Our planet is simply amazing. It is one big, finely tuned incredible machine. Like cogs, pulleys and wheels working together. Depending on each other in so many ways. Creating a green, blue healthy world that you, us, everyone depends on. For food, fuel, medicine and other essentials that we simply cannot live without. And just like any other machines, it takes knocks and bruises. But it can bounce back. Stretch. Adapt. Mend. It is part of what makes it so remarkable. But to what extent can the place we call home endure the constant battering caused by human beings? We’re entering unknown territory where some of the extinctions we are causing may have deep and profound effects on how we live our lives. These effects may be currently seen as the equivalent of storm clouds gathering on the horizon. But rest assured, the storm is coming. Biodiversity is us. It is the link between all organisms on earth, binding each into an interdependent ecosystem, in which all species have their role. It is the web of life. Thriving biodiversity, relies on the many relationships that exists between all living things. These relationships help create the essential conditions for life, clean air, fresh water, and food. The environment also provides us with the resources we use for fuel, shelters, and medicines. The availability of enough food, water, and other resources for every creature to live and grow, depends on the health of the surrounding environment. Making biodiversity essential for life. Human activities are disturbing both the structure and functions of ecosystems and altering native biodiversity. Such disturbances reduce the abundance of some organisms, cause population growth in others, modify the interactions among organisms, and alter the interactions between organisms and their physical and chemical environments. According to The Living Planet Index (LPI), there is a decline in biodiversity of 52 percent between 1970 and 2010. Biodiversity loss has happened faster in the past 50 years than any other time in human history. We lose 35 million acres of native forest, the size of Nepal, every year. Each hour, 3 species of animals, plants, and other living things vanish forever. We’ve lost one fifth of the planets coral reefs, up to one third of its mangrove forests, one half of the world’s wetland. It seems as though we don’t think the nature is worth saving. It’s time to ask the big question, what is the biodiversity’s worth? What is nature’s worth? Plants counteract climate change by capturing carbon dioxide. Wetlands purify water flowing into lakes and streams and into us. Forests soak up rain, reducing the risk of floods. Worms turns waste into life sustaining soil. Mangroves protect coasts from storms. Microbes found in the ocean produces one half of the oxygen we breathe. Nature is behind 9 out of 10 of the world’s best medicines. Fruits, nuts, vegetables and other crops benefits from nature’s pollinators. Woods and wetlands, prairies and ponds, bring beauty to our lives, increases property values and give living things a place to call home. The Philippines is defined by its emerald rice fields, teeming mega-cities, graffiti-splashed jeepneys, smoldering volcanoes, bug-eyed tarsiers, fuzzy water buffalo and smiling, happy-go-lucky people. With 7107 majestic islands, the Land of the Morning is not susceptible to biodiversity loss. Philippines natural riches face dire threats as the incessant exploitation of natural resources in the Philippines is crippling the country’s rainforest and biodiversity as well as robbing indigenous people of their livelihoods. Once covered by an intact rainforest and home to a rich tree and animal paradise, today the mountains are under threat. Illegal logging, slash and burn practices and mining are eroding the region’s rich biodiversity. Population pressure, poverty and paucity of livelihood opportunities, dearth of values, and the open access nature of many bio resources all contribute to the overexploitation and non-sustainable use of the country’s biodiversity. Philippines houses some of the world’s critically endangered species that can only be found in the country. The Philippine crocodile, the Mindoro bleeding heart, Philippine forest turtle, Philippine naked backed fruit bat, and the Visayan warty pig. Tamaraw, a distant cousin of the carabao, has been grazing the land 12,000 years ago, long before there were any natives to disturb their peace. Distinguished by its slightly smaller build and V-shaped horns as compared to the more docile carabao, holds its final stand in the rugged mountains of Mindoro. They are at the brink of extinction as only about 350 remain. Truly a jewel of the Philippines, the Philippine Eagle also known as monkey-eating eagle is tagged as the national bird of the Philippines.
Though like a king of the forest this eagle is among the most powerful of birds with sights that are the stuff of legends, the Haribon has become one of the rarest. The Philippine eagle is at risk of extinction, according to the IUCN. Biodiversity may not seem very important for humans, but it is! The living organisms of the world are critical to many aspects of human life, all of which will be affected as biodiversity is lost. Wood and wood-based charcoal provide a large percentage of energy used for heating and cooking around the world, especially in rural or developing areas. Loss of biodiversity will reduce the amount of wood and the variety available for these purposes. Many communities rely on the biodiversity around them for food, especially when natural disasters strike. In many developing regions where drought or flooding are frequent dangers, it is important for people to have secondary food sources to turn to that are adapted to these conditions and are available when the need arises. Coral reefs and wetlands such as mangroves and marshes provide excellent barriers against storms and flooding. Coastal communities are especially vulnerable to the effects of these natural disasters, and removal and conversion of wetlands worldwide has worsened conditions during times of flood. Plants require pollination to produce seeds and fruit, and many of the plant-based foods we enjoy consuming need to be pollinated. Pollinators are beginning to decline in abundance globally, resulting in fewer seeds or fruit, or seeds that are less viable to produce the next generation of plants. Plants are excellent at preventing erosion. Their roots hold soils in place and stabilize slopes and fields alike. As deforestation occurs, mudslides become more frequent and fresh water quality declines as soils are washed into rivers and lakes. Millions of people world-wide make their livings from biodiversity. People who farm, fish, or create crafts or furniture from natural sources will be in danger of losing their livelihoods if the species they depend on begin to decline. Watershed destruction and deforestation lead to decreased quality of drinking water, which has greatest effects in rural and developing areas. Wetlands also serve water-filtering purposes that
are lost when they are destroyed or converted. Many raw materials and resources come from the biological world, including wood for building, fabrics and fibers such as cotton, hemp, and raffia, dyes, resins, gums, rubbers, and oil. Biodiversity represents everything that lives on earth. It is the fruit of billion years of evolution, shaped by natural processes and increasingly by the influence of humans. About 1.75 million species have been identified, but scientists believed that there could be 13 million species living on our planet. Biodiversity is life, it heals us, as more than 70 thousand plant and tree species on earth are used in medicine. It gives us shelter, without wood we couldn’t build houses, furniture or tools. Biodiversity feeds us, and clothes us. The consumption pattern people in rich countries are the principal cause of biodiversity loss. The rapid loss of the earth’s species is estimated to be between 1000 and 10,000 time higher than the natural extinction rate. Today our planet hosts 7 billion people, we need to preserve biodiversity so it can meet the needs of 9 billion people in 2050. The effect of human activities magnified in recent years by population growth and climate change has greatly reduced biodiversity in ecosystems around the world. One way each of us can contribute to foster biodiversity is to choose a more sustainable lifestyle. Education can help us recognize that our individual actions as harmless as they can appear can have global ramifications. We all need to learn that we are all part of a web of life. When one species disappears, others are at risk of disappearing as a result. We need to empower out youth and children today to help foster biodiversity tomorrow. Protecting our planet is in our hands.