Essay on “Dangers to Biodiversity ” Complete Essay for Class 9, Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Dangers to Biodiversity 

As the world moves further into the 21st century, there is no question that its biodiversity is under threat from several sources. Perhaps the greatest of them all is the sheer ignorance of what it comprises. Put simply, biodiversity refers to the number of species of wild plants and animals a country possesses. The UN has a Convention on Biological Diversity in place since 1993, which has been signed by most countries, but the protection it offers to countries to protect their natural resources remains implemented slackly.  Another danger is to the marine ecosystem, largely due to reckless over fishing. As is well documented, fishing vessels hunt for the most lucrative species like shrimp. When they trawl the oceans, they regularly dump other species back into the sea, which is an ecological disaster. According to the United Nations Environment .Program’s World Conservation Monitoring Centre, large species like whales have been hunted to near-extinction. Apart from being polluted from countless sources, the marine ecosystem has to cope with a new hazard, which is the rapid spread of aquaculture. Shrimp is being “farmed” along coasts, which alters the natural balance of these sensitive areas, while a few countries are now also breeding species like tuna—known as “chicken of the sea”—in giant cages submerged in the oceans.

One of the little known, and highly controversial, hazards is due to global warming, which is already changing ecosystems at an alarming rate. The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, which consists 42,500 scientists from around the world, estimates that the average global surface temperature will be up to 2 degrees Celsius higher in 2050, and atmospheric accumulation of carbon dioxide will be much higher too. As some areas grow hotter while others become cooler or wetter, not to mention the widespread inundation of low-lying coastal areas, flora and fauna are exposed to drastic changes.

Biodiversity offers considerable promise for food, medicine and fibre. Even before the advent of biotechnology, the world was already far too dependent on four or five main crops for food—rice, wheat, corn and potato. The greater the variation in plants available in different ecological niches around the world, the better it is for food security. History is replete with examples —the Irish potato famine in the 19th century is a classic example —where staples were wiped out by disease. On the other hand, there is the example of a tropical plant which can yield a substance 1600 times sweeter than sugar, though scientists have not yet been able to Produce it commercially.

Many countries that use traditional systems of medicine know Only too well that the forest is a storehouse of invaluable plants which can cure a wide range of ailments. In India, the practice of affected (a traditional system of medicine) has been very adversely habitats.  by the wanton destruction of forests and other natural habitats. In the US, a quarter of all drugs sold in pharmacies is derived from plants. Another 13 per cent originate from micro-organisms and 3 per cent more from animals. Thus, as much as 40 per cent of pharmaceuticals even in the US are derived from wild plants and animals.

India is an example of a developing country where nearly 7 per cent of the world’s crops originated, including rice, mango and pepper. It is blessed with great variations in climate and topography, making it rich in biodiversity. However, the destruction of habitats and severe land degradation is posing major threats to these precious resources. This has led to the loss of traditional agro-systems, which have high crop and livestock diversity. India ought to declare certain areas off-limits for major development projects. It also calls for an ecosystem tax in cities, since urban areas draw water and wood from forests, and a tax on the seed, pharmaceutical, cosmetics and biotechnology industries. Tourists too ought to pay a tax for benefiting from the preservation of natural habitats. It has also proposed more public participation through hearings, rallies and biodiversity festivals, in protecting India’s biodiversity.