Very often, people think of biodiversity as a collection of fantastic animals and plants; but it is much more than that. It includes various life forms and is associated with natural assets: water, soils, pollinators, all of which we now call the ‘ecosystem services’ that sustain us. So, I often tell people it’s not just plants and animals that we are interested in. We are interested in the other forms of life on the planet, how these interact with each other to form ecosystems; how these ecosystems sustain and enrich human lives; and how, without them, we perhaps cannot survive.
Explanation:
In my opinion, biodiversity science has become perhaps the most critical science for humanity. Biodiversity provides us with a framework to deal with challenges such as climate change, water scarcity, and land degradation. We can address climate change through restoration of biodiversity, land degradation through reforestation, and water scarcity by protecting watersheds and by looking at rivers as ecosystems and not channels that carry water from one source to another. We can address the agriculture crisis by bringing in more biodiversity, and by restoring soils. And so, biodiversity may be the most critical science for our survival.
Answers & Comments
Answer:
Very often, people think of biodiversity as a collection of fantastic animals and plants; but it is much more than that. It includes various life forms and is associated with natural assets: water, soils, pollinators, all of which we now call the ‘ecosystem services’ that sustain us. So, I often tell people it’s not just plants and animals that we are interested in. We are interested in the other forms of life on the planet, how these interact with each other to form ecosystems; how these ecosystems sustain and enrich human lives; and how, without them, we perhaps cannot survive.
Explanation:
In my opinion, biodiversity science has become perhaps the most critical science for humanity. Biodiversity provides us with a framework to deal with challenges such as climate change, water scarcity, and land degradation. We can address climate change through restoration of biodiversity, land degradation through reforestation, and water scarcity by protecting watersheds and by looking at rivers as ecosystems and not channels that carry water from one source to another. We can address the agriculture crisis by bringing in more biodiversity, and by restoring soils. And so, biodiversity may be the most critical science for our survival.
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