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The use and applications of biodiversity depends on the extent of variability among living organisms at the genetic and species levels. Usable biodiversity range from various kinds of plants on the land and that in the water bodies, birds in the air, fish in the water bodies, organisms in solid to genetic variety within agriculture crops and diversity of ecosystem. Each variety at the genetic, species and ecosystem levels has a role to play for both the present as well as future generations in their progress and survival on the earth. It is our duty to indentify and conserve each of them, and to recognize the specific role of them in our life that ensures our survival on the earth.

1. Arora, R.K. Life support species of the Himalayan region. 2. Hoyt, E, Conserving the wild relatives of crops.

Biodiversity Sustains Life

Biodiversity is the secret of life on the earth. Usually we think that the life that we hold is quite independent. But when we look into the very nature of life in our body or that in any other organisms, it becomes clear that life is dependent on every other forms of life around. Life is an organisms sustains healthily so long as it can have frequent and regular interactions with outer organisms of own and diverse kinds around it. In addition to the same, life is an organism is also regularly interacting with various physic-chemical environmental factors such as air, water or solid around it.

Every animal remain alive by inhaling oxygen from the fresh air around at every moment. If plants do not photosynthesize, there won’t be sufficient oxygen in the air for animals to breathe! These simple facts alone prove that ‘the variety of life on the earth’ (biodiversity) is essential to life in each and every individual.

All plants and animals in an ecosystem are interrelated, and disruption in the life cycle of any of the floral or faunal form can have an impact on the ecosystem as a whole. For example, overfishing of predator species in a fishery can result in overpopulations by pray species in the place especially that depend on them for food or shelter. Such disruption may, in the end, endanger the ability of the system to continue to provide ecosystem services.

Similarly, genetic variety of organisms in a natural species population is important to ensure that they will be able to resist different diseases as a group. Insufficient genetic diversity within a population may leave it vulnerable to a new disease and therefore result in a collapse of the population. Otherwise, after the disease outbreak, the population can continue its life through reproduction of the surviving resistant ones. Genetic diversity is therefore essential to the long-term survival of a species.

Naturally, it will be easy for us to understand that life sustained on the earth through time with the support of its biodiversity at different levels; diversity in every species, communities and ecosystem. Without the varietal existences at different levels; life would not have remained on the earth through millions of years since it’s origin about 3.8 billion years ago.

It’s true, biodiversity maintains life, and it is life! It is well established that changes to biodiversity is currently underway on land and in the world’s fresh and marine waters are more rapid than at any time in human history. Biodiversity erosion has led to degradation in many of the world’s ecosystem services. Estimates show that the current documented rates of extinction are estimated to be roughly 100 times higher than typical rates in the fossil record. According to the report of the ‘World commission on environment and development’ (Brundtland Commission report) reducing the rate of loss of biodiversity, and ensuring that decision made incorporate the full values of goods-and-services provided by biodiversity will contribute substantially towards achieving sustainable development.

Biodiversity plays a critical role in providing livelihood security for people. It is particularly important for the livelihoods of the rural poor, and for regulating local environmental conditions. Functioning ecosystem are crucial as buffers against extreme climate events, as carbon sinks, and as filters for waterborne and airborne pollutants. As per an account of the ICUN about 2 million species are known, but the total number of species on the earth may range between 5 and 30 million, which means much of the biodiversity, is being lost without our knowledge of their specific roles in the sustenance of life on the earth.

The deep sea is increasingly recognized as a major reservoir of biodiversity, comparable to the biodiversity associated with tropical rain forest and shallow-water coral reefs. Although the magnitude of deep sea diversity is not yet understood, it has been estimated that the number of species inhabiting the deep sea may be as high as 10 million. It is believed that the deep seabed support more species than all other marine environments. People directly use only a very small percentage of biodiversity and most of the biodiversity uses are of indirect, mostly as ecosystem service in nature.

Learning and protecting of biodiversity:

In nature, humans alone have the capacity to understand this sacred role of biodiversity in the sustenance of life on the earth. While all other species have the capacity to act only instinctively, humans are endowed with the ability to learn the facts about natural existence, natural controls on own existence and to act wisely towards self sustenance. Perhaps, this is the real ‘creativity’ inherent in human character. Proper utilization of this talent can definitely help humans to ensure sustainability of own species without being subjected to the force of natural extinction.

Therefore, humans have the duty to learn the net-work of relationships between varieties at the genetic level within species, at species level within communities and at community or ecosystem levels in nature. The genetic programming contained in each species is unique and original, developed by thousands of years of evolution, and if the species is extinct, this information is lost forever. Therefore, in order to ensure sustainable progress and own survival, humans need to take all precautionary measures to conserve and maintain the biodiversity without getting it lost by other ignorant and irresponsible activities.

Specific Uses and Applications of Biodiversity in Human Life

Biological variability is essential for ecosystem to function efficiently. Naturally, all the ‘ecosystem services’ enjoyed by society globally as whole, including climate regulation, precipitation and flood regulation, fresh air, fresh water, food, feed, fodder, wood, fiber, medicines, soil fertility, building materials, genetic resource and recreation facilities are the products of biodiversity. Such ecosystem services provided by biodiversity may be categorized into three:

1.  Supporting services: These are services, such as nutrient cycling, soil formation, soil fertility and the like, which are needed for the production of all other services.

2.  Provisioning services: Products obtained from ecosystem, such as food, feed, fodder, timber and the like.

3. Regulating services: The benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem, including services such as purification of water, flood control, or regulation of the climate via carbon sequestration.

4. Cultural services: The benefits obtain from ecosystem through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection and aesthetic experiences.

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function is clear but a major question is ecology is how much of biodiversity is required to maintain ecosystem function. Even though humans have no right to assess the significance of any component of biodiversity, for convenience of understanding, scientists have summarized that there are three main ways that ecosystem function can respond to reduction in species richness:

1. Redundancy: There is a minimum number of species required to carry out ecosystem processes and beyond this species are equivalent and their loss have of little significance in the ecosystem (however, each and every one has a specific role, which may not be visible immediately on its absence)

2. Rivet-popping: The loss of a few species may have no apparent effect on ecosystem processes but beyond certain thresholds ecosystem services will fail (those species which have key function are emphasized)

3. Idiosyncrasy: Species have complex and varied roles so change in diversity will cause changes in ecosystem functioning where the direction and magnitude of change is unpredictable.

If biodiversity is the ‘variety of life’ whereas, biological resources are the manifestation or embodiment of the variety. Apart from its life-sustaining role and that of ecosystem services, biodiversity wealth has very many other direct uses and applications to humans. Such applications and uses are specific either locally, nationally or globally.

1. Uses and Applications in agriculture and Food Security

Agriculture contributes to conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, but is also a major driver of biodiversity loss. Even when agriculture is the largest driver of genetic erosion, species loss and conversion of natural habitats, it is dependent on biodiversity. Agriculture activities reduce diversity to increase productivity of crops, which is just few of the components of biodiversity of particular interest.

For more than half of the world’s 14 biomes, 20-50 percent of their surface areas have already been converted to croplands. Of the 270000 known species of higher plants, about 10000-15000 are edible, and about 7000 of them are used in agriculture. However, increased globalization threatens to diminish the varieties that are traditionally used in most agriculture system. As per a calculation of the FAO, only 14 animal species currently account for 90 percent of all livestock production in the world, and only 30 crops dominate global agriculture, providing an estimated 90 percent of the calories consumed by the world’s population.

Biodiversity is the basis of agriculture. Its maintenance is essential for the production of food and other agriculture goods and the benefits these provide to humanity, including food security, nutrition and livelihoods. Biodiversity is the origin of all crops and domesticated livestock and the variety within them. Biodiversity in agriculture and associated landscape provides and maintains ecosystem services essential to agriculture.

Sustainable agriculture both promotes and is enhanced by biodiversity. Sustainable agriculture uses water, land and nutrients efficiently, while producing lasting economic and social benefits. To ensure food security, adequate nutrition and stable livelihoods for all, now and in the future, we must increase food production while adopting sustainable and efficient agriculture, sustainable consumption, and landscape level planning that ensure the preservation of biodiversity.

Soil is one of the most diverse habitats on earth and contains one of the most diverse assemblages of living organisms, including microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi, and macro-organisms such as worm, mites, ants, and spider. The soil of just a square meter of forest may contain more than 1000 species of invertebrates and the number and diversity of microorganisms in just one gram of soil may be even greater. Soil organisms provide essential services toward the sustainable functioning of all ecosystems, and are therefore important resources for the sustainable management of agriculture ecosystems. For example, earthworms, termites and other burrowing organisms mix the upper layers, redistributing nutrients and increasing water infiltration.

In addition to the role of biodiversity in soil fertility, it has a direct role in modern agriculture by way of provision of many new varieties and species of underutilized cereals, millets vegetables, fruits, oil and fiber yielding crops. Moreover, the wild relative of many of the crops remain of the biodiversity gene bank for strengthening the cultivated ones through research. While human are omvivorous, “why is biodiversity important?” is because biodiversity provides a literal treasure trove of foods, from things as common as rich or wheat to things as native as our ‘Sambar’ or ‘Avial’. Further not all the nutrients we need are not in any particular food. Therefore, a good combination of diverse varieties of vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains, oil, fish or meat can enhance our health.

Various direct and indirect roles of biodiversity in agriculture may be summarized as follows:

Roles of Biodiversity in Agriculture

(a) Indirect Environment Controls Affecting Agriculture Productivity

1. Pest regulation: Diversity of predator organisms control pest outbreaks in agriculture system.

2. Erosion control: Diversity of trees and around agriculture fields protect.

3. Climate regulation: Biodiversity rich natural vegetation, especially forest controls specific weather conditions essential to specific crop.

4. Natural hazard regulation (droughts, floods and fire): Forest enhance precipitation and controls floods.

(b) Supporting Services.

5. Soil Fertility: Diversity of animals and microbes in soil promotes decay of dead organic matter and play significant role in soil structure, and nutrient availability.

6. Nutrient Cycling: Biogeochemical cycles are run on the basis of soil biodiversity.

7. Water Cycling: Biodiversity plays a significant role in water cycling, especially through oxidation of degradable matter in water.

(c) Direct Influence

8. Pollination: Practically pollination decides agriculture production in many crops; pollination is assisted by diverse kinds of organisms.

9. Pest Resistance: Many of the crop species are protected from fungal and other organisms by the natural fauna or flora on the surface of plant parts or in the soil.

In addition to all these roles, genetic diversity of crops and their wild relative serve as the ‘biodiversity resource’ that enable crop and livestock improvements, and also allow for flexibility according to market demand and adaptation according to changing environmental conditions.

2. Uses and Applications in Energy Sectors

Just like agriculture, many of the factors leading to the accelerating loss of biodiversity are linked to the increasing use of energy by society. Of course, dependence on and growing requirements for energy is resulting in significant changes in species and ecosystems. Demand for energy is projected to grow at least 53 percent by 2030. As per an international estimate, energy from biomass and waste is projected to supply about 10 percent of global demand until 2030.  Biodiversity based energy sources include both traditional biomass and modern biofuels. However, the search for new energy source that has less climate impact, direct humans to focus not on the traditional biodiversity, but on non-conventional biodiversity stock such as high yielding algal species as well as microbes that catalyze hydrogen production from water.  

3. Uses and Applications in Human Health and Medicines

Human health is adversely affected by changes in biodiversity and ecosystem services. Changes to the environment have altered disease patterns and human exposure to disease outbreak. In addition, current patters of farming, based on high resource inputs and agriculture intensification, are putting great strains on ecosystem, contributing to nutritional imbalances and reduced access to wild food.

However, pharmaceutical value of diversity yet remains quite underestimated. Potential value of wild species as sources of anti-cancer drug is currently exploited in many parts of the world. As per a scientific estimate, of every 150 drugs prescribe and marketed in the United States, 118 are made from products of biodiversity such a plants, fungi, bacteria and animals. It is also estimated that 80 percent of people in developing countries rely on traditional medicine to meet their basic health needs, and that 85 percent of the drugs produced by traditional medicine involve the use of plant extracts and therefore are drugs originating in nature.

4. Uses Based on Extrinsic Value of Biodiversity

Ethically, every form of life on earth is unique and warrants respect regardless of its worth to human beings; this is the ecosystem right of an organism. Humans need to acknowledge the fact that we are not the only living species that has the right to live on the earth. Each and every variety of the life need to be recognized on the basis its intrinsic significance of each and every variety. Naturally, humans need to note that every organism has an inherent right to exist regardless of whether it’s valuable   to human beings at the present time. Humankind is part of nature and the natural world has a value for human heritage. The well being of all future generations is a social responsibility of the present generations, hence the current existence of an organism warrants conservation of the same.

5. Aesthetic Uses and Applications of Biodiversity

Human beings derive great enjoyment from natural environment. The shapes, structure and color stimulate our senses and enrich our culture. Each and every form of life provides us an opportunity of enjoy end contemplating its beauty. Therefore, we need to preserve them not only for the present generation, but also for the future generations. Since aesthetic value is highly relative to culture and periods, we need to recognize the aesthetic importance of every form life in the required place and time. This is illustrated majorly in the popularity of biodiversity conservation measures and the myriad of the many organizations which fight for the protection of different organisms. Wild species enhance our appreciation and enjoyment of the environment through: leisure activities e.g. bird watching and nature trailing; Spotting activities e.g. spot hunting, spot fishing, diving and mushroom picking; Hearing, touching or just seeing wildlife.

6. Other Economic Benefits and Applications

Apart from the traditional uses and applications of biodiversity, new researches have established the role of biodiversity in non-conventional applications of them in waste disposal, bioremediation of chemicals at contaminated sites, biotechnology, Perennial grains fishing, hunting, sea-food, other wild foods, wood products, ecotourism, sequestering of carbon dioxide and the like.

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