"Biodiversity is the biological variety and variability of life on Earth".
It can also be understood as a measure of variation at the genetic, species, and ecosystem levels.
With the rising population and broadening use of bioresources, our earth's resources are getting exhausted. These necessary resources are being provided by biodiversity. Therefore all living organisms on earth are dependent on biodiversity itself. And it must be discerned here that every living organisms are part of biodiversity.
Why is our biodiversity depleting?
There are currently about 7.7 Billion people living on earth with China and India at first and second positions respectively. India with a whopping population of around 1.4 Billion Population is facing a serious problem. With the increasing population, our country is facing a serious problem in meeting food requirements, clothing, and shelter.
According to certain statistical data, about 3-5 babies are born each second in the world which when calculated is estimated to be 4,00,000 babies per day. While mortal rate is just at around 2,00,000 per day which demonstrates that the world is adding a population of around 1,80,000 to 2,00,000 per day.
To meet the basic requirements (I.e. food, shelter, and clothing) of increasing populations we have to depend on biodiversity. All of our human requirements are directly or indirectly taken from biodiversity. Our very existences are dependent on biodiversity.
Certain factors have led to the depletion of our Biodiversity. Both biological and man-made aspects are responsible for it. It is important to remind that factors caused by humans are more responsible for it. With obtaining substantial requirements for life our biodiversity is getting depleted day by day.
1. Natural Factors
Natural factors are responsible for only a small fraction of the loss of biodiversity. Natural disasters like volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, acid rain, unstable climatic change, a certain mutation in organisms, etc have led to the extinction of species.
Due to volcanic eruptions, tons of poisonous gases like Carbon dioxide(CO2) and Sulphur dioxide(SO2) are released into the atmosphere which has a huge disastrous effect on existence. The acid downpour leads to the demise of forests and unstable climatic change would lead to the loss of certain plants and animals in an area.
Mutation in certain organisms like bacteria or viruses is also a threat to life's existence.
2. Man-made Factors
Over 95% cause for the degradation of biodiversity is due to certain human activities. Overuse of resources by human beings had caused a serious problem. Resources are limited. To meet the needs of the exponentially growing human population these limited resources are getting depleted.
Large-scale forests are being cut down for building dams, infrastructure, houses, agricultural fields, etc. It is an extreme threat to the biodiversity in that particular area which could get wiped out. Due to the large-scale destruction of forests, various plants, insects, and animals living in that particular forest could disappear.
Human beings are dependent on the forest for various needs. The food we need, the attire we wear, the medicines we used, the furniture, and the woods needed for making buildings are all derived from forests. According to the source at least 120 drugs are derived from plants. Besides providing those, plants are the only source of our food. They are the one that prepares food by the process of photosynthesis using CO2 in the presence of sunlight, water, and chlorophyll.
Plants also fix carbon dioxide and help in reducing CO2 content in the atmosphere. They keep the atmosphere clean and in balance. It is presumably proposed that a large tree can produce enough oxygen for four people in a day. It has also been proposed that a hundred years old average trees in their lifetime produced about six-seven thousand kilograms of oxygen for living creatures.
Why do we need to conserve our biodiversity?
As already mentioned above, our very existence depends on biodiversity. All our needs and requirements including the basic needs are derived from biodiversity. Therefore it's so important that we conserve our biodiversity.
Once we lose an important element of biodiversity there will be an imbalance in nature. This will create a rift and this would not be met by other components. Every component of biodiversity is very important to keep it in balance.
To be continued....