What is biodiversity?

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) officially defines biodiversity as, “The variability among living organisms from all sources including, interalia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.”

To estimate the number of species on Earth is a great challenge, and scientists still can’t agree on a number. Estimates can range between 5 to more than 50 million, with more conservative estimates at 13.6 million species and recent estimates at 8.7 million species (Mora et al., 2011). Only around 1.76 million species have been identified (Hawksworth and Kalin-Arroyo, 1995), which just shows how amazingly incomplete our knowledge of biodiversity remains.

Why is it important?

Although biodiversity has been undervalued and often taken for granted by modern societies, it’s existence is the basis for a wide range of ecosystem services: from food to fibers, climate regulation, pollination, recreational and spiritual activities. These are the services that allow us and every other species to live on Earth.

Biodiversity is the basis for ecosystem services

Ecosystem services are benefits provided to humans by ecosystems and nature in general. In recent years, the concept of ecosystem services have been developed to
describe and categorize these benefits. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, divide into four categories:

-          Regulating Services: Are services that ecosystems provide by acting as regulators

-          Cultural Services: Include the non-material benefits people obtain from contact with ecosystems

-          Habitat or Supporting Services: Underpin almost all other services: provide living spaces and maintain a diversity of different breeds of plants and animals (TEEB, 2010).

-          Provisioning Services: Are services that describe the material outputs from ecosystems

Current status: Life under threat

Despite its crucial importance for all life on earth, biodiversity continues to be lost at an unprecedented rate. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment which involved the work of more than 1,360 experts worldwide, also shows the dramatic change of all Earth’s ecosystems due to human activities.

A landmark global assessment warns that the window is closing to safeguard biodiversity and a healthy planet. The bonds that hold nature together may be at risk of unraveling from deforestation, overfishing, development, and other human activities, a landmark United Nations report warns. Thanks to human pressures, one million species may be pushed to extinction in the next few years, with serious consequences for human beings as well as the rest of life on Earth.

Drivers of biodiversity loss

Direct drivers

-          Loss, degradation and fragmentation of natural habitats

-          Overexploitation of biological resources

-          Pollution, in particular the buildup of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus in the environment

-          The impacts of invasive alien species on ecosystems and the services they provide to people

-          Climate change and acidification of the oceans, associated with the buildup of greenhouse gases

Indirect drivers

• Demographic drivers: e.g.: growth of human population and demand for resources,
• Economic drivers: e.g.: lack of proper recognition and valuation of services and goods provided by biodiversity and ecosystem; subsidies and incentives that maintain current unsustainable production and consumption patterns
• Sociopolitical drivers: e.g.: weak governance, lack of political will and lack
  of awareness on biodiversity
• Cultural and religious drivers: i.e.: how cultural, religious and social values and beliefs can influence consumption patterns and behavior change
• Science and technology: i.e.: influencing development; contributions to efficiency improvements in production systems

CBD Secretariat. History of the Convention: https://www.cbd.int/history/

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Biodiversity Synthesis. World Resources Institute, Washington, DC.

TEEB (2010) The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity: Mainstreaming the Economics of
Nature: A synthesis of the approach, conclusions and recommendations of TEEB.

Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (2014) Global Biodiversity Outlook 4. Montréal

CBD Secretariat. History of the Convention: https://www.cbd.int/history/ (last accessed
November 23 2016)

CBD Secretariat. History of the Convention: https://www.cbd.int/history/ (last accessed
November 23 2016)