Chapter 5 - Conclusion

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, Nadine Azzu, FAO  "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition (Chapter 5) Youth and United Nations Global Alliance. Reproduced with permission.

Chapter 5 Conclusion. Verbatim.

In a sense, nature is made up of “big life” and “small life”. The big life cannot survive if small life is not taken care of, or if it is not managed properly. The bits and pieces of small life – and just as importantly, the interactions between them - are what sustain the big life. The small life consists of the species that can be found on the ground, in the skies, in the water and underground – for example, mammals, birds, fish and insects. The big life is the wider ecosystem. As we have seen in this chapter through examples such as rice paddy ecosystems, pollination and soil fertility, it is the small life (species) that not only sustains the ecosystem but also the ecosystem services that ensure a healthy and functioning planet.

We can draw an important lesson from these examples: in nature, we must look at both the individual “small life” and the “big life”. In practical terms, this means that if we were doctors, and we saw a population of any given species suffering, we would not just prescribe a specific medicine to target the apparent illness – instead, we should find out why the species population is sick. Maybe the answer doesn’t lie within the species itself, but is caused by a series of events found in the wider ecosystem. Can you give an example of how a natural or human-made impact on “small life” affects “big life”?

Together, we can take many actions to raise our own awareness, and that of others, of the importance of healthy ecosystems. We can start by taking small, but significant, actions. Begin, for example, by building a terrarium (small container with soil for plants) to learn firsthand how an ecosystem works. Monitor and record the activities that you observe in your terrarium. Take the terrarium to school and share your observations with your classmates. Whatever you decide to do, make sure you apply your learning about healthy ecosystems to your daily actions.