Biodiversity Final PPT

BIODIVERSITY LOSSES AND ACTION PLAN

BBA-VGroup 2

Group Members:•Enum Meerza•Midhat Akbar•Farheen Mehdi•Rohma Abbasi•Amna Tanveer•Habiba Tariq•Nimra Malik

What is Biodiversity?

It simply means " the variety of life on earth“

It reflects the number, variety and variability of living organisms and how these change from one location to another and over time

It is important in all ecosystems

Biodiversity losses and action plan


“At least 40 per cent of the world’s economy and 80 per cent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. In addition, the richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change.”- The convention on ‘Biological

Diversity’

Levels of Biodiversity


Genetic Diversity


Variation between individuals of same species

Genes, made of DNA , are the building blocks that determine how an organism will develop and what its traits and abilities will be

Species Diversity


Variety of species in a given region or area

They are easier to conceptualize and have been the basis of much of the evolutionary and ecological research that biodiversity draws on

Ecosystem Diversity


Communities of plants and animals, together with the physical characteristics of their environment interlink together as an ecological system

Ecosystem diversity is more difficult to measure because there are rarely clear boundaries between different ecosystems and they grade into one another

Biodiversity threats and losses


Threats: Over-hunting Habitat loss, degradation,

fragmentation Domino effects Pollution Climate change

1. Over-hunting


Over-hunting has been a significant cause of the extinction of hundreds of species and the endangerment of many more, such as whales and many African large mammals.

Most extinctions over the past several hundred years are mainly due to over-harvesting for food, fashion, and profit.

1. Over-hunting


The annual trade is estimated to be at least US $5 billion, with perhaps one-quarter to one-third of it illegal.

Over-hunting, particularly illegal poaching, remains a serious threat to certain species, for the future, it is globally less important than other factors mentioned next.

2. Habitat loss, degradation, fragmentation


As deforestation increases the main cause of mass extinctions caused by human activity.

In the New World tropics, lowland, seasonal, deciduous forests began to disappear.

The forested regions most easily converted to agriculture, and with a more welcoming climate.

3. Domino Effects


Domino effects are especially likely when two or more species are highly interdependent, or when the affected species has a strong connections to many other species.

4. Pollution


Pollution from chemical contaminants certainly poses a further threat to species and ecosystems.

While not commonly a cause of extinction, it likely can be for species whose range is extremely small, and threatened by contamination.

5. Climate change


A changing global climate threatens species and ecosystems. The distribution of species (biogeography) is largely determined by climate, as is the distribution of ecosystems and plant vegetation zones (biomes).

Climate change may simply shift these distributions but, for a number of reasons, plants and animals may not be able to adjust. The pace of climate change almost certainly will be more rapid than most plants are able to migrate.

Losses of Biodiversity


Species are now becoming extinct at an alarming rate, almost entirely as a direct result of human activities.

Previous mass extinctions evident in the geological record are thought to have been brought about mainly by massive climatic or environmental shifts.

One estimate calculates that a quarter of all species on earth are likely to be extinct, or on the way to extinction within 30 years.

Another predicts that within 100 years, three quarters of all species will either be extinct, or in populations so small that they can be described as "the living dead".

Extinction


A species becomes extinct when the last existing member of that species dies. Extinction therefore becomes a certainty when there are no surviving individuals that are able to reproduce and create a new generation.

Mass Extinction


There have been at least five mass extinctions in the history of life on earth, and four in the last 3.5 billion years in which many species have disappeared in a relatively short period of geological time. The most recent of these, the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event 65 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period, is best known for having wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs, among many other species.

Modern Extinction


According to a 1998 survey of 400 biologists conducted by New York's American Museum of Natural History, nearly 70 percent believed that they were currently in the early stages of a human-caused extinction, known as the Holocene extinction. In that survey, the same proportion of respondents agreed with the prediction that up to 20 percent of all living populations could become extinct within 30 years (by 2028)

Massive Extinctions From Human Activity


75% of genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost.

75% of the world’s fisheries are fully or over exploited.

Up to 70% of the world’s known species risk extinction if the global temperatures rise by more than 3.5°C.

1/3rd of reef-building corals around the world are threatened with extinction.

Every second a parcel of rainforest the size of a football field disappears.

Over 350 million people suffer from severe water scarcity.

Declining Amphibian Population


Amphibians have been described as a marker species or the equivalent of “canaries of the coal mines”

amphibian extinction rate may range from 25,039–45,474 times the background extinction rate for amphibians

It is difficult to explain this unprecedented and accelerating rate of extinction as a natural phenomenon.”

Lizards Threatened By Climate Change


“Global-scale study” published in the journal Science found that climate change could wipe out 20% of the world's lizard species by 2080.

Global projection models used by the scientists suggested that “lizards have already crossed a threshold for extinctions caused by climate change”

Dwindling Fish Stocks


About 80 percent of the world marine fish stocks for which assessment information is available are fully exploited or overexploited.

Fish stocks assessed since 1977 have experienced an 11% decline in total biomass globally, with considerable regional variation.

The average maximum size of fish caught declined by 22% since 1959 globally for all assessed communities.

There is also an increasing trend of stock collapses over time, with 14% of assessed stocks collapsed in 2007.

Causes Of Biodiversity Loss


1. Over-Exploitation2. Environmental Pollution3. Natural Calamities4. Habitat Fragmentation5. Exotic species

Over-exploitation


Caused by Stone Age hunters Woolly mammoth, horses, camels Threat to number of species Whale, elephants, crocodiles Stellers sea cow Hunted for food/profit Medicinal value Psilotum

Environmental Pollution


Presence of toxic material

Pesticides

Crude petroleum

Toxic trace elements

Natural Calamities


Floods

Forest fires

Earth quakes

Volcanic eruptions

Habitat Fragmentation


Railway tracks and highways

Deeper zone of patches - Competition for space food and water

Future extinction

Exotic Species


Extensive damages

Struggle for existence

Example: Nile Perch

Role of IUCN


Conserving biodiversity, as the backbone of all life on Earth and the core of what IUCN does, is the basis for our four other priority areas of work: Climate Change Sustainable Energy Managing nature for human well being greening the economy

IUCN Progams


Species Program

Global Marine Program

Forest Conservation Program

Water Program

Role of WWF


WWF - Pakistan is working to conserve the environment through its Target Driven Programmes (TDPs) that address issues pertaining to different samples

Target Driven Programmes


FOREST FRESH WATER

Forests Fresh Water

Marine Ecosystem

Species Toxics Climate Change

Biodiversity in Pakistan


Pakistan has 225 Protected Areas (PAs) 14 national parks, 99 wildlife sanctuaries, and 96 game reserves

It consists of rapidly shrinking wetlands, of wondrous juniper forests, minute life forms that buzz their way to a magical existence, of stunning mountains

Pakistan covers a number of the world's ecoregions, ranging from the mangrove forests stretching from the Arabian Sea to the towering mountains of the western Himalayas, Hindukush, and Karakoram

Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP)


Is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems.

The original impetus for these plans

derives from the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP)


The principal elements of a BAP typically include:

Preparing inventories of biological information for selected species or habitats

Assessing the conservation status of species within specified ecosystems

Creation of targets for conservation and restoration

Establishing budgets, timelines and institutional partnerships for implementing the BAP

Species Plan


A species plan component of a country’s BAP should ideally entail a thorough description of the range, habitat, behavior, breeding, and interaction with other species. Once a determination has been made of conservation status (e.g. rare, endangered, threatened, vulnerable), a plan can then be created to conserve and restore the species population to target levels

Biodiversity Conservation


• Biodiversity Conservation refers to the efforts to maintain or enhance biodiversity involving protection, uplifting and scientific management at its optimum level in order to derive sustainable benefits for the present as well as for the future

• Biodiversity is the life support system of our planet- we depend on it for the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. Wetlands filter pollutants from water, trees and plants reduce global warming by absorbing carbon, and bacteria and fungi break down organic material and fertilize the soil.

Why to be concerned?


Our ethics recall us that we should not deprive our future generations from economic and aesthetic benefits that can be derived from biodiversity. It is our moral duty to look after our planet and pass it on to our future generation in a good health.

Approaches of biodiversity conservation


There are two approaches:1. In Situ (on site) conservation2. Ex Situ (off site) conservation

In Situ conservation


• Preservation and Protection of Ecosystems at their Original Environment.

• To recognize a particular biodiversity rich area and to preserve it

• This method maintains all organisms at different tropic levels from producers to top consumers such as carnivores.

• In situ conservation requires only elimination of factors detrimental to the existence of the species

• Allow the large number of species to grow simultaneously and flourish in their natural environment in which they were growing since a long time.


In Situ includes conservation of the following: National Parks Sanctuaries Biosphere Reserves Reserve Forests

In Situ conservation

Ex Situ Conservation


Involves cultivation of plants and rearing of animals outside their natural habitats

It is done as a sample of genetic diversity, particularly of endangered species of plants and animals, under human care

Ex Situ Conservation


BOTANICAL GARDENS

ZOOLOGICAL PARKS (ZOOS)

AQUARIUMS

Conservation Vs Preservation


The aim of conservation is to manage or regulate use so that it does not exceed the capacity of the species or system to renew itself

The objective of preservation of species and ecosystems is to ensure their continuity, regardless of their potential utility

Documents

Biodiversity Final PPT