Your SCIE1002 Science and the Environment assignment concerns the topic of biodiversity. You will find below an overview of what this assignment entails.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 3

2. Background 3

3. Environmental impact 3

4. Solutions 4

5. References 6

Introduction

The concept of "biodiversity" originated from Lovejoy (1980). It describes biological diversity, which typically refers to the number of species. However, this term can expand to include the variety and range of living organisms, recognizing that conventional methods of defining and classifying species are often inadequate.

Background

Threatened species law mandates biodiversity impact assessments, which typically focus on a single development plan in one location for a specific species. This approach results in an incomplete evaluation of the collective impacts spread over vast geographical areas involving multiple species. By explicitly assessing the cumulative effects of various projects on many species across different geographical scales, spatial prioritization algorithms have the potential to improve decision-making efficiency and effectiveness.

Environmental impact

Biodiversity provides diverse ecosystems that play a critical role in human well-being. Climate is a vital aspect of ecosystem functioning, and climatic conditions impact both terrestrial and marine ecosystems with direct and indirect consequences for human health. Ocean acidification, which is linked to atmospheric carbon levels, affects marine biodiversity. Severe weather events, such as droughts and floods, have a direct impact on ecosystem health and the availability of ecosystem commodities and services. Long-term climate change affects ecosystem sustainability and health. It causes significant changes in plant and animal distribution, disease spread, and even human settlements.

Loss of biodiversity negatively affects the environment by impacting critical processes. Biodiversity acts as a resource base for species' survival within ecosystems. It fertilizes soil, recycles nutrients, manages insects and diseases, controls soil erosion, and pollinates crops and trees. Moreover, it supplies natural resources used to produce food, cosmetics, and medicine.

Solutions

We can protect biodiversity by becoming more aware of environmental issues and the consequences of biodiversity loss. We should support government policies that help safeguard ecosystems. Moreover, we can follow the below steps to improve biodiversity conservation:

1. Identify locations of critical habitats for threatened wildlife, and reduce threats to these areas. Preserve natural areas while minimizing potential risks to animals. Preserve essential animal habitats, particularly nesting and denning places. It would help if you also set up bird and bat shelters to encourage wildlife.

2. Select environmentally friendly products and dispose of hazardous items safely. Chemicals that harm freshwater and marine habitats can enter the wastewater system.

3. Reduce, reuse, and recycle. Recycling helps lower pollution by reducing energy, electricity, and water usage, and lessening the need for landfills.

4. Use low-emission vehicles. You can also travel less by walking, bicycling, or carpooling.

References

1. Biodiversity - what can we do? The Nature Trust of British Columbia. (2020, January 15). https://www.naturetrust.bc.ca/conserving-land/what-can-we-do#:~:text=Leave%20critical%20wildlife%20habitat%20undisturbed,weeds%20and%20disturbance%20to%20wildlife.

2. Ian R. Swingland. (n.d.). BIODIVERSITY, DEFINITION. Retrieved 2001,.

3. The Society for Conservation Biology. (n.d.). https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12260

4. World Health Organization. (n.d.). Biodiversity and health. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/biodiversity-and-health#:~:text=Biodiversity%20provides%20numerous%20ecosystem%20services,upon%20terrestrial%20and%20marine%20ecosystems.