Biodiversity is the variety of living organisms on Earth and the way they interact. This “web of life” is essential for all life, including our own, to survive. Without biodiversity, ecosystems are less stable and more vulnerable to change. Biodiversity also makes it more likely that we will find new medicines and other ways to improve our health and the environment. For example, many of today’s antibiotics were discovered in fungi and the pain reliever aspirin was derived from the bark of willow trees.
Sadly, biodiversity is disappearing faster than ever before. In the last 40 years, a staggering 1 million species have disappeared, according to WWF’s 2024 Living Planet report. This loss is due to human activities such as habitat destruction, overfishing and pollution. Climate change is also a major factor. Warming air and ocean temperatures cause ecosystems to lose species and erode their structure.
The good news is that protecting even a small area can make a big difference. A recent study found that conservation action in the tropics can secure the majority of what is known as irrecoverable carbon—carbon that would be released into the atmosphere if we lost all of the world’s wildlands and wetlands. And this is where biodiversity is most concentrated.
Hundreds of industries depend on plant biodiversity for products such as food, construction materials, medicines and paper. And healthy ecosystems provide fresh water and reduce flood risks. Invasive alien species are another major threat to biodiversity. They often outcompete native and endemic plants and animals, disrupting the hard-earned functions of an ecosystem.
About the Author
