COLLEGE OF TRADES AND TECHNOLOGY
SECTION 2
BIODIVERSITY AND A HEALTHY
SOCIETY
BIODIVERSITY Is defined as the vast variety of life forms in the entire earth.
Another definition of biodiversity “ the variability among living organism from all sources, including
terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and ecological complexes of which they part; this
include diversity within species, between species, and ecosystem.
There are three different types of diversity
GENETIC BIODIVERSITY Refers to variations among organism of the same species.
hese variations are usually passed down from parents to offspring.
SPECIES DIVERSITY Refers to the variety of species within a particular region or habitat.
A species is a group of organisms of similar individuals that are capable of interbreeding.
A habitat is a place where the different species live.
Different habitat include tropical rainforest, temperate forest, grassland (savanna) deserts, aquatic,
polar ice (tundra) and tide pools.
Temperate rainforest – are characterized by mild climate or temperature
Essentially these areas do not experience extremely cold or extremely hot temperatures.
Grassland are characterized as lands dominated by grasses rather than large shrubs or tress.
- Savannah is the grassland with scattered individual’s trees.
Desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living
conditions are hostile for plant and animals life.
Aquatic means relating to water, living in or near water or taking place in water, does not include
groundwater, as aquatic implies an environment where plants and animals live.
Polar ice cap or polar cap is a high –latitude region of a planet; dwarf planet or natural satellite that
is covered in ice.
Tides pools or rock pools are shallow pools of seawater that form on the rocky intertidal shore. Many
of these pools exist as separate bodies of water only at low tides.
ECOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
Refers to the network of different species in an ecosystem and the interaction of these species.
Ecosystem are all of the animals, plants, bacteria, and fungi as well as the physical components of
the area.
-Society benefits greatly from the richness of biodiversity since human can source from nature
biological resource such as food, medicine, energy and more.
HEALTH AND MEDICINE
Herbal medicines were used in healing rituals and in the treatment of injuries from wars and or
accidents
At present more and more developments are being introduced in the pharmaceutical industry to
produce new drugs for the treatment of diseases.
Salvia Apiana or California sage-aid in childbirth and protect immune system.
ALHAGI MAURORUM (CAMEL THORN) secretes a sweet and gummy substance from its stems and
leaves called manna during hot days.
MANNA from the camel thorn contains melezitose, and sucrose, an invert sugar.
KONKANI people smoked the plant to treat asthma, and roman used the plant to treat nasal polyps.
The plant Ligusticum (Scottish lovage) Is believed to treat hysterical and uterine disorder.
Penicillin underwent it’s the first clinical trials in 1938 and the first indication of antibiotics.
FOOD
Food is the basic need of human survival
During Stone Age, human relied only in hunting and foraging to get food. They dependent on what
the ecosystem could readily provide.
Farmers and Fisherman rely on healthy ecosystems for their livelihood. The benefits of biodiversity
are necessary for the growth of many important crops
ENERGY
Human rely on energy provided by ecosystem to do the necessary activities in order to survive.
In the Stone Age, heat energy from fire was used mainly for survival
Wind energy was also used to navigate through bodies of water
In 1820s, natural gas was used as a source of light although the lack of pipeline infrastructure made
its distribution challenging.
In 1930s, the electric generator was developed based on Michael faraday’s discovery of
electromagnetism. The demands for energy created a positive impact on unconditional ways of
producing energy but, in turn, have resulted in adverse effects on biodiversity in terms of wildlife
mortality, habitats loss, fragmentation, noise and light pollution, invasive species and changes in
carbon stock and water resources.
WATER STORAGE AND FLOOD CONTROL
The earliest recorded civilization were situated nears rivers or lakes which made their livelihood
dependent on water.
Aqueduct were invented and built by the romans and Greeks, to maintain table water supplies to
communities that were far from bodies of water.
Biodiversity in forest plays an unquestionably crucial role in water resources.
Forests provide natural filtration and storage systems to provide freshwater.
Flooding is mostly known for its adverse effects but it also has some benefits.
Flooding can help farmers for its distribute nutrients that particular patches of soil lacked.
However, these benefits are not always achieved because most of the time, flooding cause long
term damage.
The primary cause of environmental degradation is the increase in human population.
Overpopulation which is associated with industrialization and agriculture, mining, fishing,
deforestation, environment pollution and exploitation of biodiversity leads to the destruction of
habits.
The introduction of exotic species, poaching of wildlife, and technological developments.
Development are also causes of biodiversity loss these activities interfere with the natural order of
existing ecosystem.
Biodiversity loss can also contribute to climate change, pest infestations and diseases.
AIR AND WATER TREATMENT
Excessive nitrogen stimulates the growth of nitrogen-loving plant species but reduce the
occurrence of plant species adapted to low nitrogen environment.
Nitrogen impacts on vegetation reduce the sink capacity for carbon dioxide and ozone, enhancing
their atmospheric concentration and affecting the global water cycle.
The effect of global warming are harmful to the environment and its inhabitants.
Soil store air pollutants temporarily that affects water purification
Worldwide efforts are being made to decrease nitrogen deposition to the biosphere to enhance
plant species diversity and relative species richness in grassland.
PROTOCOL ON BIODIVERSITY
There is a need to enhance the implementation of regulations and worldwide protocol such as the
Montreal protocol and Kyoto protocol.
The Montreal protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer (the Montreal protocol) is an
international agreement made in 1987.
The Kyoto protocol is an international agreement that aimed to manage and reduce carbon
dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases.
Cartagena protocol aims to ensure the safe transport, handling and the use living modified
organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on
biodiversity.