Abstract
According to Deep Adaptation by Professor Jem Bendell, climate change is already happening, causing major changes to biodiversity. Even though ongoing research and changes are being made to try to prevent this, it will eventually happen. (Jem Bendell, 2018) The question is, is it possible to stop biodiversity loss? This paper will provide information on what biodiversity is, why it is important and how to prevent further biodiversity loss. Humans are the biggest contributors to biodiversity loss. It should be our jobs to help balance it out again and continue to help maintain it.
Keywords: climate change, biodiversity, wildlife, mass production, agriculture, ecosystem, pollutants, humans, biodiversity loss
The Circle of Life: Can Biodiversity Loss be Stopped and Maintained?
The circle of life is the natural order of the world. Every living being and thing has a purpose and role. If we do not maintain this circle of life and try to take away the roles it will cause a negative impact on the world. What is given can be taken and what is taken can be given back. We call that karma. What goes around comes around. Take care of things and places that you want to last, and those things will do the same for you. The biodiversity and the daily lives of humans go hand in hand. If biodiversity loss continues and cannot be maintained the same thing will eventually happen for humans as well. Humans cannot exist without biodiversity. Therefore, changes have to be made in order to further prevent biodiversity loss.
Biodiversity loss is already happening and has been happening throughout the centuries. The major issue is that humans overpopulate the world. Ingram stated that “there are now 7.7 billion.” Compared to 2.6 billion in 1952. (Ingram, 2019, p. 16). Making humans the biggest contributors to biodiversity loss. One would think that with this many people on this planet, there would be a solution to co-existing with other living creatures instead of exploiting them and their habitats. There are solutions that will be beneficial for everyone. However, the world and its inhabitants will all need to learn how to work together through sacrifice and compromise. If they cannot do this then the world will not survive.
The Importance of Biodiversity
Animals, plants, habitats, and ecosystems depend on a steady climate to flourish and maintain balance. If that is taken away from them they will start to diminish and may even go extinct. These ecosystems and habitats derive from biodiversity. What exactly is biodiversity? Biodiversity is the variety of life and the ecosystems and habitats that they live in. Lauren Harper states in her article that, “Biodiversity affects our food, medicine, and environmental well-being”. (Harper, 2018) Humans depend on crops, plants, bodies of water, and wild animals to survive.
Biodiversity helps maintain a healthy ecosystem by having a wide variety of species that depend on one another to thrive. When an ecosystem is healthy and balanced it will, “clean our water, purify our air, maintain our soil, regulate the climate, recycle nutrients and provide us with food”. (Prof. E. O Wilson, Chivian E., Bernstein A., 2019) Having a healthy ecosystem means a healthier life for all living creatures.
Wild animals contribute to biodiversity by maintaining the circle of life. Animals such as carnivores help maintain biodiversity by eating herbivores, which stops overpopulation. Without insects to pollinate plants, plants won’t be able to grow. “Many modern medicines, like aspirin, caffeine and morphine, are modeled after chemical compositions found in plants”. (Harper, 2018) This effects medicine since they come from plants that are pollinated by insects. As humans continue to populate the world, more and more land and forests are being wiped out. This affects the environment causing biodiversity loss. In return affects human well-being. All wild animals and species belong to their ecosystems and play a role in sustaining biodiversity. (Lauren Harper, 2018)
Human Impact on Biodiversity
One of the biggest contributors to climate change and biodiversity loss are humans. Humans take away too much from habitats and ecosystems. “The rate of extinction is now about 1,000 times faster than before humans arrived.” (Ingram, 2019, p. 27) For example, they hunt and gather more than they may need and that will destroy ecosystems. As well as grow too much of a certain crop and mass livestock production. They also contribute CO2, methane, and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere and oil, chemicals, etc. into the water which affects climate change and living species. In return what is put into the climate affects biodiversity. According to Ingram, “with overpopulation and pollution we lose habitats that sustain biodiversity and we have consequently lost 60% of the world’s wildlife since 1970.” (Ingram, 2019, p. 17) That is a huge percentage of wildlife loss that can never be given back.
Animals hunt just enough to fill their stomachs. The opposite could be said for humans. Humans often hunt as a sport instead of for food. Hunting wildlife can cause biodiversity loss by causing the extinction of certain animals. “Hunting and gathering is a threat to more than 1,600 species, including many large carnivores such as tigers and snow leopards.” (Maxwell, Watson, Fuller, 2019) Think about how the food chain works. If lions were killed off, who would be hunting and killing their prey? This would cause overpopulation of those animals and create an unsustainable food chain. All species co-exist and depend on one another. If the host species starts to die off it will affect the other species which causes what is called co-extinction. When a species starts dying off those that depend on them will start to die off soon causing a domino effect. Making it a negative impact on biodiversity. Hunting as a sport needs to stop to help prevent biodiversity loss.
Carbon dioxide is one of the leading causes of climate change. Ingram states that “CO2 levels are higher than they have been for the past three million years”. (Ingram, 2019, p. 2) Climate change has a major effect on biodiversity. Carbon dioxide is vital to plant growth but too much of it can reduce the number of nutrients a plant produces. This is because of the huge amounts of carbon dioxide cause plants to grow at a rapid rate. Carbon dioxide can also overheat the planet causing colder climates to melt creating biodiversity loss in those regions. For example, “Greenland shed approximately 280 gigatons of ice per year, and the island’s lower-elevation and coastal areas experienced up to 13.1 feet (4 meters) of ice mass loss (expressed in equivalent-waterheight) over a 14-year period (NASA, 2018).” (Bendell, 2018, p. 4) Overheating of the planet also leads to mass fires that destroy ecosystems. Take for example, Australia. The recent fire there destroyed most of the habitats in Australia. Leaving many animals without homes. In order to help protect biodiversity, climate change needs to be dealt with. Finding natural and more sustainable products to use will help reduce what is being put out into the climate.
Oil spills are one of the biggest contributors to biodiversity loss in the ocean. Oil spills into the ocean have “likely harmed or killed approximately 82,000 birds of 102 species, approximately 6,165 sea turtles, and up to 25,900 marine mammals…” (A Deadly Toll, 2011) To help clean the oil out of the ocean, toxic dispersants are sprayed into the ocean. Although, toxic dispersants only break up the oil instead of reducing it. Making the oil even more toxic to sea life and organisms living in the ocean.
Agriculture
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, “The livestock sector is now the leading cause of reduction of biodiversity”. (Steinfeld, H., 2006) Humans are mass-producing certain types of animals for their meat and dairy. Such as cows, sheep, pigs, and chickens. This contributes to the clearance of forests to raise these animals. “Livestock production currently takes up about 30% of the planet’s ice-free land and 75% of agricultural land globally (80% of US ag land).” (Christopher Matthews, 2006) In addition to the clearance of forests, livestock contributes to greenhouses gases. Livestock produces about 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Those gases are methane and nitrous oxide. Methane and nitrous oxide are produced from enteric fermentation and manure storage. These two gases affect global warming more than carbon dioxide does. Methane is 28 times higher than carbon dioxide and “is a far more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon, and much faster acting.” (Ingram, 2019, p. 2) Whereas nitrous oxide is 265 times higher than carbon dioxide. (Grossi, Giampiero, Goglio, Vitali, Andrea, G, A., & Williams, 2018)
One would think that farming and producing fruits, vegetables and plants would help biodiversity. However, that is not the case. Farming is another big contributor to biodiversity loss. This is because it changes natural habitats of plants and the growing population. “Land change for crop farming and timber plantations imperils more than 5,300 species, such as the far eastern curlew, while the northern hairy-nosed wombat is one of more than 2,400 species affected by livestock farming and aquaculture.” (Max, Watson, Fuller, 2009) Farmers also use pesticides and chemicals on their crops to help them grow. This is harmful to insects and can also reduce the natural resources around them. For example, farmers will use chemical fertilizers to add to the soil that does not have enough nutrients. Too much chemical fertilizers can be harmful to the ecosystem around it as well as pollute the water system. This, in turn, will affect the organisms that live in them and animals and humans who drink and use it. (Unit, 2008)

Farming and livestock production has become unsustainable. Producing more than what is being demanded and clearing of land that is home to many plants, organisms and animals makes it unsustainable. The overproduction of animal products and the growing of crops can be and should be cut down. There is no need to produce more than what is needed. By doing so will help create a sustainable food system. Creating a sustainable food system will be a big step in to protecting and preventing biodiversity loss.
(Steinfeld, 2006, p. 65)
Ways to Protect Biodiversity
There are many ways to help protect and help biodiversity thrive. Habitat restoration is a good start. Restoring plants and animals to their original habitat will help return biodiversity to a region. This is why national parks are important. National parks help preserve the ecosystem that is already there. Protecting national parks will in return protect biodiversity. There is controversy over captive breeding and seed banks. However, this method helps save and increase extinct species and plants that will be placed back into their natural habitats. Promoting sustainable farming and raising of livestock will help with land clearing. By promoting sustainable farming there would be less land clearing. Less land clearing means that ecosystems will remain untouched and will be able to thrive. Reducing food waste, excessive energy use and water may not seem like much but will make a big impact if done consistently. It is also very important to research and help educate everyone on the importance of biodiversity. (Greentumble, 2019)
Conclusion
Humans are the biggest contributors to climate change and biodiversity loss. Biodiversity loss will be hard to reverse and prevent due to the damage that has already been made. However, humans can still fight against climate change and help keep biodiversity balanced. It is never too late to make a change for a better future. If humans do not make a change in the way they treat the world, they will soon become the next species to go extinct. After all, every living creature is a part of the circle of life. One cannot live without the other.
References
Wilson, E. O., Chivian, E., & Bernstein, A. (2019, July 8). Why do we need to protect biodiversity?. https://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/biodiversity/intro/index_en.htm
Steinfeld, H. (2006). Livestock’s long shadow: environmental issues and options. Rome: FAO. http://www.fao.org/3/a0701e/a0701e.pdf
BA (Hons), J. B. (2018). Deep Adaptation: A Map for Navigating Climate Tragedy., 1–36. file:///C:/Users/Inspiron/Downloads/deepAdaptationBendell%20(5).pdf
Harper, L. (2018, January 12). What is Biodiversity and How Does Climate Change Affect It?. https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2018/01/15/biodiversity-climate-change/
Unit, B. (2008, April 10). Can farming affect biodiversity?. https://www.cbd.int/ibd/2008/youth/farming/1.shtml
Grossi, Giampiero, Goglio, Vitali, Andrea, G, A., & Williams. (2018, November 12). Livestock and climate change: impact of livestock on climate and mitigation strategies.
https://academic.oup.com/af/article/9/1/69/5173494
Maxwell, S., Watson, J., & Fuller, R. (2019, October 9). Hunting, fishing and farming remain the biggest threats to wildlife. http://theconversation.com/hunting-fishing-and-farming-remain-the-biggest-threats-to-wildlife-63723
(n.d.). A Deadly Toll, 1–11. doi: https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/energy/dirty_energy_development/oil_and_gas/gulf_oil_spill/pdfs/GulfWildlifeReport_2011.pdf
Greentumble. (2019, August 29). 10 Ways to Protect and Conserve Biodiversity. https://greentumble.com/10-ways-to-conserve-biodiversity/
Ingram, C. (2019). Facing Extinction. https://www.catherineingram.com/facingextinction/