand the positions these organisms occupy in the broader ecosystem.

Importance of Biodiversity:

When there is biodiversity in our ecosystem it translates to a greener environment. This is because plant life thrives in a balanced ecosystem. This invariably affects humans as we consume plants for our survival. Also, a healthy ecosystem can help to reduce the risk of diseases and the way we respond to them.

Increasing Biodiversity:

Some changes could be encouraged to improve biodiversity in our environment.

Some of them are:

1. Stopping penetration of invasive alien species.

2. Using sustainable agricultural methods.

3. Having protected areas for spices to thrive.

4. Having an organic maintenance culture for fertilizers.

Conclusion:

To make the world a safe place for all organisms, we must maintain good health in all the ecosystems. This is the benefit of paying attention to biodiversity.

Diversity is the hallmark of nature. Things exist in different forms which creates diversity. Biodiversity is a significant and desirable variation in plant and animal existence on the surface of the earth. The variation exists due to genetics, species and the ecosystem or the habitat. Biodiversity is an important aspect in the world because it enables the survival and sustainability of living things on earth.

Types of Biodiversity:

The variation in living things has resulted in different types of biodiversity depending on the certain variables. Genetic diversity is due to the genetic components shared by living organisms. The species that have similar genes diverge and they develop differently thus creating biodiversity. Species diversity occurs when a habitat comprises different kinds of living things. Ecological diversity is through the interaction of living things that share common sources of energy in an ecosystem which contributes to biodiversity.

The existence of living things in an ecosystem and the functioning of the ecosystem contribute to the relevance of biodiversity in nature. Through biodiversity, living organisms are able to acquire food and other important resources to sustain their lives. The climate and environmental changes are regulated because of biodiversity. The culture is enriched through biodiversity as it involves existence of several groups of species and people in one environment.

All the three types of biodiversity are important to the existence of living organisms. The ecosystem is the hallmark of diversity because it helps to sustain the lives of diverse living things.

Biodiversity is the variability or the diversity of the different species of life forms. The planet earth is habitat for a wide variety of flora and fauna like plants, animals and other life forms.

What is Biodiversity?

Biodiversity or Biological diversity refers to the variety and variability of living beings on planet earth and it is the degree of variation of life. It represents the wealth of biological assets available on earth and encompasses microorganism, plants, animals and ecosystems such as coral reefs, forests, rainforests, deserts etc.

Threats to Biodiversity:

The growing population, industrialization, technology, etc., all are impacting biodiversity. The increased human activities have been reducing the natural area for plants, animals and other living things. A number of plants and animals have gone extinct because of increased deforestation and other factors. Growing pollution, causing global warming and climate change, is a big threat to biodiversity. The decline in biodiversity would in turn lead to imbalance in the ecosystem and would become a threat to the human race as well as other living organisms.

Different plants and animals are dependent on others to live and keep the natural surroundings in a balanced state. For example, human beings are dependent on various plants and animals for their food, shelter, safety, clothes etc. Similarly, every living species is dependent on some other species. It is, therefore, important to preserve biodiversity in our planet in order to maintain the ecological balance.

Protecting Biodiversity:

As we know, the biodiversity loss is a serious threat for human race, we all should work for maintaining biodiversity, and find out solutions to reduce the biodiversity decline. Since, air pollution and deforestation are major threats to biodiversity, these are the first things that need to be controlled. Government should frame stricter laws and organizations should sensitize people to be concerned about it and contribute their bit.

Biodiversity, also referred to as the biological diversity refers to the diversified form of plants and animals that exists in our planet . It also denotes each and every aspect of the ecosystem such as micro-organisms, coral reefs, rainforests, deserts, forests etc.,

A good balance in biodiversity supports human race and humans on the other hand must ensure to save biodiversity. This essay is going to talk about the importance of biodiversity and the role of human beings in safeguarding the ecosystem.

There are more than 300,000 species of flora that has been identified and there should be many more unidentified varieties. Similarly there must be infinite variety of other species in our Earth and these together form a perfect natural protection for the human race. Biodiversity supports human race in different ways.

Few of them are listed below:

1. Some of the species capture and stores energy and releases it back in the atmosphere for human consumption.

2. Some biological species help in decomposing organic materials and thus acts as a natural recycling agent.

3. Plants and trees help in reducing pollution and maintain the purity of atmospheric air.

4. It is from the biological resources that humans receive food and shelter.

5. The astonishing beauty of biodiversity is the base for tourism industry to flourish.

Decline in Biodiversity:

The Earth’s biodiversity is undergoing a severe decline and this is a great threat to the human race. There are several factors that lead to the decline in biological species, the most significant one being the behavior of human beings.

1. Human beings destroy forests to build houses and offices. Through deforestation humans are actually destroying the natural habitat of many plants and animals.

2. All new scientific inventions are causing harm to the environment. We cannot even find some species of birds today because of the increase in noise pollution.

3. Global warming is another reason for the decline in biodiversity. Some species require specific climate to survive and when the climatic conditions change continuously these species either migrate or become extinct. Decline in the number of coral reefs are a perfect example.

Steps to Be Taken:

The Government and different voluntary organizations must act upon immediately to create awareness among people on environmental issues and its consequences. It is also the responsibility of every common man to save mother Earth by maintaining a rich biodiversity .

If proper care is not taken, the biodiversity of Earth may become extinct one day and if it happens then, humans have to find another planet to live. It’s better to act now before it gets too late.

Biodiversity can be said to mean the extreme importance of a very wide variety of animals and plants that are resident on the planet earth or in a particular habitat. It is very necessary to maintain the level of biodiversity on the earth so that the environmental harmony can be balanced. Biological diversity is another name for biodiversity and is widely the variability or diversity of all the different species of animals and plants on this planet. Having a very high biodiversity is extremely essential to help maintain the surroundings in a state of harmony. Biodiversity can be loosely defined as a variety of fauna and flora that are available in a specific habitat or the planet earth. Biodiversity is largely originated from the terms – species diversity and species richness.

Biodiversity is mainly a united view of the biological varieties. A lot of other words and terms have been at one time or another used to explain diversity. Some of these terms include taxonomic diversity (this comes from a species diversity point of view), ecological diversity (this comes from an ecosystem diversity point of view), morphological diversity (this comes from a genetic diversity point of view) and functional diversity (this comes from the point of view of the functions of the species). Biodiversity gives quite a uniform view of the above discussed biological varieties.

Biological diversity is quite important because its helps maintain the ecological balance in a system. Different animals and plants depend on one another to fulfill all of their needs. For example, we human beings depend on various animals and plants for our clothes, shelter and food. Other species also do the same and depend on a variety of other species to sustain them and provide them with the basics. Biodiversity and its beautiful richness ensure that the earth is fit enough for the survival of each and every one of the organism living on the earth. However, the ever increasing pollution is negatively affecting biodiversity. Quite a lot of animals and plants have gone into extinction as a result of this pollution and a lot more are going to become extinct if proper care is not taken and the pollution of the environment continues to exponentially and this would cause a sharp decline in the biodiversity.

We human beings have to understand how important the maintenance of the immensely rich biodiversity is. Smokes from vehicles causes a high rate of air pollution and this causes harm to a lot of species. The level of pollution in the atmosphere has to be put under control. Water bodies like seas, oceans and rivers are polluted by the release of industrial wastes into the. These wastes are very harmful to the marine organism and life in the water bodies. There is therefore a need to try as much as possible to dispose industrial wastes through other means and methods that do not harm the environment. The industrial wastes can be primarily treated before being disposed into the water properly and safely.

When you are a biology student biodiversity is one of the most important words you can learn. Not only that but it also becomes your lives calling to maintain it. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves before we can understand why it is important, we need to understand what it is.

This term refers to the many different life forms that inhabit the earth at this moment, this includes bacteria, plants, animals and humans and it also refers to their shared environment. Life has manifested itself in many different forms we do not know why exactly but we are certain that they all exist and depend on each other for survival.

Why is biodiversity important?

The answer to this question is more important than just simply stating what biodiversity is. My personal experience as a student has thought me that I learn best when I have an example so I will give you an example of the importance of biodiversity.

The famous Yellowstone Park is a natural reserve and national park but before it was declared as such it was just another forest that man wanted to hunt in. The geographical region had many wolfs inhabiting its plains, for generations they were hunted until they became extinct in the region. After a while, the coyotes began to reproduce as they hade more space and they started hunting the small mammals, which lead to a decrease in the population of eagles in the area but the most significant change came because of the deer. After fifty years of no wolfs in the park the number of roe deer rose and since they had no natural predators, they no longer feared open grasslands. That’s when they started grazing extensively which depleted the grass on the shore of the Yellow stone river and this, in turn, made the soil loos. The river began to take away a lot of soil and to deposit it in other places flooding certain areas while at the same time causing droughts to happen in other places.

Biologists came to the park with a wish to restore its wolf population and after a decade of planning and working they restored one pack to the park. The pack soon made the deer go back to the forest so they could be harder to hunt, the coyote’s population dropped because they couldn’t compete with the wolf, that led to the increase of small rodents which let to the return of carnivores’ grate birds. But above all the grazing on the river edge stopped and after a few years, the Yellowstone river returned to its natural flow.

This story is completely true and I love to use it as an example of the importance of maintaining biodiversity. There are many regions in the world that have similar problems and if we do not do our best to conserve biodiversity, we could be looking at similar or even worst natural catastrophes.

People tend to mass produce and they do this with most things. They will destroy a forest of many thousands of life forms to make a plantation with one single plant, the same is true of animal farming. With our need to be productive all the time we lose sight of the small things that make the system function as whole. Even though an insignificant thing as a bug or a wolf pack might seem the least important for our daily lives once we take them out of the picture, we see that the balance and wealth biodiversity gives to the planet is not something that can be easily compensated.

The genetic, species and ecosystem variability of flora and fauna on earth are known as Biodiversity. For painting what exactly is Biodiversity, we need a large canvas beyond imagination. Such is the volume of the subject. But, the actual meaning and terms are still not clear.

Keeping it very simple and to the point, the term ‘Biodiversity’ comprises of two words. The first word is Bio, and the other one is Diversity. Bio means the forms of life and Diversity means mixture or variety. So, when both the words combine they form a definition like this ‘Biodiversity means various and mixed forms of life on earth.’ The variety of life forms on earth includes plants and animals and their natural habitat.

Facts about Biodiversity:

Digging into the term ‘Biodiversity’ more generously makes us realize that we have over 10,000 species of birds on earth. The amazing number blows everyone’s mind. Insects have a different counting, and their species are in millions. Plants are also a part of this biological system, and hence there are more than 20,000 species of plants.

Even after so many species of plants, animals and insects have specified there are still over millions of species which are not known by anyone. These species cannot be counted under any head as they don’t pursue an identity. The actual picture says that earth is home to almost 50 million species or even more than that. These facts do not conclude the point because one or the other day there may be many new species evolving.

Biodiversity is essential for survival. The importance of Biodiversity not only related to plants, animals and natural habitat. But it also provides us so many natural products such as fibre and timber and the fresh water to carry out our daily lives. Therefore we need to understand the importance of Biodiversity.

1.   The natural and organic resources:

In the happiness of living our lives, we often forget that Biodiversity is a part of nature. We should protect it no matter whatever be the limitations. Mother Nature has provided us with enough resources which are the Biological Resources. These include wood, medicines, food, etc., which are direct blessings of Biological System or by-product of the Biological Systems. Herbs and plants play a vital role in producing medicines. They may get their final touch from the pharmaceutical companies, but the original source is plants which are again a part of Biodiversity.

2. Biodiversity provides fibres:

It is important to know that wool, jute, palms, etc., use to produce various types of fibres after processing which are again part of the Biological Systems. So, if biodiversity does not persist how people will have access to these fibres? Flax plants use for the production of linen, which is extensively using for making clothes. Similarly, Corchorus plants and Agave plants are using for the production of Jute and sisal respectively. These fibres are no doubt essential for the cloth industry. Therefore it becomes our duty to maintain the Biodiversity.

3. Powerful benefits of Biodiversity:

People may not be aware of the importance, but there are many spiritual benefits of biodiversity. Our folk dances, mythology, and history have a deep link with the Biodiversity in one or the other way. Everyone enjoys or experience the Biodiversity in a different format. Biological diversity also contributes to attracting tourists, especially flora and fauna, which is a rare phenomenon in cities. Therefore it is our ethical duty to preserve Biodiversity.

Preserve Biodiversity:

There are different ways in which we can preserve our Biological environment. Biodiversity should be protected by following these ways.

i. People should stop the process of hunting and poaching the animals. They are a part of Biodiversity.

ii. Protection of endangered species and their surroundings.

iii. We need to curb pollution for protecting Biodiversity.

iv. The explosive growth of population is a threat to Biodiversity. So, to maintain the biological balance, we need to have the population growth under control. Otherwise, people will be exploiting natural resources unethically for survival.

All steps must be taken to protect biodiversity. Things may seem difficult in the initial stages but practicing them will lead to genuine results. Creating awareness on environmental issues and the negative impact of the loss of biodiversity will let people understand the inevitable need for biodiversity conservation.

It is our responsibility to protect the endangered species of plant and animals. If one wants to reach their destination, then it is imperative to take the first step. Without taking a step forward, things will never change on their own. To make a better tomorrow, we need to take steps for preserving our very own Biodiversity.

Biodiversity is a term used to refer the different forms of life on the Earth. It also includes the variety of species in the ecosystem. There is an uneven distribution of the biodiversity on the Earth due to the extreme variation of temperatures in different regions. For instance, it is more in regions near the equator due to warm climatic conditions. However, near the pole, the extreme cold and unfavourable weather conditions do not support a majority of life forms. Additionally, changes in climatic conditions on the Earth over a period of time have also led to the extinction of a number of species.

Biodiversity is often defined at different levels depending upon the category of species. For example, taxonomic diversity is used to measure the species diversity level of different forms of life on the Earth. Ecological diversity is a broader term used for the ecosystem diversity. Similarly, functional diversity is a type used to measure diversity based on their feeding mechanisms along with other functions of species within a population.

Distribution:

There is an uneven distribution of biodiversity on the Earth. In fact, it increases from pole to equator. The climatic conditions of a region decide the presence of different species in an area. Not all species can survive in all weather conditions. Moreover, lower altitudes have a high concentration of species as compared to higher altitudes.

The importance of biodiversity does not only lie in the survival of various species of the earth. There is social, cultural as well as the economic importance of it as well. Biodiversity is of extreme importance to maintain the balance of nature. It is vital to maintaining the food chain as well. One species may be the food for another species and various species are linked to each other through this food chain. Apart from this, there is scientific importance of the biodiversity as well. The research and breeding programmes involve the variety of species. If these species cease to exist then such programmes shall not be possible.

Also, most of the drugs and medicine which are vital for the cure of many diseases are also made from many plants and animals. For instance, penicillin is a fungus through which the penicillin antibiotic is extracted.

Another important importance of biodiversity is that it provides food to all including human beings. All the food we consume is either derived from plants or animals such as fishes and other marine animals. They are also the source of new crops, pesticides and source material for agricultural practices.

Biodiversity is also important for industrial use. We get many products such as fur, honey, leather and pearls from animals. Moreover, we get timber for plants which are the basis of the paper we use in our everyday life. Tea, coffee and other drinks along with dry fruits and our regular fruits and vegetables, all are obtained from the various plants.

There is cultural and religious importance of many species as well. Many plants and animals are worshipped in different cultures and religions such as Ocitnum sanctum (Tulsi) which is a plant worshipped by Hindus.

Biodiversity in India:

India ranks among the top 12 nations which have a rich heritage of biodiversity. There are about 350 different species of mammals along with 12000 different species of birds which are found in India. Additionally, there are around 50000 species of insects which have their habitat in our country. There are a wide variety of domestic animals such as cows and buffaloes along with marine life which is found in India. Moreover, India is a land of 10 different biographical regions which include islands, Trans Himalayas, Desert, Western Ghats, Gangetic Plain, Semi-arid zone, Northeastern zone, Deccan Plateau, Coastal islands and the Western Ghats.

The Gradual Decrease:

Not all species which existed in the ancient times exist today as well. For example, dinosaurs used to exist on our planet in older times. But they were not able to adapt to the changing environmental conditions which led to their extinction from the Earth. Similarly, there are many other species which are on the verge of extinction due to the urbanisation and modernisation of the world. With the increase in population, there has been a constant need to reduce the forest areas and make way for new cities. This has led to the reduction in forests which are the natural habitat for many wild animals and plants. Due to this many wild plants have become extinct and there has been an increase in the man-animal conflict as well. Hence there has been a need to conserve the biodiversity so as to maintain the balance of nature.

Initiatives for the Conservation of Biodiversity:

There have been initiatives by the governments all over the world to conserve the existing biodiversity on the earth. For example, there are dedicated national parks which earmark the area for wild animals and plants and reduce human intervention in their lives. There are various wildlife conservation programmes in place to protect the vulnerable and endangered species. For example, Project Tiger is one such measure in place to increase the population of tigers in our country.

There are also many laws in place which make the hunting of endangered and vulnerable animals a punishable offence. At the international level, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) have also initiated many programmes in order to preserve various species.

It is not possible for the human to live all alone on the Earth. Various other life forms are equally important and play their roles in the mutual survival of the various species on the Earth. Each one of species has its own set of contribution for the environment. Already many species have become extinct as they were not able to survive in the changing weather conditions. Hence it is our duty to ensure that our activities do not affect the other flora and fauna on the planet. Although there are a number of steps taken by the government so as to preserve the various life forms, we should also contribute individually towards this cause. If we do not act today, we may yet again witness the extinction of the vulnerable biodiversity which may further disturb the balance of nature.

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how to write an essay about biodiversity

Biodiversity Explained: Facts, Myths, and the Race to Protect It

how to write an essay about biodiversity

By MJ Altman on January 4, 2023

how to write an essay about biodiversity

A baby sloth hangs in a tree at the Bosque da CiĂȘncia in Manaus, Brazil. PHOTO: Michael Dantas/United Nations Foundation

As ecosystems and habitats degrade and disappear worldwide, biodiversity — the interconnectedness of all forms of life on our planet — is in jeopardy. In light of a new global agreement to protect our lands, ocean, and waters, explore what biodiversity really means and what it will take to preserve life on Earth.

From microscopic fungi to mega forests, “biodiversity” is the collective term for the variety of life on Earth in all its forms. It is 4.5 billion years of evolution, embodied.

Biodiversity is responsible for our food, our soil, our water, our weather, even the air we breathe. Yet despite being a crucial foundation for our collective future, biodiversity is often lost amid conversations on climate change — until recently.

In December 2022, leaders from nearly 200 nations adopted a landmark UN agreement to reverse nature’s rapid decline before it’s too late. Known as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework , it calls for protecting 30% of the planet’s land, ocean, and inland waters and includes 23 other targets to help restore and protect ecosystems and endangered species worldwide.

Here are 12 things you should know:

1. Biodiversity is more than just the total number of species on Earth.

“It is actually more complex than that,” Dr. Thomas Lovejoy, the late ecologist, told the United Nations Foundation in 2018. “It’s about the genetic diversity within species, the diversity of habitats, and the large biological units known as biomes.”

This includes the interactions that occur between species within ecosystems – primordial relationships that shape our environment in countless, often unseen ways.

“Without biological diversity, there is no other life on Earth — including our own,” he explained. “Even though we are often oblivious to it, this diversity of life is what provides clean water, oxygen, and all other things that end up being part of our diet, as well as clothing and shelter. It provides a lot of psychological benefits too, which are not much appreciated.”

2. We’re only just beginning to understand biodiversity’s influence and importance in our lives.

Earth’s many ecosystems rely on a delicate, complicated, and fascinating tangle of life that, in many ways, remains a mystery. In fact, the term “biological diversity” wasn’t introduced to the scientific community until 1980 in a research paper on species loss by Dr. Lovejoy. Scientists still haven’t identified all forms of life on the planet. New species are discovered every year.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

A harbor seal swims through kelp off the coast of Southern California's Channel Islands. Seals are among the thousands of species that rely on kelp forests for food and shelter. PHOTO: Shutterstock/Joe Belanger

Take kelp, for example. These undersea forests provide sustenance and shelter for marine species like chinook salmon, which, in turn, serve as a staple food for orcas. And kelp also absorb excess carbon dioxide, which can help mitigate climate change.

3. The planet’s biodiversity holds enormous, untapped potential for medical and scientific breakthroughs.

Lovejoy described each species on the planet as a unique set of solutions for a particular set of biological problems. “Whoever would have thought a bacterium from a Yellowstone hot spring would revolutionize forensic and diagnostic medicine, make the human genome project possible, and confer benefits in the trillion-dollar range?” he wrote as a Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation, citing a previously unknown and seemingly inconsequential microbe discovered in 1966 that revolutionized genetic testing and immunization development, including the COVID-19 vaccine.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

A flowering plant grows from a tree in the Amazon Rainforest, near the research station known as Camp 41 north of Manaus, Brazil. PHOTO: Michael Dantas/United Nations Foundation

Today, one-fourth of all modern medicines are derived from tropical plants, and 70% of all cancer drugs are natural or bio-inspired products. In the past decade, researchers in Nova Scotia found a soil fungus that can disarm antibiotic-resistant bacteria — a discovery that could transform the fields of medicine and agriculture. The possibilities for discovery and innovation are monumental.

4. Climate change and biodiversity are interconnected.

Climate change is causing biodiversity loss, and biodiversity loss is causing climate change. Here’s how: Destroying and degrading ecosystems releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than burning fossil fuels.

Meanwhile, the consequences of burning fossil fuels — rising global temperatures, an increase in wildfires, and ocean acidification, to name a few — are threatening habitats and wildlife alike. In late 2019 and early 2020, for example, more than 60,000 koalas were killed by wildfires in Australia so massive that nearly 3 billion animals died or were displaced as a result. Earlier this year, the Australian government officially listed koalas as an endangered species.

At COP 27 last year, world leaders reached a historic agreement to create a “loss and damage” fund to support communities that are already feeling climate change’s disastrous impact, including biodiversity loss and its impact on livelihoods.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

More than 60,000 koalas were killed by wildfires in Australia in late 2019 and early 2020. Increased wildfires and subsequent habitat loss are just one of the consequences of climate change. PHOTO: Patrick Kavanagh

5. Biodiversity can help us adapt to climate change.

The UN considers biodiversity our strongest natural defense against climate change. Land and ocean ecosystems currently absorb 60% of human-caused emissions , and they are the planet’s only way of storing massive amounts of carbon dioxide. Coastal wetlands, for example, protect against storm surges and flooding during extreme weather while also storing carbon dioxide and creating oxygen.

According to a joint estimate by the UN Development Programme and the Government of Papua New Guinea, every dollar invested in environmental protection generates more than $2,500 in so-called ecosystem services — water regulation, coastal protection, carbon storage, and other invisible functions that nature provides. It’s one of the reasons that Papua New Guinea launched the first-ever national, independent Biodiversity and Climate Fund to protect its status as one of just 17 “megadiverse” countries.

6. Less biodiversity means a higher risk of disease.

For decades, the scientific community has warned that biodiversity loss increases the spread of infectious disease . Why? Because extinction upsets the ecosystem in unpredictable ways, and the destruction of natural habitats increases interaction between humans and wildlife. Biodiversity essentially acts as a barrier between humans and animal-borne disease.

Species that tend to survive logging, farming, mining, wildlife trade and consumption, and other human activities behind widespread biodiversity loss are often “vectors of disease” like mice and mosquitoes, which host pathogens that are able to make the jump to humans. It’s one of the reasons why cases of Lyme disease in the northeast United States have spiked in recent decades: With fewer mammals to prey on, ticks are increasingly seeking out people. In fact, roughly 75% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic .

It’s also why researchers like Dr. Alessandra Nava and her team of virus hunters at Brazil’s Fiocruz Amazînia are tracking the spread of disease in bats, monkeys, and rodents in the world’s largest rainforest. Their goal is to stay a step ahead of future pandemics by better understanding the pathogens contained within the jungle’s creatures before they come in contact with humans — encounters that become more likely as the human footprint expands.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

A golden-backed squirrel monkey at the Bosque da CiĂȘncia, a rainforest park in Manaus, Brazil. PHOTO: Michael Dantas/United Nations Foundation

7. Biodiversity on land depends on biodiversity in water.

Maintaining the ocean’s ecological balance is crucial for protecting biodiversity on land, as well as maintaining our ability to feed future generations. The ocean plays a vital role in regulating the planet’s weather and water and the air we breathe. It is also the planet’s largest source of protein , feeding more than 3 billion people every day who rely on fish as a staple food.

Yet the ocean remains a vastly unexplored ecological frontier. While scientists have identified 200,000 marine species , the actual number is estimated to be in the millions. Unsustainable fishing practices, pollution, climate change, and habitat destruction are threatening creatures that may vanish before we even knew they existed.

8. Our planet’s biodiversity is on the brink.

Some 1 million species are threatened with extinction right now. That’s more than any other time in history, and they’re disappearing at a rate that is 1,000 times the norm. The culprit is the way most humans consume, produce, travel, and live.

A 2019 UN report found that we have altered 75% of the planet’s terrestrial environment, 40% of its marine environment, and 50% of streams and rivers. Nearly three-fourths of our freshwater resources are devoted to crop or livestock production, which often means using pesticides, fertilizers, fuels, and antibiotics that pollute our rivers, streams, seas, and soil. Every day we are destroying habitats and degrading massive amounts of soil and water through industrial manufacturing and agriculture while jeopardizing precious natural resources that could be lost forever in our lifetime; in the past two decades, we’ve lost half of the planet’s coral reefs . Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest hit a record high last year; some 18% is gone already, with scientists warning that we’re approaching a tipping point toward potential collapse .

9. Sustainability is the only way forward.

Such irresponsible production and consumption of our natural resources come at a catastrophic cost. We are destroying our planet at an unprecedented rate and losing a vast number of plants, animals, insects, and marine life in the process — to the detriment of our own future. Humanity’s health and well-being are dependent on a biodiverse planet.

Fortunately, examples are emerging of a greener, more sustainable way of doing business. Circular economic models are becoming more common as companies realize the economic and environmental value of reducing, reusing, and recycling their supply chain. At the same time, more citizens are demanding sustainable sourcing and socially just labor practices from their consumer goods. In 2022, the founder of the outdoor retailer Patagonia announced plans to invest all of the company’s profits toward combating climate change . “If we have any hope of a thriving planet — much less a business — 50 years from now, it is going to take all of us doing what we can with the resources we have,” Yvon Chouinard wrote .

how to write an essay about biodiversity

Along Brazil’s Rio Negro, fourth-generation logger Roberto Brito de Mendonça stands in the dining lodge of his community’s ecotourism lodge. He retired from the family business to help start the operation, which includes a newly built classroom named in honor of Dr. Lovejoy. PHOTO: Michael Dantas/United Nations Foundation

10. Indigenous communities are crucial.

For thousands of years, Indigenous communities have served as the planet’s most effective environmental stewards. Today, according to the UN, Indigenous people manage more than 20% of the planet’s land and 80% of its biodiversity. “For us, it is not a passion, or a job,” Hindou Ibrahim of the Mbororo tribe in Chad, an SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) Advocate and Indigenous rights activist, told the UN last year. “It is our way of living. And that’s what we have done for all generations.”

In 2015, the UN created the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform to ensure their formal participation in global negotiations on climate change.

11. Conservation is critical.

One of our most promising solutions is preservation. Restoring degraded ecosystems alone could provide up to one-third of the climate mitigation needed to keep the Earth from warming too far above pre-industrial levels. This means creating protected areas, curbing extractive capitalism, and restoring the planet’s enormous amount of degraded land.

People across the globe are leading efforts to do just that. One inspiring example is Rita Mesquita, who expanded the amount of protected rainforest in Brazil by 76% during her time in the country’s Ministry of the Environment. Today, she oversees programs that encourage residents and visitors alike in Manaus to interact with the surrounding Amazon rainforest.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

A Rhinoceros Beetle in Costa Rica’s National Park Tortuguero. The rhino beetle is one of the strongest insects in the world with relation to its body size, but because its tropical lowland habitat has been deforested and overcut, it is struggling to survive. PHOTO: GRID-Arendal/Peter Prokosch

12. We need cooperation — and revolution — at all levels.

We need partnerships among countries, communities, consumers, and corporations. And we’re seeing signs of progress every day. In fact, at COP 27, the Governments of Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia announced an alliance to protect their respective rainforests. Their historic agreement could pave the way for more multilateral action and impact. Coming just a month later, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework represents an enormous and long-awaited step toward halting extinction rates that some scientists are calling an existential crisis akin to climate change.

A huge part of the solution to the biodiversity challenge will be transforming how we approach the natural world and our place within it. As Dr. Lovejoy told the UN Foundation in 2018 , “There needs to be a major shift in perception from thinking of nature as something with a fence around it in the middle of an expansive, human-dominated landscape 
 to thinking about embedding our aspirations in nature.”

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Essay on Biodiversity for Children and Students

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Essay on Biodiversity for Children and Students: Biodiversity refers to the importance of a wide variety of plants and animals that live in the world or in a specific habitat. It is important to maintain this level in order to balance the environmental harmony on our planet. Biodiversity, also referred to as biological diversity, is broadly the diversity or variability of different species of plants and animals on the Earth. It is essential to have high level of biodiversity to keep the natural surroundings in a harmonious state.

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Long and Short Essay on Biodiversity in English

Here are some essay on Biodiversity of varying length to help you with the topic in your examination. You can go with any Biodiversity essay as per your need:

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Biodiversity Essay 1 (100 words)

Biodiversity , short for biological diversity, refers to the variety of different species of plants and animals living on Earth. It is important to maintain high level of biodiversity in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the environment and for the survival of mankind.

However, with the growing air, water and land pollution on our planet it is becoming difficult to maintain biodiversity. A number of species of plants and animals have become extinct as a fall-out of the rapid environmental changes caused due to the aforementioned reasons leading to decline in biodiversity. This needs to be controlled to save the planet and those living here.

Biodiversity Essay 2 (150 words)

Biodiversity is said to be a measure of different types of plants, animals and other organisms present in the ecosystem. All these contribute in maintaining a healthy environment on the planet and thus play an important role.

The various species of plants and animals present on Earth are not distributed evenly. The main reason for this uneven distribution is the climatic conditions of our planet. The climate varies highly in different parts of the world and thus there is a variation in the kind of life present in each part. The climatic conditions have undergone a major change over the last few decades and this has led to a decline in biodiversity. The growing imbalance can cause a threat to the mankind as well.

It is essential to ensure richness of biodiversity by controlling pollution and building an environment that is safe and secure for all the organisms living on the planet.

Biodiversity Essay 3 (200 words)

Biodiversity refers to the variability and variety of different species of plants and animals on Earth. This variety contributes towards making our planet inhabitable.

The reason for unequal distribution of various organisms in different parts of the world is the varied climatic conditions. There is greater terrestrial biodiversity near the equator and this is caused due to warm climate and high primary productivity. On the other hand marine biodiversity is highest along the coasts in the Western Pacific as it has the highest sea surface temperature. Biodiversity basically clusters in hotspots and while it has been on a rise through the time researchers state that it is likely to slow down in the times to come.

It is essential to maintain rich diversity to build a harmonious environment. It enables the survival of human beings by providing them their basic needs such food, shelter, medicines, etc. However, the increasing pollution which is continually degrading the environment is also having a negative impact on biodiversity. Several species that inhabited Earth earlier are now extinct and many other are feared to be extinct in the coming years. This will further lead to environmental imbalance and can prove to be hazardous for the human species.

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Biodiversity Essay 4 (250 words)

Biodiversity, also referred to as biological diversity, is the variety of different species of flora and fauna living on Earth. The richer the biodiversity the more balanced and harmonious would the environment be. Different variety of plants and animals contribute their bit to make the planet worth inhabiting. One of the main reasons for the survival of human species on Earth is biodiversity. This is because various species of organisms help in meeting their basic needs of food, shelter, cloth and other resources.

There are around 300,000 species of flora that have been known to date and numerous species of fauna that includes not only animals but also birds, fish, reptiles, mammals, insects, molluscs, crustaceans, etc. Our planet Earth was formed close to 4.54 billion years ago and there have been evidences of life since around 3.5 billion years ago. A number of species of both flora and fauna have gone extinct over the past centuries and many more are anticipated to go extinct in the times to come there by disturbing the level of biodiversity.

Human beings have become so driven towards technology over the years that they have forgotten its repercussions. Several new inventions have proven to be hazardous to the environment and are having a negative impact on biodiversity. It is high time humans should start taking the environmental issues seriously and contribute their bit towards improving the atmosphere. A healthy environment is essential for developing rich biodiversity which in turn is essential for the human beings to live in a harmonious state on Earth.

Biodiversity Essay 5 (300 words)

Biodiversity is basically the measure of different plants, animals and other organisms living on earth. Each variety of flora and fauna present on Earth contributes its bit towards creating a balanced environment which is fit for the survival of the living beings. These species help in fulfilling the basic survival needs of each other. It is thus important to have a rich biodiversity.

How has Biodiversity Declined?

While the importance of maintaining a rich biodiversity has stressed upon time and again, over the years the level of biodiversity seen a downward trend and it is likely to go down further in the times to come. The main reason for this is the growing pollution which is an outcome of the industrial wastes and the use of various new-age inventions. Several species of plants and animals have become extinct in the recent past due to the environmental changes brought about by man and many estimated to go extinct in the coming time. This would lead to further decline in biodiversity which in turn would lead to imbalance in the environment and cause a threat to the human race as well as other organisms living on Earth.

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How to Add to Richness of Biodiversity?

It is essential to grow more sensitive towards the environmental concerns. The governments of various countries are spreading awareness about the same and are trying to curb the issue by using different means. It is also the responsibility of the common man to come forward to do his bit to conserve the environment.

Human beings seem to have grown so accustomed to using the technology that they have overlooked the importance of conserving the natural surroundings. It needs to understood that insensitivity towards environment is nothing but paving way towards your own destruction. Do your bit to bring about the change!

Biodiversity Essay (400 words)

Biodiversity, also referred to as Biological Diversity, is the variety of flora and fauna present in a particular habitat or on Earth as a whole. It has largely replaced the more clearly defined terms – species richness and species diversity.

Biodiversity – A Unified View of Biological Varieties

There are many other terms that have used to define this diversity. These include ecological diversity (viewed from ecosystem diversity perspective), taxonomic diversity (gauged at the species diversity level), functional diversity (computation of the functionally disparate species within population) and morphological diversity (derived from genetic diversity). Biodiversity offers a unified view of all these biological varieties.

Why is Biodiversity Important?

Biodiversity is important as it helps in maintaining a balance in the ecological system. Different plants and animals are interdependent on each other to get their basic needs fulfilled. For instance, human beings are dependent on various plants and animals for their food, shelter and clothes and likewise many other species are dependent on each other for such purposes. Richness of biodiversity makes our planet fit for the survival of each of the species living here.

However, unfortunately the growing pollution is having a negative impact on biodiversity. This would result in a decline in biodiversity.

How to Maintain Biodiversity?

Human beings need to understand the importance of maintaining rich biodiversity. The vehicular smoke that leads to massive air pollution is becoming a threat to various species. This is one of first things that need to controlled in order to bring down pollution level in atmosphere. Industrial waste that goes into sea is harmful for marine life and must thus disposed of using some other means. Similarly, land and noise pollution must also controlled.

Deforestation is also a major reason for the decline in the level of biodiversity. Such practices must controlled in order to ensure harmony in the environment.

Every species of flora and fauna serves its unique purpose towards maintaining the environment and making it worth living. Thus, in order to maintain a balanced environment, it is important to maintain richness and balance of biodiversity.

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To Tell the Story of Biodiversity Loss, Make It About Humans

The authors of a sweeping United Nations report on species in danger of extinction faced the same question I often do in reporting: Why should anyone care about the loss of nature?

how to write an essay about biodiversity

By Brad Plumer

Times Insider explains who we are and what we do, and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

On Monday, I wrote about a sweeping new United Nations report warning that humans were destroying Earth’s natural ecosystems at an “unprecedented” pace.

The findings were sobering: Millions of acres of wetlands and rain forests are being cleared away. As many as one million plant and animal species are now threatened with extinction because of farming, poaching, pollution, the transport of invasive species and, increasingly, global warming. Almost everywhere you look, nature is vanishing before our eyes.

But the report, which was written for world leaders and policymakers, also wrestled with some big questions: Why should anyone care about the loss of nature? Why should countries take drastic steps, as the report urges, to halt the decline in biodiversity?

These are questions I had been pondering in reporting the story. Climate change has become a major environmental issue, garnering quite a lot of media attention. But the decline in the diversity of plant and animal life around the world tends to get considerably less coverage , even though it is a major issue in its own right.

One possible reason for the disparity is that the effects of global warming are more apparent to many people. Record-breaking heat waves, deadly wildfires, rising sea levels — those are all tangible things that we can see fairly easily. But it is harder to notice if there are, say, fewer insects around than there were 30 years ago. And it is even harder to explain what that might mean for most people’s daily lives.

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Why is biodiversity important?

Biodiversity is essential for the processes that support all life on Earth, including humans. Without a wide range of animals, plants and microorganisms, we cannot have the healthy ecosystems that we rely on to provide us with the air we breathe and the food we eat. And people also value nature of itself.

Some aspects of biodiversity are instinctively widely valued by people but the more we study biodiversity the more we see that all of it is important – even bugs and bacteria that we can’t see or may not like the look of. There are lots of ways that humans depend upon biodiversity and it is vital for us to conserve it. Pollinators such as birds, bees and other insects are estimated to be responsible for a third of the world’s crop production. Without pollinators we would not have apples, cherries, blueberries, almonds and many other foods we eat. Agriculture is also reliant upon invertebrates – they help to maintain the health of the soil crops grow in.  Soil is teeming with microbes that are vital for liberating nutrients that plants need to grow, which are then also passed to us when we eat them. Life from the oceans provides the main source of animal protein for many people.

Trees, bushes and wetlands and wild grasslands naturally slow down water and help soil to absorb rainfall. When they are removed it can increase flooding. Trees and other plants clean the air we breathe and help us tackle the global challenge of climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide. Coral reefs and mangrove forests act as natural defences protecting coastlines from waves and storms. 

Many of our medicines, along with other complex chemicals that we use in our daily lives such as latex and rubber, also originate from plants. Spending time in nature is increasingly understood to lead to improvements in people’s physical and mental health. Simply having green spaces and trees in cities has been shown to decrease hospital admissions, reduce stress and lower blood pressure.

Further reading

Plural valuation of nature matters for environmental sustainability and justice by Berta Martin-Lopez, Social-Ecological Systems Institute, Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany

Climate change and biodiversity

Human activities are changing the climate. Science can help us understand what we are doing to habitats and the climate, but also find solutions.

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What You Can Do to Protect Biodiversity

you can help protect biodiversity

Biodiversity —the variety of all living organisms including ecosystems, plants, animals, their habitats and genes—is fundamental to life on Earth. We need biodiversity for its invaluable ecosystem services, providing oxygen, food, clean water, fertile soil, medicines, shelter, protection from storms and floods, a stable climate and recreation. Tragically, today biodiversity is disappearing at 1,000 times the normal rate due to human civilization. Individual species are being obliterated by habitat loss and degradation, invasive species, the spread of pollution and disease, climate change and the over exploitation of resources. And because the human population, which has doubled since 1970, is expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, the biodiversity crisis will only get worse as more people consume more resources.

What can we as individuals do to help slow the loss of biodiversity?  Since consumption of resources is a root cause of biodiversity loss, we can consume less and be more mindful about what we consume. We need to leverage our purchasing power to help protect biodiversity by consuming products that do not harm the environment. Ecolabels enable consumers to determine which products are green, safe, and environmentally sustainable. But because so many ecolabels have sprung up—in 2010, there were 400 different sustainability certifications available around the world—they can be confusing. Here are some of the most reliable and respected ecolabels to look for.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

Green Seal – Established in 1989, Green Seal boasts one of the first environmental certification programs. It uses lifecycle based sustainability standards to certify products, services, and companies that protect the environment and human health. All significant environmental and social impacts are considered, from raw materials extraction through manufacturing to use and disposal. Certified products include cleansers, construction materials, paints, paper, paper towels and tissue, food packaging, and hand soaps. Cleaning services, restaurants and hotels are also certified.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

Forest Stewardship Council – The FSC promotes the sustainable management of the world’s forests by ensuring that the harvest of forests for timber and non-timber products maintains a forest’s biodiversity, productivity, and ecological processes, and by respecting the rights of and providing incentives to indigenous people to sustain forest resources. In addition to prohibiting the destruction of natural forests, the FSC safeguards endangered species, and bans toxic pesticides and the planting of genetically modified trees. FSC certified products include lumber, paper, printing, packaging, furniture, and other products made from wood.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

LEED – The U.S. Green Building Council provides LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for buildings or communities designed and built with environmentally sensitive siting, energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, sustainable materials, improved indoor environmental quality, innovative technology and strategies, and stewardship of resources. It looks at the building lifecycle from design and construction to operations and maintenance, and substantial retrofits. LEED certification applies to commercial real estate, residential homes, schools and hospitals, and even the design or retrofit of neighborhoods.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

Certified Wildlife Friendly – The Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network promotes wildlife conservation through certifying products that are linked to conservation actions, and that benefit and involve local individuals and communities living with wildlife. Certified products include alpaca garments, essential oils, chili products, rice, eco-fashion, a community market organization, and a conservation program that helps control bushmeat poaching. Each certified entity is tied to conservation efforts for particular species.

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guest

Good article! The Energy Star labeling system is a very good system of identifying household products that are the most energy efficient. It is a shame that these products are tageted by their manufacturers to give them maximum profit margin, which is clearly putting potential customers off from buying them and this results in customers not gaining anything on a supposed return on investment, even after a lengthy time. Kind regards !

Jaden

Great article! Yes, there are many things we can do to preserve biodiversity and help our planet. One great way is by finding ways to reduce the energy used to heat and cool our homes.

Pearl Jones

I never really paid much attention to the labels or the variety of the labels. I do have a sadden heart regarding the Rain Forest. I breaks my heart to hear how much de-forestation takes place everyday. I just wish there was some other way to encourage people not to do this.

I know there are a lot of organizations like the Rainforest Alliance that are doing all they can to help. We just need people to stay engaged and remain proactive when it comes to this wonderful natural resource that is so important to our planet.

Thank you for posting this article. I am sure this will benefit many of your readers as much as it has me.

Toddler Table Chair

In my area, people still using plastic bags and non-recycle products. If we can’t educate them to reuse and recycle, we still consume more and more resources. Hope they will realized before the global warming become serious.

LilI

in my area we are planting fruit

dewatering equipment

Environmental pollution is growing year by year and we are responsible for this. So that, it our duty to control the pollution. We have concern about reuse and recycling of the waste products. We should use Eco friendly and recyclable product.

Tompoo Ngamillah

God work, it heiped me alot in my exams. Big up

Treasured Homes

I think education is at the top with anything like this. People aren’t aware of what biodiversity does to for us, so they just assume it’s a word BUT through effective campaigns via social media the younger generations will engage and they’ll learn far more too about what needs to be done to protect it!

Burcea Mihai

The first thing we must do is do educate our kids and talk to our friends about this problem. We can start using eco friendly cleaning products, food that is from natural farm. Choose the products that are not made with chimicals and other toxic mix for environment.

Michael Mbulu

Biodiversity plays a major role in our lives , but mostly in the lives of rural area,settlers without biodiversity the results are high poverty rate, and dependency, thus it is important for every individual to contribute to help maintain and sustain our biodiversity.

Claudette A Mitchel

What can be done to mitigate Light glare and light trespass that is expanding with newer infill and development? Nocturnal animals are challenged by thoughtless individuals and developers…..

Claris Barbin

I have seen a lot of people in most rural areas wherein I thought they are the ones who preserve the environment better than the ones who live in the Urban.Nevertheless, people in the rural places had been burning lots of plastics in a pit and no one could implement a rule stating how dangerous it could affect in our nature.I am determined to help and encourage these people that instead of burning their trashes there are lots of ways to recycle it and use it for the better and a way to protect our biodiversity.

thats good for the enviroment

Christine Pajes

i can do to protect our biodiversity by being a good and responsible person. I thought in the rural areas they are the ones who takes care the environment than the people in the urban areas. They are burning garbages such as plastics that can affect our ozone layer. If i were them instead of burning wastes, i will think of recycling it to become more useful. And it can be a money for them. I will encourage them that instead of burning it and leave it behind, there is a lot of ways to become more useful like recycle them. And use it for the best and it can be one of the things on how we can protect our biodiversity.

jeet

plz share dos and donts to conserve biodiversity

Haly Decano

To protect our biodiversity is to conserve natural resources. Like the urban areas they are the one who take care of their environment. While the rural areas are not taking care of their environment. They burn plastics and they dont recycle garbages. Instead of that doing that we need to consume electricity and recycle garbages so that we can help protect biodiversity. We must use products that can not harm the environment.

Otte Miriam

Also,a stable committee should be set-up that will check some of this companies that are in charge of the things concerning biodiversity. Inorder for them not to use chemicals that are harmful to the environment and contributing to the destruction of biodiversity.

Dwight Smith OnTray

Nice post! It’s really important to teach kids how to care for the environment. We should build up some idea on how both parents and educators can teach kids in a fun way.

cayde

i love that you are helping other kids learn about our environment.

Hunter

if we get rid of to meany forest the animals will die because they have no where to live

cheyeann sewell

if we took over the world how much would animals live in this world

error 404

well us for one because we are mammals which are animals

Ali Al Rubaye

Since there is a rapid growth in the human population. We will just keep on destroying habitats and than there wouldn’t be much biodiversity left.

KAMERON

THE FORESTS ARE GETTING DESTROYED

Fatima

Yes I agree it’s a good one but I want to know how can technological tools help to prevent or reduce the identified loss of biodiversity?

Jaden

I agree that there needs to be something do to help our communities and the world not loos biodiversity. I also think that teaching are youth about ways they harm biodiversity and nature is very important.

will

I pledge to recycle, reuse and make better choices!!

chris

we need more biodiversity because it is the keystone to the planets well being .

Logan

We all play a part in protecting biodiversity. Even the little thing can go a long way.

bryan

i agree to make the world a better place by recycling

Ayse Hale BUlut

We should stop destroying thousands of species by building apartments in nature. We should stop using unhealthy gas.

east jefferson

The Energy Star labeling system is a very good system of identifying household products that are the most energy efficient. It is a shame that these products are tageted by their manufacturers to give them maximum profit margin, which is clearly putting potential customers off from buying them and this results in customers not gaining anything on a supposed return on investment, even after a lengthy time. Kind regards !

Brooklyn W.

That was a great article! People should start using more recyclable items because all of that trash is sent to the bottom of the ocean.

akihiro.lj

It is amazing how ecolabels are invented. Before, I didn’t really pay attention to those ecolabels since I didn’t know what are those for. But after reading the article, I realized that it is to protect and maintain our biodiversity. It is really important that we preserve our biodiversity because it is what gives us life. Without it, we won’t be able to live and have these materials that we need to survive.

Daryn W

Well written article!! I really enjoyed the paragraph on rainforest alliance. It saddens me very much that deforestation is such a big and recurring problem. I think we used only used recycled things. Get rid of plastic, and go all recycled paper. I al so think we should stop using trees for paper, and wood products. Dead trees are fine but some people use trees that are alive for their wood, and that needs to stop. They want to take down whole forests of trees, but dont want to take the time to grow one.

kenenisa wogair

I try to not used a lot of technology and used of energy consumption as well as water consumption. Maybe one day when I grow I will make a team that assembles and help protect animals habitat

Charlotte Fleet

I love how you mentioned that a great way to conserve biodiversity is to consume less natural resources. I think that it would also be beneficial to invest in a service that’s main focus is to help improve biodiversity in landscapes. Thank you so much for your article about biodiversity, Renee.

Danayla shazier

1.I can plant more tress

2.Tell others around me why it is important so they will do the same and or help

3.I will give water to the trees

4. I will clean up the surroundings

5.Stop puting pollution and gas everywhere

Guest

Our biodiversity is very important and it’s a good thing this blog gives us informative articles. Especially on how we can preserve it. Another great thing about this is we gather information and can be spread by many. This blog is one of the great ways I see to conserve our biodiversity. Lastly, it helps to call out others to be aware about what is happening in our biodiversity.

Henry Okafor

well structured and thought through the post, I believe, this will serve as a great guide to many in identifying with the support for biodiversity conservation.

Cameron

I love the artical saying that people realize that we are hurting biodiversity and doing something about it

kalen meadows

This an great article to read! I think biodiversity is important because it shows us how we are ruining the land for animals and plants if we could stop knocking down trees and ruining plants and animals homes maybe so many animals wouldn’t be going extinct.

marlin i maturano

great in bringing a incite to how we can better our foods. i shall try not to pollute any grounds at any costs.

Environment lover

Don’t just go on to leave a thumbs down life is beautiful if we did not have it we would not be here so appropriate your surroundings.

guadalupe madrigal

living organisms including ecosystem plant animals thier habitats and genes is fundamental to life and earth we need biodeversity

Destiny A.

I`ve always been connected to the biodiversity and nature and I understand the affects of human to earth but as us people we could keep our biodiversity by doing stuff that might help because biodiversity helps us in ways that we need to survive and we should help them too.

Elijiah W.M

This article is very informative. It has really showed that there are many things that help to try to preserve our planet.

Hasbula

great article

it contains a lot of information!

Samuel Abutal

I agree to feed the animal with organic foods.

Braylen Westmoreland

The Marine Stewardship council is a good organisation because its stopping fish species from dieing out by making a limit to fishing its will help fish and coral reefs from bottom fishing.

Zacary W Clark

Great article

alejandro cardenas

the way we can make a change is by not taking up homes of animals and polluting earth

Beatrice Williams

Good article i love how the author gave multiple points and you backed it up with stats and i agree that we should be more involved in trying to help our planet

Roberto

Interesting article! One way humans have affected biodiversity is by their population and by the use of land.

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Threats to the existence of biological diversity, need for protection and conservation, importance of biodiversity.

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Ielts writing task 2 sample 373 - the importance of biodiversity is being more widely recognised, ielts writing task 2/ ielts essay:, the importance of biodiversity is being more widely recognised as increasing numbers of species come under threat., what can be done to maintain biodiversity, give reasons and relevant examples for your answer..

how to write an essay about biodiversity

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Biodiversity Benefits for Ecology Essay

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Introduction

Benefits of biodiversity.

According to the most common definition, biodiversity simply refers to having a variety of species. It is a reflection of the population, variety and variability of organisms on earth. Biodiversity includes diversification within and between different species and among ecosystems.

This variation of species in the ecosystem is a very important concept and factor that indeed is the basis for sustaining life on our planet. Considering such a great role of this matter, it is regrettable that biodiversity has been threatened by a number of factors largely fueled by human activities in recent days. This essay discusses the benefits of biodiversity on both the human beings and other living things.

To start with, biodiversity provides most of the food that humans and other living beings use for their survival. Humans feed on a wide array of living organisms like animals, plants, fish and others, which provide holistic nutritional value to them. Likewise, predators depend on other animals for food while plants rely on microorganisms to keep soil suitable for growth. Clearly, with an alteration in biodiversity, not only humans but also many other species of living things stand to suffer.

Secondly, biodiversity is a primary and great source of medicines and herbs used all around the world to treat various illnesses and health conditions. In the developing world, herbs are harvested directly even where drugs are manufactured for the ingredients to be primarily sourced from living things, especially plants. To give a more specific example, penicillin and anesthetics, which are commonly used in human treatment, are got from animal species and microbes.

Biodiversity is important for fighting against different threats that can harm our health and life. With a rich genetic composition within a species, the capacity to counter different bacteria, virus and other health impairing factors is greatly improved. For example, human beings avoid inbreeding in order to expand their genetic diversity, thereby this factor gives them an advantage and better chances to survive genetic and health attacks.

In addition, biodiversity is important for global warming mitigation. There are several plant tissues and organic matters on land and in ocean ecosystems that process carbon, which is part of the combination of greenhouse gasses contributing to climate change. For instance, as a measure for controlling the rate of global warming and desertification, countries worldwide have launched campaigns to plant many trees so that they can act as carbon sinks.

Again, biodiversity is very important for sustaining the global economy. Many people derive direct and indirect incomes from exploiting biodiversity. Indeed, it provides an important contribution to the economic development of all the nations of the world. Natural pesticides, fibers, waxes, fuel, gums, dyes and many others are goods harvested from biodiversity. Also, nature related holidays and ecotourism that are the main sources of income of many countries rely on biodiversity.

Moreover, the most important supporter of life, which is soil and water in it, depends on biodiversity for its maintenance. If the soil were eroded, then life would cease to exist very quickly. Microorganisms in the soil are responsible for breaking down organic matter and serving plants with essential nutrients. Vegetation, on the other hand, keeps soil intact and protects it.

Clean air that is very essential for life is purified by plant species, which filter unwanted and harmful particles from industries, recycle oxygen and regulate atmospheric composition. Indeed, plants use carbon dioxide to manufacture food and give out oxygen in its place.

Humans depend a lot on planted crops to provide food which are, however, susceptible to many pests. Other organisms including insects, birds and fungi eliminate a great majority of the potential pests that attack crops. These natural and cheap ways of controlling pests are far superior to artificial ones as pests often develop resistance to the latter.

The intrinsic value of biodiversity must not be also overlooked. Human beings and a number of other animals enhance their emotional wellbeing by being close to natural beauty. For example, the mutually helpful relationships between humans and biodiversity are easily discernible in arts, traditions and religions of diverse cultures all over the world. For instance, a picture depicting a beautiful; nature where green and healthy trees are represented is considered by many to have a calming effect on the human’s mind.

Generally, biodiversity provides all the basic needs of men and other higher animals. The provision of food, shelter, clothing and all the other basic needs can be traced back to the issue under the consideration. In fact, almost all food comes from living things, fabric for clothes is made from plants and skin or fir of animals while many of the materials used by people to build houses also have an organic nature and are the results of biodiversity.

That is why it is necessary to state that biodiversity is not just an important and beneficial but crucial aspect of life. Nature has its own way of balancing life, and biodiversity is at the center of this grand plan. Every single organism that exists on our planet has a role to play in supporting other life forms in all the different ecosystems. Biodiversity must be, therefore, protected and preserved if humans want the life to be sustained.

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Toward a 2030 Biodiversity Strategy for Canada: Halting and reversing nature loss

how to write an essay about biodiversity

Toward a 2030 Biodiversity Strategy for Canada: Halting and reversing nature loss [ PDF - 3.72 MB ]

Introduction

Nature matters. Canadians depend on biodiverse ecosystems and the services they provide. These include clean air and water, fertile soil, carbon sequestration, and flood and drought mitigation.  Biological diversity—or biodiversity—also contributes to the resilience of species and helps ecosystems adapt to change. It is also clear that green and wild spaces are important for physical and mental health. Canada’s economy, environment, social, and cultural identities are closely interconnected with and dependent upon its biodiversity.  

how to write an essay about biodiversity

Canada’s nature is important for the world and is essential for human survival, security, prosperity, and well-being

Subtitle: It provides us with a stable climate, breathable air, food supply, clean water, and protection from disease and disaster.

Under the subtitle are two graphics. One graphic is a pair of hands holding a globe with text that says “Twenty countries contain 94% of the world’s remaining wilderness. Canada is #2 on the list. The other graphic is a map of Canada with text “Canada has: 28 percent of the worlds boreal forest, 20 percent of the world’s freshwater, 24 percent of the world’s wetlands.” Under those two graphics are two maps of Canada that show the extent of Canada’s wetlands and that show the extent of treed land in Canada. The Hudson Plains and the southwestern Boreal Forest have the highest proportion of wetlands, while Arctic, Cordilleran and Prairie regions have the lowest. The Boreal region of Canada has the percentage cover by trees.

What is biodiversity?

The CBD defines biological diversity as “the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.”

Canada is home to an estimated 80,000 wild species. Canada is also steward of ecosystems that are globally significant and provide essential habitat for a unique variety of plants and animals, including many that are central to the traditions and cultures of Indigenous Peoples. This includes a vast proportion of the world’s boreal forests, 20% of its freshwater resources, and the longest coastline on the planet. Canada also has a quarter of global wetlands, 25% of remaining global temperate rainforests, and expansive areas of relatively untouched landscapes.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

Addressing biodiversity loss is essential and Canadians care about nature and support its protection. Underneath this title are four graphics with accompanying text. A graphic of a hand holding a plant and another hand sheltering is accompanied by the text that 97 percent of Canadians have either maintained or increased their support for nature conservation since COVID-19. A graphic of a leaf with a coin accompanied by the text that Our economies are embedded in nature, not external to it. A graphic of a mammal with antlers accompanied by the text that 78 percent of Canadians prioritize the protection of animal species at risk of extinction over the development of those lands where those animals can be found. A graphic of a globe with a leaf accompanied by the text that Globally, nature’s contributions to people around the world are around $125 trillion a year. Below these four graphics are two graphs. One is a bar graph of the Percentage of global area conserved in relation to global 2020 targets, May 2021. It shows a bar where approximately 16.5 percent of the terrestrial area of the world is protected and conserved and a bar where approximately 15.5 percent is protected. A 17 percent target is shown next to the bars. Another two bars show that approximately 7.5% of marine areas are protected and conserved and slightly less are protected. A 10 percent target is shown next to the bars. The other is a line graph of the proportion of the area conserved, Canada. It shows four lines representing the terrestrial area protected and conserved, the terrestrial area protected, the marine area protected and conserved, and the marine area protected. The four lines all show increases since the base year of 1990, with a sudden increase in marine conservation and protection starting in 2016 to the last year of the graph, 2021.

Data for the graph ‘ Percentage of global area conserved in relation to global 2020 targets, May 2021 ’

But biodiversity is under threat. Multiple human drivers have significantly altered nature across the globe, resulting in the rapid decline of biodiversity and threatening more species with global extinction now than at any time in human history Footnote 1  . The global biodiversity crisis is gaining global recognition on par with climate change as an all-encompassing environmental issue with serious consequences for all humanity. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) released a Global Assessment in 2019, which found that biodiversity is being altered at an unprecedented rate. The IPBES report identified five direct drivers of biodiversity loss, namely land-use and sea-use change, invasive alien species, climate change, overexploitation of resources, and pollution.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

Nature Globally and in Canada

On one side is a graphic showing the five main drivers of biodiversity loss in order of the scale of their impact running from Changes in land and sea use, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution and Invasive Alien Species. Accompanying text bullets are: Up to 1,000,000 million species are threatened with extinction, natural ecosystems have declined by 47 percent on average, approximately 25 percent of species are already threatened with extinction, the global biomass of wild animals has fallen by 82 percent. On the other side is a map of Canada showing the estimated historical loss of grasslands up to the early 1990’s. The greatest areas of loss are 99 percent of tall grass prairies in Manitoba, followed by 97 percent loss of tall grass savannah in southern Ontario, and 70 percent loss of prairie grasslands in the prairie provinces. Accompanying text bullets are: in Canada: 70 percent of prairie wetlands lost, 80 percent of the Carolinian Forest lost, over 80 percent of wetlands in and around urban areas lost, between 1970 and 2016, populations of mammal and fish species decreased by 42 percent and 21 percent on average.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

Data table for the long description

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD) entered into force in 1993 and has 196 Parties, including Canada. As an international legally -binding treaty, the CBD commits the Parties to conserve biodiversity, use its components sustainably, and share the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources in a fair and equitable manner. Under the CBD, Parties are required to have a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) that outlines domestic efforts to advance the measures set out in the CBD. Parties must also prepare national reports describing implementation efforts.

Canada was the first industrialized country to ratify the CBD, acknowledging it as an important instrument for promoting and guiding efforts to conserve biodiversity and use biological resources sustainably. As further recognition of the importance of the CBD, Canada has hosted its Secretariat in Montreal since 1996.

After ratifying the CBD, Canada developed the Canadian Biodiversity Strategy in 1995, the Biodiversity Outcomes Framework in 2008, and the 2020 Biodiversity Goals and Targets for Canada in 2016. Together, these constitute Canada’s current NBSAP.

The new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) was adopted in December 2022 at the 15 th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP15). This landmark document builds on the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and includes a set of goals, targets, and a partial set of indicators for Parties to address (see Annex). A major focus of the KMGBF mission is halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 and restoring biological diversity levels by 2050. The KMGBF represents “an ambitious path forward for our planet” and gives countries “the tools to turn the tide” on biodiversity loss Footnote 2  .

Parties are required to develop an updated NBSAP by the end of 2024, ahead of COP16, that aligns with the new KMGBF.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

A circle divided into three parts, each part representing one of the three themes of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Each of the three main parts is then further subdivided into the relevant targets (23 total) that fall under the theme in question. The breakdown is as follows: Theme 1 - Reducing threats to biodiversity. Targets 1 to 8 fall under this theme: 1) Reducing land- and sea-use change, 2) Restoration of degraded ecosystems, 3) Protect and conserve areas, 4) Halting species extinctions and reducing extinction risk, 5) Harvesting and trade of wild species, 6) Managing invasive alien species, 7) Reducing negative impacts of pollution on biodiversity, 8) Minimize impacts of climate change. Theme 2 - Meeting people’s needs through sustainable use and benefit-sharing. Targets 9 to 13 fall under this theme: 9) Management of wild species, 10) Agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and forests are sustainably managed, 11) Restore, maintain, and enhance nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, 12) Urban blue and green spaces, and 13) Fair and equitable sharing of genetic resources and DSI. Theme 3 - Tools and solutions for implementation and mainstreaming. Targets 14 to 23 fall under this theme: 14) Integrate biodiversity and its multiple values into policies, regulations, planning, and development, processes, 15) Integrate legal, administrative, or policy measures within business and financial institutions, 16) Encourage and enable sustainable consumption choices, 17) Establish, strengthen capacity for, and implement biosafety measures as set out in Article 8(g), 18) Identify, and eliminate, phase out or reform incentives, including subsidies, 19) Substantially and progressively increase the level of financial resources, 20) Strengthen capacity-building and technical and scientific cooperation, 21) Ensure data, information, and knowledge are accessible to decision makers, practitioners and the public, 22) Respecting rights and cultures of Indigenous peoples and local communities, and 23) Ensure gender equality.

Creating Canada’s 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy

The Government of Canada, through Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), is responsible for leading the development of the 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy and reporting on Canada’s progress to meet the KMGBF targets. The Strategy will guide how Canada plans to achieve the new global goals and targets domestically.  

Where we’re going

The 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy will be part of our renewed NBSAP and will reflect domestic priorities for halting and reversing biodiversity loss and Canadian contributions to the goals and targets of the KMGBF to 2030. It will be framed around the KMGBF goals and targets, and cover all related aspects of nature conservation, sustainable use, and access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources. To ensure the Strategy translates into real action and that Canada can track its progress, it will include a robust measurement framework and a plan for how Canada will contribute to each of the KMGBF targets.

The detailed content of the Strategy will be drafted in 2023, informed by a range of engagement efforts (see “How we’ll get there” section below). Some guiding principles to consider as we build the Strategy together include:

  • Committing to urgent and ambitious action – We are at a critical juncture for nature, which demands both urgent and ambitious action, and we cannot afford to wait or to take half- measures. While the targets in the KMGBF are ambitious, they are at best the minimum required to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.
  • Seeking transformational change – Achieving our ambitious global goals will require transformational change across all facets of society. Simply put, the status quo will not get us to where we need to be.
  • Taking a comprehensive, whole-of-society approach – One of the principles of the KMGBF is that a whole-of-society approach is required. No one group has all the knowledge, tools, and resources required to achieve our shared biodiversity goals. This will require all of us working together and leveraging the full suite of tools at our disposal to achieve ambitious outcomes for nature and people.
  • Taking an all-of-government approach – While ECCC will lead the overall development of the Strategy, other federal departments will play important roles in leading and co-leading different elements of the plan in line with their mandates and expertise. All federal departments and agencies will have a role in supporting its implementation.
  • Walking the path to reconciliation – Conserving and sustainably using biodiversity must be done hand in hand with Indigenous Peoples. As the original caretakers of the lands, waters, and ice, Indigenous Peoples are leaders, knowledge holders, and knowledge generators; and they hold unique rights and connections to lands and traditional territories.
  • Making space for multiple ways of knowing – The 2030 Strategy will need to respect and weave together western science and Indigenous knowledge systems, recognizing that both will provide valuable insights and help Canada take informed and effective action towards halting and reversing biodiversity loss.

Where we’re coming from

As we develop the 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy, it is important to keep in mind that we are not starting from scratch. There is already a solid foundation of knowledge, initiatives, and tools that we can build on, while incorporating new knowledge and lessons learned.

Existing programs, including significant recent federal nature-related investments (see table below) are complemented by actions being undertaken by provinces and territories, Indigenous nations, non-governmental organizations, industry, and other partners and stakeholders across the country. It is important to reflect on what we already have in place to maximize the effectiveness and complementarity of these initiatives. Given the shared jurisdiction for managing biodiversity in Canada, provinces and territories collectively have a major role in helping meet many of the targets across the country’s lands and waters. Further, more than 3,500 municipal, regional, Indigenous, and other local governments are responsible for many direct on-the-ground conservation activities, as well as numerous innovative programs. And this all relies on the actions and contributions of individual Canadians at home, at work, and in their communities.

A sample of federal investments in nature

($1.35B/5 years + $2.3B/5 years)
To conserve up to 1 million km2 of additional land and waters, create jobs in nature conservation, accelerate protection and conservation of provincial and territorial areas, support Indigenous Peoples, take action to prevent priority species from disappearing, and enhance information and knowledge. This includes funding to develop Nature Agreements with provinces, territories, and Indigenous Peoples to advance shared interests for conserving nature, establishing and effectively managing more protected areas, protecting and recovering species at risk and their habitats, and supporting Indigenous leadership in conservation initiatives. It also includes $200M for infrastructure to use natural or hybrid approaches to protect the environment, support healthy and resilient communities, contribute to economic growth, and improve access to nature for Canadians.

($976.8M/5 years)
To protect the health of our oceans and reach ambitious marine conservation targets. This funding is supporting: effective management of existing marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs); the establishment of new MPAs and OECMs to meet the 25% by 2025 target; continuing to build on and foster meaningful partnerships with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous governments, and local communities; and advancing marine conservation via conservation networks. 

(Over $5B/10 years) 
To support the implementation of natural climate solutions via three programs: the 2 Billion Trees Program ($3.2B) to plant two billion trees across Canada, the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund ($1.4B) to help conserve, enhance, and restore wetlands, peatlands, grasslands and agriculture lands, and the Agricultural Climate Solutions program ($855M) to support immediate on-farm action. Programming includes dedicated funding to support work with Indigenous partners.

(Over $1B)
An allocation of at least 20% or more than $1 billion of Canada’s $5.3 billion climate finance commitment to projects that leverage nature-based climate solutions and that contribute biodiversity co-benefits in developing countries. $350 million to support developing countries in advancing biodiversity efforts and the implementation of the KMGBF.

The Final Report for the 2020 Goals and Targets for Canada provides insight into previous and ongoing efforts and areas for particular attention going forward (see figure below). In developing and implementing the 2030 Strategy, it will be important to set priorities, actions, and milestones on the path to achieving our biodiversity goals and targets, regularly and transparently assess our progress, correct our course where necessary, and ensure the indicators used to track progress are effective.

Final Assessment of the 2020 Biodiversity Goals and Targets for Canada 3

how to write an essay about biodiversity

Figure 1 – Final assessment of the 2020 Biodiversity Goals and Targets for Canada

Goal A: By 2020, Canada’s lands and waters are planned and managed using an ecosystem approach to support biodiversity conservation outcomes at local, regional and national scales.
Target Description Final assessment
1 By 2020, at least 17% of terrestrial areas and inland water, and 10% of coastal and marine areas, are conserved through networks of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures. Terrestrial – Partially met
Marine - Met
2 By 2020, species that are secure remain secure, and populations of species at risk listed under federal law exhibit trends that are consistent with recovery strategies and management plans. Not met
3 By 2020, Canada's wetlands are conserved or enhanced to sustain their ecosystem services through retention, restoration, and management activities. Partially met
4 By 2020, biodiversity considerations are integrated into municipal planning and activities of major municipalities across Canada. Partially met
5 By 2020, the ability of Canadian ecological systems to adapt to climate change is better understood, and priority adaptation measures are underway. Met
Goal B: By 2020, direct and indirect pressures as well as cumulative effects on biodiversity are reduced, and production and consumption of Canada's biological resources are more sustainable.
Target Description Final assessment
6 By 2020, continued progress is made on the sustainable management of Canada's forests. Met
7 By 2020, agricultural working landscapes provide a stable or improved level of biodiversity and habitat capacity. Partially met
8 By 2020, all aquaculture in Canada is managed under a science-based regime that promotes the sustainable use of aquatic resources (including marine, freshwater and land based) in ways that conserve biodiversity. Met
9 By 2020, all fish and invertebrate stocks and aquatic plants are managed and harvested sustainably, legally and applying ecosystem-based approaches. Not met
10 By 2020, pollution levels in Canadian waters, including pollution from excess nutrients, are reduced, or maintained at levels that support healthy aquatic ecosystems. Not met
11 By 2020, pathways of invasive alien species introductions are identified, and risk-based intervention or management plans are in place for priority pathways and species. Met
12 By 2020, customary use by Aboriginal (Indigenous) peoples of biological resources is maintained, compatible with their conservation and sustainable use. Unclear if met
13 By 2020, innovative mechanisms for fostering the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity are developed and applied. Met
Goal C: By 2020, Canadians have adequate and relevant information about biodiversity and ecosystem services to support conservation planning and decision-making.
Target Description Final assessment
14 By 2020, the science base for biodiversity is enhanced and knowledge of biodiversity is better integrated and more accessible. Partially met
15 By 2020, Aboriginal traditional knowledge (Indigenous Knowledge) is respected, promoted and, where made available by Aboriginal (Indigenous) peoples, regularly, meaningfully, and effectively informing biodiversity conservation and management decision-making. Partially met
16 By 2020, Canada has a comprehensive inventory of protected spaces that includes private conservation areas. Partially met
17 By 2020, measures of natural capital related to biodiversity and ecosystem services are developed on a national scale, and progress is made in integrating them into Canada's national statistical system. Met
Goal D: By 2020, Canadians are informed about the value of nature and more actively engaged in its stewardship.
Target Description Final assessment
18 By 2020, biodiversity is integrated into the elementary and secondary school curricula. Met
19 By 2020, more Canadians get out into nature and participate in biodiversity conservation activities. Met

Finally, the federal government has previously engaged Canadians on nature-related issues. There is an opportunity to draw on what Canadians have said during the development of these related initiatives and learn from and build upon them to achieve the KMGBF goals and targets in Canada. These initiatives include, for example, the nature-related targets in the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy  (Listening to Canadians) and the National Adaptation Strategy Nature and Biodiversity theme.

Cross-cutting challenges and opportunities

While there are challenges and opportunities that are unique to certain targets, there are some that cut across many or all targets. Taking account of these cross-cutting issues will help support our ability to take specific steps to conserve biodiversity, encourage sustainable use, and ensure our actions result in a balance of environmental, social, and economic benefits that are good for both nature and people.

Coordination and collaboration

Coordination and collaboration are often cited as challenges in biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, given the many actors, disciplines, regions, and ecosystems at play. However, coordination and collaboration is one way to help ensure our collective efforts are complementary, effective, appropriately prioritized, and efficiently resourced. Coordination and collaboration can occur between and across:

  • the individuals, institutions, and sectors involved in biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, as well as those not traditionally focused on biodiversity but who may now want to be involved;
  • academic disciplines crucial to producing the knowledge base for informed action; and
  • areas of action and/or joint impact (e.g., biodiversity and climate change), to ensure best practices and lessons learned are shared and efforts are complementary and not duplicative.

Science and data

Effective and targeted actions to halt and reverse biodiversity loss must be guided by the best available information. Advancing the required knowledge base requires navigating complexity and uncertainty to address multiple, often interacting, questions that span disciplines, organizations, and communities. Another aspect is mobilizing data and knowledge, including sharing information between those developing knowledge and with those developing actions and programs. Furthermore, fully valuing Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing will be necessary. Practices such as ‘two-eyed seeing’—“[t]o see from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous ways of knowing, and to see from the other eye with the strengths of Western ways of knowing, and to use both of these eyes together” Footnote 4  â€”are a means of drawing on the strengths of both western and Indigenous science and knowledge.

Where available knowledge is insufficient to facilitate decisions within a reasonable range of risk, then research may be required to synthesize existing data or gather and analyze new data and develop models and new insights to better predict possible outcomes. Assessing, challenging, and building on existing studies to improve and expand our knowledge of the natural world will be helpful.

Engagement and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples

Indigenous Peoples have deep relationships with nature and have successfully stewarded their environments since time immemorial. Currently, they are on the frontlines of the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change, feeling their impacts both early and disproportionately. This uniquely positions Indigenous Peoples to be leaders in addressing the biodiversity crisis.

The 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy will seek to reflect First Nations, Inuit, and MĂ©tis voices and is an opportunity to advance reconciliation, which in turn is an opportunity to build and implement a stronger Strategy. Listening to Indigenous voices is an opportunity to learn from Indigenous leadership across all the KMGBF targets.

Public awareness and mainstreaming

Growing interest and engagement on biodiversity issues across Canada presents an opportunity to mainstream the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and accelerate our collective work to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. COP15 in Montreal was a unique opportunity for Canada and Canadians to focus attention on the importance of nature and the urgency of global action. COP15 saw the highest number of registrations of any other CBD COP before it, with significant participation from a wide variety of governments, Indigenous Peoples, women, youth, and civil society and business stakeholders. This type of momentum can help Canada achieve its nature goals.

Public awareness is important from an engagement and educational standpoint. It can also directly lead to action. For example, local awareness of climate change-induced extreme weather events can promote conservation and the application of nature-based solutions, and growing citizen science movements can fill research and monitoring gaps for data-deficient species.

However, increasing public awareness of biodiversity does not necessarily translate into the mainstreaming of biodiversity across governments, sectors, and society more broadly. Mainstreaming means “ensuring biodiversity, and the services it provides, are appropriately and adequately factored into policies and practices that rely and have an impact on it.” Footnote 5

There are many examples of biodiversity mainstreaming in Canada. For example, the Government of Canada conducts strategic environmental assessments on proposed policies, plans, and programs that could result in positive or negative environmental effects. At a municipal level, examples include the Town of Gibsons, British Columbia, which developed a municipal eco-assets strategy recognizing ecosystem services as integral to the town’s infrastructure and as a core asset of the community. Continuing to mainstream biodiversity will help ensure a whole-of-society approach to implementing the KMGBF.

How we’ll get to the 2030 Strategy

There will be several key opportunities for Canadians to help shape the 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy. These include:

  • A virtual symposium to kick off the engagement process for developing the Strategy;
  • Focused engagement with key groups (e.g., provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous nations, municipalities and regional governments, civil society organizations, financial, resource, and industrial sectors, youth), or around thematic issues;
  • An online platform to allow for broader input; and
  • An opportunity to review a draft Strategy, and provide input, before it is finalized.

Your input is invaluable

To help inform the 2030 Strategy, please consider the following overarching questions:

  • What are the key features of a successful 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy? 
  • What are the most significant challenges and opportunities to achieving the KMGBF 2030 targets in Canada? What successful initiatives could we build upon?
  • Are there targets where Canada is already making good progress and others where Canada should focus more attention? 
  • What measures should be prioritized and implemented as soon as possible to ensure we meet the 2030 targets and are on track to reach the longer-term 2050 goals? 
  • No target is an island: What overarching tools and solutions hold the most potential for making progress across multiple targets?
  • What additional knowledge and enabling mechanisms (e.g., networks, policies) are critical to inform implementation decision-making at all levels?  
  • In drafting 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy what individuals’, communities’, or organizations’ perspectives, knowledge, and skills should be meaningfully amplified to make progress on reducing threats to biodiversity?
  • What are the key human needs and values to be addressed to make biodiversity loss a mainstream concern?
  • What does success look like?

 Annex

A. Draft Goal/ Target Proposed headline indicators 1,2

The integrity, connectivity and resilience of all ecosystems are maintained, enhanced, or restored, substantially increasing the area of natural ecosystems by 2050;

Human induced extinction of known threatened species is halted, and, by 2050, the extinction rate and risk of all species are reduced tenfold and the abundance of native wild species is increased to healthy and resilient levels;

The genetic diversity within populations of wild and domesticated species, is maintained, safeguarding their adaptive potential.

A.1 Red List of Ecosystems

A.2 Extent of natural ecosystems

A.3 Red List Index

A.4 The proportion of populations within species with an effective population size > 500

Biodiversity is sustainably used and managed and nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, are valued, maintained and enhanced, with those currently in decline being restored, supporting the achievement of sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations by 2050.

B.1 Services provided by ecosystems*

The monetary and non-monetary benefits from the utilization of genetic resources and digital sequence information on genetic resources, and of traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, as applicable, are shared fairly and equitably, including, as appropriate with indigenous peoples and local communities, and substantially increased by 2050, while ensuring traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources is appropriately protected, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, in accordance with internationally agreed access and benefit-sharing instruments.

C.1 Indicator on monetary benefits received*
C.2 Indicator on non-monetary benefits*

Adequate means of implementation, including financial resources, capacity-building, technical and scientific cooperation, and access to and transfer of technology to fully implement the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework are secured and equitably accessible to all Parties, especially developing country Parties, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, progressively closing the biodiversity finance gap of $700 billion per year, and aligning financial flows with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the 2050 Vision for biodiversity.

D.1 International public funding, including official development assistance (ODA) for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems
D.2 Domestic public funding on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems
D.3 Private funding (domestic and international) on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems*

Ensure that all areas are under participatory, integrated and biodiversity inclusive spatial planning and/or effective management processes addressing land- and sea‑use change, to bring the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity, close to zero by 2030, while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.

A.1 Red List of Ecosystems
A.2 Extent of natural ecosystems
1.1 Percent of land and seas covered by biodiversity-inclusive spatial plans*

Ensure that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of areas of degraded terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal ecosystems are under effective restoration, in order to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, ecological integrity and connectivity.

2.2 Area under restoration*

Ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas, and of marine and coastal areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, recognizing indigenous and traditional territories, where applicable, and integrated into wider landscapes, seascapes and the ocean, while ensuring that any sustainable use, where appropriate in such areas, is fully consistent with conservation outcomes, recognizing and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, including over their traditional territories.

3.1 Coverage of protected areas and OECMs

Ensure urgent management actions to halt human induced extinction of known threatened species and for the recovery and conservation of species, in particular threatened species, to significantly reduce extinction risk, as well as to maintain and restore the genetic diversity within and between populations of native, wild and domesticated species to maintain their adaptive potential, including through in situ and ex situ conservation and sustainable management practices, and effectively manage human-wildlife interactions to minimize human-wildlife conflict for coexistence.

A.3 Red list Index
A.4 The proportion of populations within species with an effective population size > 500

Ensure that the use, harvesting and trade of wild species is sustainable, safe and legal, preventing overexploitation, minimizing impacts on non-target species and ecosystems, and reducing the risk of pathogen spillover, applying the ecosystem approach, while respecting and protecting customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.

5.1 Proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels

Eliminate, minimize, reduce and or mitigate the impacts of invasive alien species on biodiversity and ecosystem services by identifying and managing pathways of the introduction of alien species, preventing the introduction and establishment of priority invasive alien species, reducing the rates of introduction and establishment of other known or potential invasive alien species by at least 50 per cent by 2030, and eradicating or controlling invasive alien species, especially in priority sites, such as islands.

6.1 Rate of invasive alien species establishment

Reduce pollution risks and the negative impact of pollution from all sources by 2030, to levels that are not harmful to biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, considering cumulative effects, including: (a) by reducing excess nutrients lost to the environment by at least half, including through more efficient nutrient cycling and use; (b) by reducing the overall risk from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals by at least half, including through integrated pest management, based on science, taking into account food security and livelihoods; and (c) by preventing, reducing, and working towards eliminating plastic pollution.

7.1 Index of coastal eutrophication potential
7.2 Pesticide environment concentration*

Minimize the impact of climate change and ocean acidification on biodiversity and increase its resilience through mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction actions, including through nature-based solution and/or ecosystem-based approaches, while minimizing negative and fostering positive impacts of climate action on biodiversity.

-b

Ensure that the management and use of wild species are sustainable, thereby providing social, economic and environmental benefits for people, especially those in vulnerable situations and those most dependent on biodiversity, including through sustainable biodiversity-based activities, products and services that enhance biodiversity, and protecting and encouraging customary sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities.

9.1 Benefits from the sustainable use of wild species*
9.2 Percentage of the population in traditional occupations*
-b

Ensure that areas under agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries and forestry are managed sustainably, in particular through the sustainable use of biodiversity, including through a substantial increase of the application of biodiversity friendly practices, such as sustainable intensification, agroecological and other innovative approaches, contributing to the resilience and long-term efficiency and productivity of these production systems, and to food security, conserving and restoring biodiversity and maintaining nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services.

10.1 Proportion of agricultural area under productive and sustainable agriculture
10.2 Progress towards sustainable forest management

Restore, maintain and enhance nature’s contributions to people, including ecosystem functions and services, such as the regulation of air, water and climate, soil health, pollination and reduction of disease risk, as well as protection from natural hazards and disasters, through nature-based solutions and/or ecosystem-based approaches for the benefit of all people and nature.

B.1 Services provided by ecosystems* 

Significantly increase the area and quality, and connectivity of, access to, and benefits from green and blue spaces in urban and densely populated areas sustainably, by mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and ensure biodiversity-inclusive urban planning, enhancing native biodiversity, ecological connectivity and integrity, and improving human health and well-being and connection to nature, and contributing to inclusive and sustainable urbanization and to the provision of ecosystem functions and services.

12.1 Average share of the built-up area of cities that is green/blue space for public use for all
-b

Take effective legal, policy, administrative and capacity-building measures at all levels, as appropriate, to ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits that arise from the utilization of genetic resources and from digital sequence information on genetic resources, as well as traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, and facilitating appropriate access to genetic resources, and by 2030, facilitating a significant increase of the benefits shared, in accordance with applicable international access and benefit-sharing instruments.

C.1 Indicator on monetary benefits received*
C.2 Indicator on non-monetary benefits*
-b

Ensure the full integration of biodiversity and its multiple values into policies, regulations, planning and development processes, poverty eradication strategies, strategic environmental assessments, environmental impact assessments and, as appropriate, national accounting, within and across all levels of government and across all sectors, in particular those with significant impacts on biodiversity, progressively aligning all relevant public and private activities, and fiscal and financial flows with the goals and targets of this framework.

-b

Take legal, administrative or policy measures to encourage and enable business, and in particular to ensure that large and transnational companies and financial institutions:
 
a. Regularly monitor, assess, and transparently disclose their risks, dependencies and impacts on biodiversity, including with requirements for all large as well as transnational companies and financial institutions along their operations, supply and value chains, and portfolios;
b. Provide information needed to consumers to promote sustainable consumption patterns;
c. Report on compliance with access and benefit-sharing regulations and measures, as applicable;
 
in order to progressively reduce negative impacts on biodiversity, increase positive impacts, reduce biodiversity-related risks to business and financial institutions, and promote actions to ensure sustainable patterns of production.
15.1 Number of companies reporting on disclosures of risks, dependencies and impacts biodiversity*
-b

Ensure that people are encouraged and enabled to make sustainable consumption choices, including by establishing supportive policy, legislative or regulatory frameworks, improving education and access to relevant and accurate information and alternatives, and by 2030, reduce the global footprint of consumption in an equitable manner, including through halving global food waste, significantly reducing overconsumption and substantially reducing waste generation, in order for all people to live well in harmony with Mother Earth.

-b

Establish, strengthen capacity for, and implement in all countries, biosafety measures as set out in Article 8(g) of the Convention on Biological Diversity and measures for the handling of biotechnology and distribution of its benefits as set out in Article 19 of the Convention.

-b

Identify by 2025, and eliminate, phase out or reform incentives, including subsidies, harmful for biodiversity, in a proportionate, just, fair, effective and equitable way, while substantially and progressively reducing them by at least $500 billion United States dollars per year by 2030, starting with the most harmful incentives, and scale up positive incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

18.1 Positive incentives in place to promote biodiversity conservation and sustainable use
18.2 Value of subsidies and other incentives harmful to biodiversity that have been eliminated, phased out or reformed.

Substantially and progressively increase the level of financial resources from all sources, in an effective, timely and easily accessible manner, including domestic, international, public and private resources, in accordance with Article 20 of the Convention, to implement national biodiversity strategies and action plans, mobilizing at least $200 billion United States dollars per year by 2030, including by:

a.    Increasing total biodiversity related international financial resources from developed countries, including official development assistance, and from countries that voluntarily assume obligations of developed country Parties, to developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and small island developing States, as well as countries with economies in transition, to at least US$ 20 billion per year by 2025, and to at least US$ 30 billion per year by 2030;
b.    Significantly increasing domestic resource mobilization, facilitated by the preparation and implementation of national biodiversity finance plans or similar instruments according to national needs, priorities and circumstances
c.    Leveraging private finance, promoting blended finance, implementing strategies for raising new and additional resources, and encouraging the private sector to invest in biodiversity, including through impact funds and other instruments;
d.    Stimulating innovative schemes such as payment for ecosystem services, green bonds, biodiversity offsets and credits, benefit-sharing mechanisms, with environmental and social safeguards
e.    Optimizing co-benefits and synergies of finance targeting the biodiversity and climate crises,
f.    Enhancing the role of collective actions, including by indigenous peoples and local communities, Mother Earth centric actions1 and non-market-based approaches including community based natural resource management and civil society cooperation and solidarity aimed at the conservation of biodiversity
g.    Enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency and transparency of resource provision and use;

Note1: Mother Earth Centric Actions: Ecocentric and rights based approach enabling the implementation of actions towards harmonic and complementary relationships between peoples and nature, promoting the continuity of all living beings and their communities and ensuring the non-commodification of environmental functions of Mother Earth.

D.1 International public funding, including official development assistance (ODA) for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems
D.2 Domestic public funding on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems
D.3 Private funding (domestic and international) on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and ecosystems*

Strengthen capacity-building and development, access to and transfer of technology, and promote development of and access to innovation and technical and scientific cooperation, including through South‑South, North-South and triangular cooperation, to meet the needs for effective implementation, particularly in developing countries, fostering joint technology development and joint scientific research programmes for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and strengthening scientific research and monitoring capacities, commensurate with the ambition of the goals and targets of the Framework.

-

Ensure that the best available data, information and knowledge, are accessible to decision makers, practitioners and the public to guide effective and equitable governance, integrated and participatory management of biodiversity, and to strengthen communication, awareness-raising, education, monitoring, research and knowledge management and, also in this context, traditional knowledge, innovations, practices and technologies of indigenous peoples and local communities should only be accessed with their free, prior and informedconsent2, in accordance with national legislation.
Note2: Free, prior and informed consent refers to the tripartite terminology of “prior and informed consent” or “free, prior and informed consent” or “approval and involvement.

monitoring

Ensure the full, equitable, inclusive, effective and gender-responsive representation and participation in decision-making, and access to justice and information related to biodiversity by indigenous peoples and local communities, respecting their cultures and their rights over lands, territories, resources, and traditional knowledge, as well as by women and girls, children and youth, and persons with disabilities and ensure the full protection of environmental human rights defenders.

-b

Ensure gender equality in the implementation of the Framework through a gender-responsive approach, where all women and girls have equal opportunity and capacity to contribute to the three objectives of the Convention, including by recognizing their equal rights and access to land and natural resources and their full, equitable, meaningful and informed participation and leadership at all levels of action, engagement, policy and decision-making related to biodiversity.

-b

1 Indicators marked with a b, a binary indicator was proposed for inclusion for this Goal or Target. See the ‘ Monitoring framework for the Kunming-Montreal global biodiversity framework ’ for more information.

2 Indicators marked with an asterisk (*), an agreed up to date, methodology does not exist for this indicator. The Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group will work with partners to guide the development of this indicator.

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In June, the Colombian subsidiary of Spanish banking group BBVA announced that it was issuing what it described as the financial sector’s “first biodiversity bond”, in order to finance habitat conservation and restoration projects in the South American country. 

The $50mn initiative — backed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector-focused arm of the World Bank, as structurer and investor — marks a turnaround for a nation recovering from half a century of violence and guerrilla activity. It also places Colombia among a select group of pioneers, including the Seychelles and Belize, that are using the financial markets to support the conservation of nature.

While the green bonds market has seen explosive growth in the past decade, the capital it has raised has overwhelmingly been invested in climate mitigation, alternative energy, and green transportation projects. Minimal amounts go to biodiversity conservation and habitat restoration projects. 

In financing nature, explicitly and directly, this Colombian bond breaks new ground, with metrics linked to objectives to benefit the environment. Invest ors will be repaid through a mix of funding sources including a carbon tax, the government budget and donors .

Test yourself

This is the sixth in a series of monthly business school-style teaching case studies devoted to responsible-business dilemmas faced by organisations. Read the piece and FT articles suggested at the end (and linked to within the piece) before considering the questions raised. 

About the authors: Andrew Karolyi is professor and dean, John Tobin-de la Puente is professor of practice and co-director of the Initiative on Responsible Finance, both at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business.

The series forms part of a wide-ranging collection of FT ‘instant teaching case studies ’ that explore business challenges.

The question for those concerned about the destruction of the world’s natural habitats is whether this pioneering structured bond will be effective, and whether it could help to inspire a broader range of similar instruments aimed at countering loss of biodiversity around the world. 

Meanwhile, the question for investors is whether the vehicle is sufficiently attractive and robust to attract a new and growing class of funders that may share an interest in environmental issues but also seek competitive returns.

Located at the northern end of the Andes, Colombia straddles the Equator, the Pacific Ocean, the Caribbean, and the Amazon basin. It has the second-highest number of species on the planet after Brazil, and the highest species diversity when measured per square kilometre, according to the World Wildlife Fund . Colombia is home to more than 1,900 species of birds — on a par with Brazil and Peru.

Colombia will be on the frontline of biodiversity losses

But global warming threatens to cause dramatic harm to this biodiversity . Colombia will be on the frontline of these losses because it will be disproportionately affected by climate change compared to countries with fewer species that are more widespread.

Now, though, it could also be in the vanguard of new financial models to reverse the trend.

In 2016, a historic peace agreement between the government and leftist guerrilla group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) marked the end of five decades of armed conflict. Despite continuing violence, the peace process has greatly improved the lives of citizens. However, it has also increased pressure on natural ecosystems. The political violence had meant large areas were shielded from illegal deforestation and degradation of the habitat.

Five years after the peace deal, Colombia became the first Latin American country to issue a green bond in its domestic market : a 10-year $200mn offering aiming to finance a variety of projects intended to benefit the environment — including water management, sustainable transport, biodiversity protection, and renewable energy. High investor demand meant the final amount had been increased by half again.

how to write an essay about biodiversity

Finance minister JosĂ© Manuel Restrepo described the structured bond as an “important step” in finding new ways to finance investment in environmental projects: it would help develop a domestic green bond market and attract a wider range of investors. His ministry identified another $500mn in eligible projects that could be financed through green bonds, including a $50mn Colombian “blue bond” — financing focused on marine habitats and ocean-based projects that generate environmental co-benefits. This was successfully placed in 2023 with the help of BBVA and the IFC as structurer.

Now, the announcement of BBVA Colombia’s biodiversity bond marks another step forward. It focuses on reforestation, regeneration of natural forests on degraded land, mangrove conservation, and wildlife habitat protection.

In the case of green bonds, only a minuscule share of the money raised is spent on nature conservation, in part because few such projects generate cash flows from which to repay investors. Another reason is that it is harder to measure how effectively deployed resources dedicated to conservation — such as for monitoring species population growth — are, or to track activities that help to reach certain conservation target goals over time, such as for restoring degraded ecosystems.  

Using private, financial return-seeking capital to finance the sustainable management and conservation of natural resources is viewed by many experts as the most realistic solution to the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change — given the magnitude of investment needed. 

Yet there is growing political pushback against environmental and social initiatives, most notably in the US. 

Regulators and consumer groups have also launched legal actions to challenge green objectives. Large corporations, including Unilever, Bank of America and Shell, have in the past year dropped or missed goals to cut carbon emissions. And there has been disillusion with the ability of sustainability-linked bonds to meet their objectives. 

By association, that raises fresh questions about continued progress on biodiversity.

In biodiversity finance, doing deals is inherently more difficult

In tackling the climate crisis, the trajectory seems clear: the set of solutions needed is more or less agreed, and a good part of it makes economic sense. But, in biodiversity finance, doing deals is inherently more difficult.

It is more complex to structure transactions that generate proceeds to protect wildlife, restore ecosystems and fund other activities that may not generate cash flows, all while ensuring investors are repaid. Early successes — such as Belize’s blue bond are encouraging — but the potential for real scale is still unclear.

Questions for discussion

How companies are starting to back away from green targets (ft.com)

Green bond issuance surges as investors hunt for yield (ft.com)

Sustainability-linked bonds falter amid credibility concerns (ft.com)

Consider these questions:

1. How critical is the role of the IFC as structurer of the BBVA Colombia biodiversity bond deal in validating its legitimacy and providing investors with assurance? How important is it that IFC is also a co-investor in the biodiversity bond issuance?  

2. What are the pros and cons of the fact that the $50mn BBVA Colombia biodiversity bond deal has been launched following Colombia’s successful placement three years earlier of its sovereign green bond, and following its newly announced “green taxonomy”?  

3. What does the Colombian experience say about the likelihood of rapid change in how countries manage their biodiversity and climate impacts? Does Colombia demonstrate that such change is possible, or is its experience unique and unlikely to represent a model of rapid action for other countries?

4. Can biodiversity bonds meaningfully help to address biodiversity loss? And is this transaction the start of a trend? If not, why would BBVA Colombia have executed this transaction? Is it a gesture of goodwill and a recognition of its own corporate responsibility, or a means to greenwash some of its other less appealing investments?

5. Considering the economic and social context following the peace agreement between Colombia and the Farc forces, how might the shift from conflict to peace affect the country’s ability to balance economic development with environmental conservation?   

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