Saturday, January 1, 2011

Why is Biodiversity Important?

"At least 40 per cent of the world’s economy and 80 per cent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. In addition, the richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development, and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change."
The Convention about Life on Earth, Convention on Biodiversity web site.

We hear about Biodiversity and preserving species but often we miss out on the why.  This site gives specific examples of why we want to preserve species and have biodiversity in our world.  Scientists have even started attaching a monetary value to certain ecosystems or organisms to help the rest of us understand the importance of Biodiversity. (Jane Jones)
http://www.globalissues.org/article/170/why-is-biodiversity-important-who-cares

2 comments:

  1. Although reading about biodiversity may seem overwhelming, we actually teach our students about this on a lower level. In fourth grade, students learn about Utah environments. One of the environments is the wetlands. All over the world wetlands are disappearing. I explained to my students that this is causing quite an issue because there are so many organisms and webs that exist there. Without a place to thrive and call home, a lot of life with disappear. We see animals becoming extinct and talk about how sad it is, but the reality is that it is scary not sad!

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  2. Kelly has heard several hunters complain about not being able to hunt as they use to because the government gets involved and makes rules and regulations for hunting. In looking at the bigger picture though, it is to help keep the species of diversity and science.

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