- The twelfth meeting between experts and representatives among Asia-Pacific tropical conservation programs is taking place in Sri Lanka. Tropical conservation is linked to the primary industries of most countries participating and with the filtration of global CO2 gas as a whole. The tropics cover 40% of the earth’s surface area and have the biggest impact on global ecosystems. Asia and India have a disproportionate burden to conserve their existing habitats. This committee and committees like this one were formed mainly to alleviate that burden a countries came to assist the tropics with conservation efforts.
- This meeting is vitally important to the future of conservation because it provides a context in which to discuss conservation efforts unimpeded by ongoing tensions between the spotlighted countries in the Hindu-Kashmir region. This political cycle wouldn’t be the first to have government tensions undermine conservation efforts and meetings like this are a sign that the organizations responsible for keeping the tropics safe will be resilient to ongoing conflict.
- Scientists from the University of Freiburg have found that the stability and resilience f forest habitats are directly linked to their levels of biodiversity. Complex ecosystems with any species to fill all roles have a broader safety net guarding against population losses. Additionally, the study concluded that forests that combine two or three tree species are on average 25 to 30 percent more stabile than others. Having locally established species to fall back on in the event of epidemic or selective deforestation certainly increases the chances of a forest surviving.
- This article serves as yet another piece of evidence to support the general link between biodiversity, and both human and environmental progress. Forests and other important habitats are able to proliferate at a higher rate with higher security with more biodiverse populations. Human technology progresses faster with a more diverse source of inspiration. Biodiversity will soon not only be linked with medical shortcomings such as antibiotics and blood thinners, but with all aspects of our way of life.
- In the last 30 years, Lake Constance has reported the loss of over 120,000 breeding pairs of various bird species. These birds make up a central layer of the region’s food chain. They function as a check for insect populations controlling pests and pollinators thus preventing the spread of invasive plants. This loos in population is not universal among species. Some birds are becoming more populous as their competition dies out, further signaling towards an imbalance in the region. The species affected are disproportionately losing numbers in agricultural areas where they impede human development.
- The loss of bird populations threatens to destabilize the very agricultural processes that are motivating their eradication. Without these species to control the populations of insects which no doubt pose a threat to agrarian development, farmers will have to turn to pesticides. This shift will undoubtedly only proliferate habitat destruction. This example highlights the domino nature of biodiversity issues as the ecosystems services we lose as biodiversity wanes are only able to be replaced by even more detrimental human products. This process is cyclical and is why major natural losses tend to happen in short periods of time.
- Conservation efforts in mainland Australia, a cradle of biodiversity, are calling out the federal government for not enforcing conservation laws, as evidenced by the clearing of over 7.7 million hectares of endangered species habitat. It is alarming for a species to lose upwards of 25% of its habitat over only a couple years, and Australia’s conservation issues must be remedied. The hectares measured in the headlining tally were destroyed between the years 2000 and 2017. Rates of environment destruction are escalating exponentially with every passing year.
- Invasive species and issues with biodiversity aren’t new to Australia’s people. However, thought the citizens have adapted, this has happened at the cost of innumerable extinct species. Every species lost is an ecosystem threatened. Once one dies more go with it, and with each species that dies out we lose opportunities for research and development. More importantly the more unstable our ecosystems become, the less of a safety
- Contemporary research has been shown to heavily prioritize “charismatic” species, meaning species with widespread media appeal, above other primates. This bias results in disproportionate allocation of conservation resources to said popular species’ habitats. This dissonance between the allocation of funds and their necessity has led to disastrous consequences for certain species of primates.
- It is understandable that as a species geared towards anthropomorphism we prioritize, even if subconsciously, species that are easiest to anthropomorphize. However, there is no rational reasons to why chimpanzees account for 13% of research while the next most prevalent branch of primate species is allocated only 3%. The study’s lead author concedes that a myriad species are being ignored. Primates have the potential to be keystone species in a variety of ecosystems. In fact, even concerning chimps we have no real understanding of to what scale chimpanzees support local ecosystems. All historical evidence has set a precedent for biodiversity paving the way for bio inspiration and a lack of biodiversity leading to environmental crisis.
