Draft of Biodiversity and the Importance of Biodiversity

 

Importance of Biodiversity Locally, Regionally, Nationally and Internationally.

First Draft of Biodiversity: Biodiversity is a unit of measurement, measuring the number of species in a given geographic area that can range in size from a garden to a continent.

Found Definition: “Species, genetic, and ecosystem diversity in an area, sometimes including associated abiotic components such as landscape features, drainage systems, and climate” (Swingland, 2001).

Second Draft of Biodiversity: Biodiversity is a unit of measurement, measuring the genetic, species, ecosystem, and abiotic diversity in an area ranging in size from a garden to a continent.

Locally

When examining the scientific literature and environmental policy decisions regarding the importance that biodiversity plays in both management and policy at the local level, there is a growing volume of material emphasizing management at this level of biodiversity. Specifically, its import can be seen with the organizations who do much of the research and protection at this level, as it is the local groups who “…are left to care for those smaller and less glamorous areas which are nevertheless of great importance to the biodiversity of local ecosystems” (Garrod & Wills, 1994).

Regionally

              At the regional level, maintaining high biodiversity through proper management and policy is also of great importance for natural resources management. This is impart due to the necessity to keep a large pool of species on the landscape to ensure the functioning of ecosystems on landscapes that are increasingly undergoing more intensive land use. Although even at high densities, its important to maintain high biodiversity due to the dispersal limitations imposed by habitat fragmentation. That if left unchecked can cause a feedback loop back at the local level, and so therefore “long-term maintenance of a given level of diversity at local scales requires a much higher diversity at regional scales” (Loreau, 2001).

Nationally and Internationally

              On the national and international stage is where a large bulk of the discussion on managing global biodiversity lays. Here is where the larger NGO, agencies, and laws are useful, such as the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, with 83% of its 193 members developing National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans. What makes management important at this scale is the difficulty in protecting biodiversity in international areas such as the open ocean, with NGO’s like the Sea Shepards being integral for protecting these resources.

Works Cited

Garrod, G. D., and K. G. Willis. "Valuing biodiversity and nature conservation at a local level." Biodiversity & Conservation 3 (1994): 555-565.

Loreau, Michel, et al. "Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: current knowledge and future challenges." science 294.5543 (2001): 804-808.

Swingland, Ian R. "Biodiversity, definition of." Encyclopedia of biodiversity 1 (2001): 377-391.