Biobiobio Diveesity

BIODIVERSITY'S THREATS AND
CONSERVATIONS
Biodiversity is the diversity of different forms of life on Earth, containing the different
plants, animals, micro-organisms, the genes they hold, and the ecosystem they form. It
refers to genetic variation, ecosystem variety, species deviation (number of species) within
an area, biome, or planet. Biodiversity is essential in many ways, including food resources,
freshwater resources, and climate stability. Biodiversity is the life support system. However,
parallel to human population growth, threats towards biodiversity are rapidly increasing
over the years. So, attempts for conversation of the life support system had been carried out
and are still being improved to boost conservation. Nevertheless, is there any idea of the
threats and conservation measures that have been taken?
First, let us look at the threats that are endangering the world's biodiversity. The
main threat that has been worrisome is deforestation. Deforestation is a usual topic that has
been discussed over the years. Well, many reasons had driven this threat to emerge itself,
which is residency development and commercial interest. As the human population has
been increasing by 81 million people per year, most countries take easy measures by
expanding residency and harvest volume at the uninhibited area by humans and neglecting
the other living organisms. Consequently, flora and fauna lost their living habitat and shorter
life expectancy. For example, 17 million hectares of tropical forests containing at least half
the Earth's species have dramatically lost per year[ CITATION Mic22 \l 17417 ]. In Malaysia
itself, palm oil plantations where large tracts of rainforest are cleared to grow palm oil crops
have caused Orangutans, tigers, elephants, rhinos, and many other species to be increasingly
isolated, and their sources of food and shelter are in decline.
Next, escalation in the human population also leads to another threat known as
poaching and illegal fishing. As the human population increases, external and internal
demand for protein resources and leather products increases. So, the irresponsible party
takes this as an opportunity to bathe themselves in a pool of money. Consequently, the
man's greed had brought to many illegal and irregulated hunting and fishing activities such
as fishing and poaching without a license or quota for certain species in a closed area and
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closed seasons. In a meta-analysis published in the journal Science, Ana Benítez-López and
colleagues assessed the impact of hunting on tropical bird and mammal populations. The
meta-analysis included 176 studies covering 97 birds and 254 mammal species. It found a
58% decline in the bird and an 83% decline in mammal abundance in hunted versus
unhunted areas[ CITATION Ana17 \l 17417 ]. Thus, it is clear now why poaching and IUU
marine fishing is the second most significant threat to biodiversity.
Based on the observation made over the years on the threats that are rapidly
destroying the life support system, many initiatives have to be taken to rescue the
threatened living organisms. One of them is the law and legal policy enforcement. Law and
policy will help the authorities sensitize prosecutors and the judiciary regarding
environmental crimes and degradation's social, ecological, and economic costs[ CITATION
Tho21 \l 17417 ]. As a result, the management of protected areas and species at the brink of
extinction is improved. Lastly, biodiversity conservation will be significantly improved by
training and education in the community. Government and Non-Government Organizations
(NGOs) need to facilitate legal assistance and training to communities related to natural
resources management, land tenure, and environmental and civil right.
In a nutshell, biodiversity can be protected by training, education, and law and policy
enforcement to attenuate the two most significant threats to biodiversity: deforestation,
illegal hunting and fishing. It is hoped that human society will start to notice how badly our
life support system is hurt and how devastating the current condition of all living organisms
that had their habitat lost and food sources to keep on living is in decline, which all originate
from humans' selfishness.
References
Benítez-López, A. (2017). The impact of hunting on tropical mammal and bird populations.
Science, vol 356, No.6334.
nichols, M. (2022, February 2). Losing their homes because of the growing needs of humans.
Retrieved from WWF:
https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/wildlife_practice/problems/habitat_loss_
degradation/
Thomas H. White, J. (2021). Quantifying Threats to Biodiversity and Prioritizing Responses.
Diversity, 10.
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BIODIVERSITY'S THREATS AND

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