There are several major problems facing the world. One of them is a reduction in the earth’s biodiversity. Biodiversity refers to the variety of life. Natural diversity in ecosystems provides essential economic benefits and services to human society, particularly food and clothing. Without biodiversity, the ecosystem would not be able to sustain itself. Considering the unpredictable future from climate change, biodiversity is a key element to the survival of humans. Even so, reckless human activities have driven a vast number of species towards extinction, thereby threatening human survival.
Agricultural biodiversity has been dramatically changed. The livestock industry, in particular, has experienced a transformative change from small family ranches to large-scale, intensive production, heavily dependent on a very narrow range of high output breeds. As a result, local animals have been driven out. Many breeds with diverse, unique characteristics, such as disease resistance or tolerance to extreme weather, are facing extinction. These breeds include species of the Siberian Yakut cattle that can survive in freezing temperatures and the Namaqua Africander sheep that can survive without water for a long time. If a virus breaks out, attacks our “cattle factories,” and wipes out all the cattle, our hope should lie in a virus resistant breed. If the temperature of the earth drops to freezing point due to climate change, the Siberian cattle species would be our only hope. Without diverse breeds, humans will no longer be able to eat meat.
Overfishing has driven blue fin tuna to extinction. Blue fin tuna is a popular ingredient for sushi. Sushi’s growing popularity has increased the demand for the fish, and hence, the price of blue fin tuna has skyrocketed to over $500,000 per fish. This has caused an increasing number of fishing vessels to adopt highly developed, modern technology. These vessels can detect any trace of blue fin tuna from the deep water over a great distance. People are consuming more tuna than the sea is producing. As a result, its population will not last long. Without an international commitment to preserve this species, humans will no longer see it in the near future.
Here is a great historical example to show the enormous power human activities wield over the nature. The almond we know right now was originally from a poisonous plant. Lots of people died because of not knowing this fact. One day, a boy ate an almond, but he did not die because it was not poisonous. This accidental discovery of the non-poisonous almond led people to begin planting non-poisonous almonds. Therefore, the non-poisonous almonds kept on growing in number and the poisonous ones were crowded out until they no longer exist. This tells us that if human activities focus on a species or a breed and intensively cultivate it, the others will disappear. That is why we need to take diversity seriously.
A real problem lies in our lack of concern for the diversity issue. Many of us do not realize its significance, but the problems have steadily started to get bigger and will seriously affect our lives in near future. In order to stop animals from becoming extinct, we need to wake everyone up to make them realize the imminent disaster from the loss of biodiversity. By Yeokyoung Alberta Yoo
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