Beautiful Nature: Biodiversity

Showing posts with label Biodiversity - Chapter 9. Show all posts

Monday, June 5, 2017

Conservation Mechanisms

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, Terence Hay-Edie and Bilgi Bulus, GEF Small Grants Programme, Dominique Bikaba, Strong Roots, "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition (Chapter 9) Youth and United Nations Global Alliance. Reproduced with permission.

Chapter 10. Verbatim.

There is more than one way to conserve biodiversity. As biodiversity and its use to communities vary, so too should conservation mechanisms. Biodiversity conservation plans for a rainforest will be different from plans for a grassland or a swamp. There are different approaches involving different groups of people. There are different types of landscapes, each being used or protected for different purposes. There are different strategies and timeframes for achieving similar goals.

Connecting Biodiversity Conservation To Sustainable Development

Chapter 10. Verbatim.

What does “biodiversity” mean for people and for human development? The health of an ecosystem is closely related to the quality of life of its inhabitants. Biodiversity, as described in previous chapters, is a key component of the “environmental health” pillar of sustainable development.

Defining Sustainable Development

Chapter 10. Verbatim.

There are many ways to define sustainable development. Use the following definitions to inspire your own.

“Improving the quality of human life while living within the carrying capacity of supporting ecosystems.”

The World Conservation Union (IUCN), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Wide Fund for Nature/ World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

United Nations in “Our Common Future, the Brundtland Report”

Biodiversity Conservation And Sustainable Development

Chapter 10. Verbatim.

What is biodiversity conservation? Who’s involved? What do they do? How does biodiversity conservation fit into other big picture goals like sustainable development? What exactly is sustainable development? This chapter takes a closer look at biodiversity conservation and how it fits within the larger concept of sustainable development.

The Guardians of Diversity

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, Ruth Raymond and Amanda Dobson, Bioversity International, "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition (Chapter 9) Youth and United Nations Global Alliance. Reproduced with permission.

Chapter 9. Verbatim.

Adelaida Castillo displays a plaque

naming her a Champion Custodian

of Diversity, an honour she was

awarded for her quinoa collection.

© A. Camacho/Bioversity International (Top)

Mitsuaki Tanabe and his sculpture

of wild rice that he donated to the

Global Crop Diversity Trust. (Middle)

© Global Crop Diversity Trust

Valeria Negri with her garlic, peas

and tomatoes. (Bottom)

© T. Tesai

All over the world there are people who dedicate their lives to safeguarding agricultural biodiversity and to using it to improve their lives and the lives of others. They are the Guardians of Diversity: individuals whose passion for diversity is helping – in small ways and large – to create a healthier, more food-secure world.

Threats To Agricultural Biodiversity

Chapter 9. Verbatim.

With the advent of modern agriculture, untold numbers of locally adapted crop varieties were replaced by genetically uniform, high-yielding modern varieties. In China, for example, between 1949 and 1970, the number of wheat varieties grownby farmers dropped from about 10 000 to 1 000. Farmers in India once grew 30 000 rice varieties.

Biosafety and Agriculture

Chapter 9. Ulrika Nilsson, CBD. Verbatim.

For over 10 000 years, farmers have selected and saved their best seeds and animals for breeding so that future generations of plant varieties and animal breeds would have better qualities in terms of size, taste, growth rate or yield. In recent years, new techniques, called modern biotechnology, have allowed scientists to modify plants, animals and micro‑organisms at rates faster than they can with conventional methods.

Scientists can take a single gene from a plant or animal cell or from a bacterium and insert it in another plant or animal cell resulting in a living modified organism (LMO). LMOs are commonlyknown as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), even though LMOs and GMOs have different definitions. Although modern biotechnology can potentially improve human well-being, for example by improving agricultural productivity, there is concern about possible risks that LMOs may pose to biodiversity and human health.

The Multiple Benefits Of Agricultural Biodiversity

Chapter 9. Verbatim.

AGRICULTURE DIVERSITY HELPS TO MINIMISE RISK. DIFFERENT POTATO VARIETIES CAN GROW UNDER DIFFERENT CONDITIONS, AND CAN BE USED FOR A VARIETY OF DISHES. IN SOME COMMUNITIES IN THE HIGH ANDES, FARMERS WILL GROW FOUR OR FIVE SPECIES OF POTATOES ON A SMALL PLOT OF LAND. MANY OF THESE FARMERS STILL MEASURE THEIR LAND IN 'TOPO', THE AREA A FAMILY NEEDS TO GROW THEIR POTATO SUPPLY. THE SIZE OF A TOPO VARIES: IT LARGER AT HIGHER ALTITUDES BECAUSE THE LAND NEEDS MORE TIME TO LIE FALLOW AND RECOVER BETWEEN PLANTINGS COMPARED TO LOWER ALTITUDES.

Agricultural biodiversity is a resource that is available to everyone. In fact, some of the world’s poorest countries are the wealthiest in terms of agricultural biodiversity.

Agricultural diversity underpins dietary diversity, which contributes to lower mortality, greater longevity and a decrease in diseases normally associated with affluence, such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

What Does Biodiversity Have To Do With Agriculture?

Chapter 9. Verbatim.

Agriculture depends on the diversity of relatively few plant and animal species. Approximately 250 000 plant species have been identified, 7 000 of which can be used as food. But only 150 crops are cultivated on any significant scale worldwide and only three (maize, wheat and rice) supply nearly 60 percent of the protein and calories in the human diet.

In Farmers' Fields: Biodiversity and Agriculture

Chapter 9. Verbatim.

Bugs on a sunflower in the USA .

Like water and air, agricultural biodiversity is a basic resource that we literally could not live without. But the importance of agricultural biodiversity is not well understood and so it is not properly valued. The result is that agricultural biodiversity is under threat both in the wild and in farmers’ fields. This is a threat we cannot afford.