The Decrease of Biodiversity

In the past hundreds of years, biodiversity has decreased dramatically due to the harmful things that humans do without even thinking twice; hurting the forests leaving the animals homeless and dying because of that. Due to these harmful ways, animals and plants are going extinct at an alarming and dangerous rate due to human activity that greatly affects biodiversity.

Too much human activity has changed the natural process of extinction and evolution which is why there is what people call biodiversity loss. Natural habitats are being destroyed for human’s selfish reasons and animals are suffering because of that. The fields, forests, and wetlands where wild plants and animals live are disappearing. Land is cleared to plant crops or builds houses and factories. Forests are cut for lumber and firewood.

Habitats Shrinking

The creatures that survive have fewer breeding partners, so genetic diversity declines. Because of that, fewer individuals can reproduce and that is one of the leading causes of extinction. Aside from that, humans kill animals in order to profit from their body parts. Poachers and the likes are humans who don’t even think that they are one of the reasons why extinction is unpreventable. Animals look for places to live that are safe because their previous home is looming of these humans who kill for themselves.

Biodiversity loss solutions

Climate Change

Global climate change, the latest rise in the average temperature around the globe, linked to human activity, is also a factor. Warmer ocean temperatures damage fragile ecosystems such as coral reefs. A single coral reef can shelter 3,000 species of fish and other sea creatures such as clams and sea stars. The recent death of the Great Barrier Reef has greatly affected marine life because it’s one of the biggest homes of different fishes around the world. It’s a good thing that marine biologists look for a way to replace these dead coral reefs with something that can withstand the warm waters.

Conserving Plants and Animals

People all over the world are working to maintain the planet’s biodiversity. Around the globe, thousands of wilderness areas have been set up to conserve plants, animals, and ecosystems. Local, national, and international organizations are cooperating to preserve the biodiversity of regions threatened by development or natural disasters.  UNESCO’s World Heritage Site program recognizes areas of global importance, such as the enormous wetland region of the Pantanal in South America. Many national parks, such as Glacier National Park in the U.S. state of Montana, protect biodiversity within the park by restricting extractive activities, such as mining and drilling.Marine protected areas (MPAs) have been established to preserve sea life. In the marine protected area around Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, no-fishing zones have helped fish populations thrive. People are also working to limit pollution and restore coral reef ecosystems in the area. As ecosystems become healthier, their biodiversity increases.

The good thing that humans can do is spread the word and raise awareness regarding the loss of biodiversity. Through this, people will also be inspired in combating this problems and be more sensitive in everything that they do in the future.