Biodiversity_The main topic in 2007 the G8 environment ministers meeting
Lin Ying-Hui
Student ID :s06571
Research Paper Suoerviser : Dr. Sekou Conde
2006-2007 Academic Year
Abstract: Biodiversity is the foundation for human existence and development of the global economy. It provides food??/span> timber??/span> medicinal plants for human. At the same time, it also plays an important role on ecological services. However, biodiversity is declining because many reasons, such as the loss of habitat. Therefore, in 2007 the G8 environment ministers meeting, biodiversity is discussed as a main topic. Based on the contents discussed on this meeting, this paper introduces the definition??/span>benefits??/span> loss and the impact??/span>and the protection of biodiversity. In this paper, the protection and study of biodiversity has certain guiding significance.
Key words: biodiversity; environment; protection
The members of the Group of Eight (G8) are Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, Canada, Russia and the United States of America; the European Commission is also represented. The chair of the group rotates annually among the members. On 1 January 2007 it is Germany's turn to take over the G8 Presidency for a year.
Since the Earth summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the Environment Ministers of the G8 countries meet before the annual G8 summits of the heads of state and government in order to discuss central environmental issues. The aim of these informal meetings is to coordinate measures and negotiation strategies of the leading industrialized countries and to adopt corresponding political resolutions. In addition to current environmental issues such as climate protection, biodiversity, protection of forests, prevention of environmental crimes and protection of the oceans, in the past economic topics played a particularly important role. Now environmental policy has to find answers to the questions of economic globalization. Above all, the efforts to establish a coherent global ecological regulatory framework have to be strengthened.
The Environment Ministers of the G8 countries as well as of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa, the European Commissioner responsible for the environment and senior officials from the United Nations and the IUCN met from 15th to 17th March 2007 in Potsdam.
The meeting discussed two serious global challenges: climate change and the loss of biodiversity. The most important goal was an open discussion about common interests in order to be able to identify common and to reconcile differing views. The 13 ministers agreed on a "Potsdam Initiative" on biodiversity that would calculate the economic costs from dwindling species.
It is necessary to emphasize that biodiversity is of fundamental importance for the global economy and the common responsibility of the G8 states for reaching the Johannesburg target of significantly reducing the loss of biodiversity by 2010.
What is biodiversity??/span>
Biodiversity is an indispensable foundation for human existence and development of the global economy. About 40% of world trade is based on biological products or processes. Such as agriculture , forestry, fisheries and medicine plants. Biodiversity is a priceless treasure trove of innovation. So it is important to study and protect biodiversity [1].
At first, the definition of “biodiversity” must be well comprehended. The word is a contraction of biological diversity. It means the variation of taxonomic life forms within a given ecosystem, biome or for the entire earth. [2]. It can be measured on many biological levels ranging from genetic diversity within a species to the variety of ecosystems on Earth, but the term most commonly refers to the number of different species in a defined area.
Biodiversity has been described at three levels [3]:
Genetic biodiversity: It means diversity of genes within a species. There is a genetic variability among the populations and the individuals of the same species.
Species biodiversity: It means diversity among species in an ecosystem. "Biodiversity hotspots" are excellent examples of species diversity.
Ecosystem biodiversity: It means diversity at a higher level of organization, the ecosystem.
Benefits of biodiversity
The meeting emphasized that biodiversity must be considered as a top priority and plays an important role on human survival.
There are a multitude of benefits [4] of biodiversity such as:
??/font>1??/font>Resistance to Catastrophe
Monoculture, the lack of biodiversity, was a contributing factor to several agricultural disasters in history, including the Irish Potato Famine, the European wine industry collapse in the late 1800s, and the US Southern Corn Leaf Blight epidemic of 1970.
??/font>2??/font>Food and drink
Biodiversity provides food for humans. About 80 percent of human food supply comes from just 20 kinds of plant. Although many kinds of animal are utilised as food, most consumption is focused on a few species.
There is vast untapped potential for increasing the range of food products suitable for human consumption, provided that the high present extinction rate can be halted.
??/font>3??/font>Medicines
A significant proportion of drugs are derived, directly or indirectly, from biological sources; in most cases these medicines can not presently be synthesized in a laboratory setting. Moreover, only a small proportion of the total diversity of plants has been thoroughly investigated for potential sources of new drugs. Many medicines and antibiotics are also derived from microorganisms.
??/font>4??/font>Industrial materials
A wide range of industrial materials are derived directly from biological resources. These include building materials, fibers, dyes, resins, gums, adhesives, rubber and oil. There is enormous potential for further research into sustainably utilizing materials from a wider diversity of organisms.
The above aspects are the direct economic value arising from biodiversity.
(5)Other ecological services
Biodiversity provides many ecosystem services that are often not readily visible. It plays a part in regulating the chemistry of our atmosphere and water supply. Biodiversity is directly involved in recycling nutrients and providing fertile soils. Experiments with controlled environments have shown that humans cannot easily build ecosystems to support human needs; for example, insect pollination cannot be mimicked by man-made construction, and that activity alone represents tens of billions of dollars in ecosystem services per annum to mankind.
(6)Leisure, cultural and aesthetic value
Many people derive value from biodiversity through leisure activities such as enjoying a walk in the countryside or natural history programs on television.
Biodiversity has inspired musicians, painters, writers and other artists. Many cultural groups view themselves as an integral part of the natural world and show respect for other living organisms.
The above aspects are the indirect economic value because of biodiversity.
Loss of biodiversity
Biodiversity has a plenty of benefits. Yet, according to the WWFs Living Planet Index, both ecosystems and services they provide are still lost at an accelerated speed. The natural capacity of the planet to absorb human influence is rapidly diminishing. Human activities, such as direct harvesting of species, introduction of alien species, habitat destruction, and various forms of habitat degradation (including environmental pollution), have caused dramatic losses of biodiversity; current extinction rates are estimated to be 100–1000 times higher than natural extinction rates. As a result, directly or indirectly, humans bear the main responsibility for this loss of diversity. The greatest threats include [5]:
1??/span>Destruction of habitats
Most of the species extinctions from 1000 AD to 2000 AD are due to human activities, in particular destruction of plant and animal habitats.
2??/span>Environmental damage
The seas and oceans are being poisoned by chemical products, oils, industrial and human waste. On land, especially in the industrial countries where most waste is actually "manufactured", there is increasingly little room to bury it and even when buried, noxious elements leech out and destroy the health of the area. An even greater problem is the disposal of Atomic waste, unsafe to dump into the sea and even more unsafe to bury under the land. An alternative possibility, that of sending it out into space, would perhaps create other more serious dangers, not immediately apparent to us.
3??span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman""> Overexploitation of natural resources
The problems here are related to poor land use, especially the farming of hillside areas and wetlands, the construction of poorly designed roads, unregulated fishing, and excessive exploitation of valuable moist tropical forest species and the destruction of plant cover in fragile areas, causing erosion and land degradation. The result is a loss of potential income from agriculture, fishing and tourism, a threat to biodiversity and the natural productivity of the ecosystem, and a change in coastal and inland waterway dynamics.
4??span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman""> Climate change
Biodiversity and climate change are closely related. On one hand, climate change will cause habitat degradation and loss, changing the distribution of species; on the other hand, loss of biodiversity will affect the local climate change.
5??/span>Immigrant species and organisms or non-resident species and organisms ( so-called invasive alien species) introduced by humans which compete for habitats with native species, in the worst cases completely displacing them.
The widespread introduction of exotic species by humans is a potent threat to biodiversity. When exotic species are introduced to ecosystems and establish self-sustaining populations, the resident species in that ecosystem, that have not evolved to cope with the exotic species, may not survive. The exotic organisms may deprive indigenous species of nutrients, water and light.
At the same time, the loss of biodiversity can be discussed from three levels:
Species
The current rate of global extinction of species is 100 to 1000 times faster than the assumed natural extinction rate. According to the Red List of [...]
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