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Many Species One Planet One Future

Importance of ecosystem for our survival

Today our planet is losing species at an alarming rate. So to survive, we need to conserve all species on earth. We need action from individuals, governments and international community. It's time to join forces by all and act together.

Saiful Islam
DARWIN ended The Origin of Species with his vision of an entangled bank teeming with plants, insects, animals and birds that make it their home. He suggested we could reflect on how 'these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other and dependent on each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us'. In writing about 'these forms, so different from each other', Darwin was pointing straight to biodiversity. He had suggested earlier how the differences were developed by a natural process, his 'principle of divergence', to create the extraordinary meshing together. We now see how the power and resilience of the web of life depends on its diversity.
Millions of different kinds of species together make up our natural heritage, which we call “biodiversity.” The 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro defined Biodiversity 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."
No species can survive alone. We are all connected in an intricate web of life. Our survival depends on the web of life created by the interactions of the millions of species that share the planet with us. But because of human activities, now we are losing species at an accelerating rate.
This year, the theme of World Environment Day is, 'Many Species. One Planet. One Future.' This message focuses on the central importance of the globe's wealth of species and ecosystems to humanity.
The theme echoes the urgent call to conserve the diversity of life on our planet. A world without biodiversity is a very bleak prospect. Millions of people and millions of species all share the same planet. And our future is same. We want to live a sustainable life. We want to make our planet safer for us and our future generations. Only together, we can enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.
How many species are on earth? It's a very simple question, but we have no simple answer. However, According to the USA's National Science Foundation, 1.75 million species of organisms have been discovered and described, but scientists estimate that tens of millions are yet to be discovered.
We share this planet with millions of different species of plants, animals, fungi, and microorganisms, and this biodiversity provides us with the basic necessities of life.
The activities of all organisms together maintain the atmosphere, develop new soils, break down waste, store and filter water, pollinate our crops, provide us with food and protect us from disease. Without these ecological services, we cannot have abundant food, natural fibers for our
clothes, lumber for our homes and a clean environment and good health.
Each species plays a role in the survival of the others, and together they maintain the life of their natural community. When species are lost, ecosystems cannot function properly, and the lives of all are disturbed.
Biodiversity is the foundation on which human life depends. Plants and animals provide food and medicine, rivers provide precious drinking water, and trees absorb greenhouse gases and clean the air we breathe. Biodiversity in natural ecosystems has provided a large number of commodities and services that sustain our lives, and has given direct benefits, either of economical or social value.
According to UNDP: “Poverty and biodiversity are intimately linked. The poor, especially in rural areas, depend on biodiversity for food, fuel, shelter, medicines and livelihoods. Biodiversity also provides the critical 'ecosystem services' on which development depends, including air and water purification, soil conservation, disease control, and reduced vulnerability to natural disasters such as floods, droughts and landslides. Biodiversity loss exacerbates poverty, and likewise, poverty is a major threat to biodiversity.”
The international community has recognised biodiversity's important role in supporting human life, which led to the 1992 founding of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Moreover, The UN declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity.
According to IUCN, an unacceptable number of species are still being lost forever. The current loss of biodiversity is faster than ever before in human history and there is no sign of this process slowing down. Today at least 1,000 species are lost every year.
Many animal and plant populations have declined in numbers, geographical spread, or both. Studies show that 30% of all natural species will be extinct by 2050. Human activity has increased the extinction rate by at least 100 times compared to the natural rate.
IUCN warns that a third of amphibians, a quarter of mammals and one-in-eight birds are threatened with extinction. Out of the 47,677 species in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 17,291 were deemed to be at serious risk. The latest update lists
amphibians as the most seriously affected group of organisms on the planet, with 1,895 of the 6,285 known species listed as threatened. Of these, it lists 39 species as either "extinct" or "extinct in the wild". A further 484 are deemed "critically endangered”, 754 "endangered" and 657 "vulnerable".
The primary causes of biodiversity loss are demographic, economic, institutional, socio-political, technological, cultural and religious factors. And the root causes of losing biodiversity are climate change, invasive alien species, over exploitation, habitat change, nutrient loading etc.
Biodiversity loss has many negative effects on several aspects linked to of human well-being, such as food security, vulnerability, natural disasters, energy security, and access to clean water and raw materials. It also affects human health, social relations and freedom of choice.
A total of 17,291 species are known to be threatened with extinction — from obscure plants and insects to well-known birds and mammals. This is just the tip of the iceberg; many species disappear before they are even discovered.
What is the reason? It is the human activities. With our present approach to development, we have caused the clearing of much of the original forests, drained half of the world's wedands, depleted three quarters of all fish stocks, and emitted enough heat-trapping gases to keep our planet warming for centuries to come. We have put our foot on the accelerator, making species extinctions occur at up to 1,000 times the natural rate.
As a result, we are increasingly risking the loss of the very foundation of our own survival. You may not think that a beetle in your backyard or grass growing by the roadside has a fundamental connection to you — but it does. When even one species is taken out of the intricate web of life, the results can be catastrophic. At the same time, humans have the power to stem the tide of extinction. Our conservation action has brought some species back from the brink, and has restored some vital natural habitats around the world.
Immediate action is needed to conserve biodiversity. In the movement to conserve biodiversity and save the planet, individuals and the community can play an increasingly proactive role, such as: • Conserve existing biodiversity.
• Defend threatened species.
• Increase bio-capacity.
• Reduce sources of harm.
• Develop ecologically resilient landscapes.
• Support national and international conservation initiatives.
• Go for sustainable use of ecosystem services.
• Increase awareness.
• Plant more trees.
• Reduce consumption.
• Adoptgreenertechnologies.
• Increase use of renewable energy.
• Conduct more research etc.
Today our planet is losing species at an alarming rate. So to survive, we need to conserve all species on earth. We need action from individuals, governments and international community. It's time to join forces by all and act together. Otherwise, it might be too late. We could not blame others for our misfortune.
Saiful Islam is a student of the Dept, of Mass Communication and Journalism, University of Dhaka.