Why is Biodiversity Essential for the Survival of Life on Earth?

The hall of biodiversity was a very interesting exhibit in the Museum of Natural History, it showed me that without biodiversity, we never would be able to survive on Earth. Overall, biodiversity is the full variety of living things inhabiting our planet. We all live on this Earth, therefore, we are all connected and depend on one another.

Human actions can be directly linked to biodiversity loss. 75% of the land surface on Earth is significantly altered by human activities; such as: farming, housing, industries, landfills and more. This is leading to more and more animals losing their habitats and struggling to survive. We are using up our world's precious natural resources too fast. Groundwater cannot replenish at the same rate that we take it, we are constantly warming our earth by releasing CO2 in the atmosphere. We consume so much that our planet is struggling to keep up and we’re all at risk.

It is projected that by 2040 most of the world's cities won’t have enough water year round to meet the demand. By 2100, 40% of all species could face extinction, we are losing almost 30,000 species every year. Climate change is directly related to biodiversity loss. As human activities warm the Earth and the rate of natural disasters increases, more and more animals are put in danger. We are destroying ecosystems and harming our environment everyday, but it doesn’t have to be this way. 

Humans do not have to constantly consume so much every single day. We can consume wisely while also consuming less and reducing the amount of waste we produce. Jangira Lewis lays out “7 Solutions to Biodiversity Loss” some including, changing business plans, rethinking agricultural activities and pressuring governments.

Business plans need to keep in mind their environmental impact when creating products or offering services. Conserving water in wetlands, reducing irrigation systems and maintaining good quality grazing conditions for livestock, while leaving areas ungrazed can help protect biodiversity. We can also change our habits by consistently thinking about how our actions will affect the environment. It is important to not overlook our individual choices like bringing a reusable bag to the grocery store or bringing reusable utensils or straws with your lunch. Since agriculture and raising animals takes up the majority of our land, substituting our meat products is a great start to living more sustainably. While we could all just stop eating meat, that likely will not happen, instead we can switch to lab-grown meat (cultured meat).

Making small changes like this will help protect Earth’s biodiversity. If every one of us starts living keeping our environmental impact in mind, we can reduce society's carbon footprint and change the direction the world is heading. We can look to science for the answers and learn more about the environment we are a part of. As the video “Life in Balance” states, humans must rethink, rebuild, relearn and remember our relationship with nature. This is an economic, social and moral issue that must be understood by everyone in order for things to change. 

We depend on biodiversity for so many things including, food, water, medicine, stable climate and even economic growth. According to the United Nations, more than 1 billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods. Our land and ocean absorb more than half of all carbon emissions.  The large deforestation in parts of the Amazon are turning the once carbon sink into a source of carbon emissions and 85% of wetlands that used to absorb incredibly large amounts of carbon have disappeared. Right now, according to the American Museum of Natural History, only about six percent of the world's land surface is protected: 13% of North America, 9% of Central America, 6% of South America, 1.1% of Europe, 6% of Sub-Saharan Africa, 3% of North Africa & Middle East, 3% of North Eurasia, 12% of Australia and 6% of Asia. In order to save the Earth’s biodiversity, we must protect these precious ecosystems.

By mimicking natural environmental processes and systems, we can further protect our planet. Restoring habitats is another way to conserve biodiversity. Reestablishing biodiversity requires a ton of biological knowledge and a restoration plan for the area. It is still incredibly difficult to do this due to lack of funding and research. Conservation cannot happen without worldwide cooperation and communication. International agreements and trade laws are essential to conserve our world's biodiversity. Laws and regulations can be put into place in order to promote public awareness of biodiversity threats as well as protecting specific areas or ecosystems. 

While the main driver of biodiversity loss is human consumption of land, climate change is also playing a large role in the loss of biodiversity. Climate change has altered ecosystems around the world contributing to ocean acidification, higher temperatures, an increase in diseases and more. The loss of biodiversity is also contributing to climate change. A lot of ecosystems, especially marine ecosystems, act as carbon sinks but with more trees getting cut down and the oceans becoming warmer, these ecosystems are no longer able to absorb all of the CO2 that we produce. This is why protecting our biodiversity is absolutely essential to save ourselves. We cannot survive without biodiversity, we rely on the natural cycles like the carbon and water cycles to remain in balance. In order to limit carbon emissions and stop climate change, we must protect our precious ecosystems and change the way we consume. 

Thank you for reading :)

-AJ

3/17/25

References:

Lewis, J. (2024, March 4). 7 solutions to Biodiversity loss. Earth.Org. https://earth.org/solutions-to-biodiversity-loss/ 

United Nations. (n.d.). Biodiversity - our strongest natural defense against climate change. United Nations. https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/science/climate-issues/biodiversity