Biodiversity is all around us and its presence seems to be all around us, unwavering. But in cases where we expect to find the chatters of the sparrows high in the trees, or the rainbows of fish shimmering in vast oceans, we might not uncover such gifts of nature. As a matter of fact, the ecological system is all interconnected and we are a key component in that system. This is viewed upon not only that we depend on animals and plants for our survival, but also in a much more sinister direction that we exploit them to the extent that the variety of such organisms are heavily reduced. Again, we are affected while affecting others. Agricultural resources, habitats we depend on, animal cycles that keep the balance of predator vs prey to the right amount so there are no outbreaks of certain creatures. These all won?t be able to function properly, leading to damages to the environment as well as ourselves. Imagine food and water shortages, pest invasions, as well as the fact that our goals to reduce poverty rates has gone the opposite route. This has to change.

In short, this phenomenon of biodiversity can be expressed through the amount and diversity of living organisms. This can be observed by the number of species in a given habitat, but the obvious plants and animals are not just the case. It can be the smallest bacteria that impacts how the earth can function. And of course, it is us humans. Each of roles depend on the other, creating a web like pattern.

Researchers have recently found out that we are using 25% more resources taken from natural environment than the earth can handle, applicable to 58.1% of land where we live. A site losing approximately 10% of its biodiversity or 70% in variety is already extremely worrying and also crosses the ?threshold? of what is safe for us humans. The basis rate (or how it started off), has increased by 1,000 times in terms of extinction and will go up to 10,000 by the next century if action is not taken. Other statistics show that currently, 350 million people suffer from water scarcity, 33% of reef building corals are inclined towards extinction, 75% of crops are no longer available to us, and another 75% of fishing markets are over exploited.

Studies also have shown that humans definitely was the cause for this disaster, as the biomes where we live in, mainly grasslands, while arctic geographical areas didn?t have too much damage. Farming was the major reason as well for such losses instead of what seems to be urbanization. As our population increases, we may find that statistics will show to be even more critical. As a result, government officials and agencies have to do their role in enforcing policies, announcing measures needed to the public, creating awareness campaigns, among many others. Already, they have been criticized for lax actions, and hopefully, this will serve as a wake up call to the reality we face.

It?s not just the role of the government, however, it?s also the mark each of us as citizens make on the country. Simple, everyday actions do the trick wonderfully as well, and there is great number of methods that can make a difference. First of all, food. It?s essential to our health and wellbeing, but we may not notice the minor details. For example, the ocean, filled with fish and other species of seafood, as mentioned, are being threatened. 80% of biodiversity is constituted there and there is an estimated 100 million species yet to be discovered. You can take a stand for the benefit of the oceans by choosing sustainable fisheries. This will avoid the purchase of endangered animals for another plus.

Another major aspect is furniture and other wood based sources. 13 million hectares of woodland are lost each year because of supplies we need for school, flooring, house products, and paper for who knows what not. Question where a wood product comes from and usually, there?s a Forest Stewardship Council seal to be mark the quality and genuinity of wood. Purchasing 100% recycled paper materials also accomplishes this goal.

Of course, it?s the minor aspects we should pay attention to for the benefit of reducing the negative forces of climate change. You name it, turning off the lights when not needed, riding public transportation, using reusable bags, lessening the time you spend in showers, the list is endless. And that?s where we realize our role in the biodiversity web, not for worse, but for the better.

Nature is a very generous power. 33 trillion US dollars worth of her resources are taken each year, and when that is put into perspective, many major nations including the US have an annual GDP of around 10 trillion USD. Components of this include for health services as well, in which the plants we take amount up to 70,000 for the treatment and saving of lives. The 100 million metric tonnes of aquatic life, the millions of wild animals slaughtered for our food especially for developing nations, these all are given by nature. Even when these all run out, no sum of money can reverse the changes we made. We take so much, the only thing we need to do, is to give back in return.