Biodiversity: the Loss or Gain is your Choice

Can it even be saved?

When it comes to climate change and its horrible effects, three types of people emerge; those who believe economic gain trumps the environment, those who chain themselves to trees and a very large apathetic group who seems to represent too many people in our world today. Now although the first two types are gross stereotypical assumptions the last is only too true and the affects of these masses can be felt by the biodiversity everywhere as we sit back and allow for such atrocities to occur. Biodiversity loss, as defined by the diversity of species and ecosystems is rapidly becoming an issue as man continues to plough through forests for economic gain. This not just kills thousands of plant species but also displaces thousands of ecosystem specific animals who eventually are driven to extinction. We may not be the ones who actually mark hectares of trees to be cut down all over the world but we condone it when we use atrocious amounts of paper and do not recycle.

"The economic gain trumps the environment person"

"The apathetic person"

"The Tree Hugger person"

Ignoring the study guide questions at the the top of the website check out the amazing images that the website below uses to illustrate some of the devastating effects of habitat loss on biodiversity. http://morriscourse.com/elements_of_ecology/chapter_28.htm

In some regard these apathetic people seem justified with the apathetic attitude they maintain. This is so because, when we look at the devastation that is our world right now with all of the problems that need to be fixed, all we see is disaster with no solution. There is so much destruction and so little time to fix it. However, this is the exact attitude that will eventually kill biodiversity. We have the power to kill and destroy to our earth, our climate, our forests and our biodiversity, therefore we must equally have the power to triumph over our past evils, rise up and save our biodiversity.

And it can be done. Over the last decade more and more countries have taken the initiative to begin the process of maintaining biodiversity. One of the most active countries in the world is Costa Rica. By exemplifying this case study I am arguing biodiversity is too precious to give to up. We have the choice to save it and Costa Rica is a prime example of a country that is working hard and beginning to save the biodiversity.

Costa Rica itself is only 51.100 km2, about 0.03% of the planet’s surface and in that small amount of space Costa Rica has 500,000 different species totaling 4% of the species list. Because of the mass destruction of its rainforests this biodiversity hotspot lost so much diversity that apparent need for an environmental action plan became widely known. Today 25% of Costa Rica is protected land of some sort.

See the table below and check out http://www.costarica-nationalparks.com/ for more details.

Category	Amount	Area (ha)	% of National Territory
National Parks	25	623.771	12.23%
Biological Reserves	8	21.674	0.42%
Protected Zones	32	155.817	3.06%
Forest Reserves	11	227.834	4.47%
Wildlife Refuges	58	180.035	3.53%
Wetlands/Mangroves	15	77.869	1.53%
Other Categories	12	17.306	0.34%
Totals:	161	1.304.306	25.58%

Costa Rica is divided into three main categories, the general Costa Rica, 11 main conservations established by SINAC and finally buffer zones which some scientists claim are the largest contributor to maintaining biodiversity. The buffer zones are important because they provide a larger space for the animal species to travel than just the national parks, encouraging biodiversity.

Check out this link that discusses buffer zones http://philip.greenspun.com/cr/moon/conservation and check out the map below for the breakdown of the 11 conservations and the 25 National Parks.

View Costa Rica Conservations and National Parks in a larger map

Costa Rica is becoming a success story with regards to environmental issues and therefore I argue that biodiversity can be saved and we have the means to do it. The video below is one that I made expressing my belief that we need to continue to preserving biodiversity or the unfortunate will happen. Many of the pictures are from Costa Rica capturing the beauty of the 11 conservations and the major issue still left to deal with. Overall the biodiversity of the world needs the masses to step forward and help conserve. Saving it is a possibility but it must be done through teamwork.

Deforestation: man’s destruction of nature

If we continue to think of the world as disposable there will be nothing left.

Is economic growth worth the risk of losing our forests?

As many of you have read several times in your life already by the time you read this sentence, this post or this blog hectares of the forests are being destroyed, every minute of everyday. While the logger can come home and rest and the corporate in charge of the whole shebang can take a break, the forest is never at peace. It is in constant survival mode attempting to declare sanctuary, but humans with our machines, our money and our thirst for development hack at the forest as if it will bloom again in days and repopulate the mess we created.

Only 100 years ago rainforests, alone, covered 14% of the earth’s surface. That is 200 billion hectares of rainforest. Today only half of that remains. And if we are to continue the way that we are, that 7% will very quickly become 0. As humans we are destroying our forests, and rapidly. The question becomes for what? What can possibly be as good as all of our forests? And in the eyes of too many, the answer is money and development.

Check out this website: http://philip.greenspun.com/cr/moon/conservation to discover more statistics on the disappearing rainforests

Personally, I believe the risk of losing our forests, and the evidence that we will lose our forests very quickly is not worth the economic gain. If I had control I would halt economic development and focus solely on the environmental destruction that has occurred and hopefully focus on the restoration of our environment. However, even I can see the many flaws in my plan and the naïvety and ignorance of my suggestion. When I see the world I am looking through the lens of the westernized society, one in which I personally know very few struggles and of those struggles none are struggles for survival. I have money for food and a house over my head and land that I can call my own. I am not in a society where the option to destroy forest in order to farm and survive is a necessity in life. And this is where the true problem arises.

How can I say all economic growth based off the destruction of our environment needs to halt when a banana plantation in Costa Rica provides money and food for thousands of people across the county. Who am I judge when a farmer has to destroy the forest to accommodate for his cattle herd that provide food on the table for his family and money for the home in which they it eat in. Truly I cannot say that economic development needs to stop. The destruction of a forest is sometimes done in order for survival.

Therefore in answering the question is economic growth worth the risk of losing the rainforests the answer becomes very muddled. I believe that there are courses of action that need to be taken in our world to severely reduce the loss of our forests This is not just for countries that have rainforests but for all countries despite some loss of economic gain. Further I believe that countries who need to survive should focus their energy on not destroying the rainforest to survive but using the rainforest to survive. By this I mean tourism and conservations that many countries, specifically in Central and South America have been working towards. Finally it is essential that everyone in our world become aware of the issues regarding the mass destruction humans have set upon the forests and focus on finding sustainable solutions so that survival does not rest on destroying the beautiful forests of our world.

Check out the site below to understand further details on the reasoning for
development in Costa Rica.

http://www.vivacostarica.com/costa-rica-information/costa-rica-deforestation.html


Something else to consider when we hack away at the forests, Biodiversity

What is Climate Change?

Climate change is due to excess amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gases (such as methane and nitrous oxide) being released and trapped in Earth’s atmosphere. This is caused by human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, the use of fertilizer, the production of oil, and cattle farming. According to the David Suzuki Foundation, this results in global warming, extreme weather conditions, and rising sea levels, and since 1990, our global average temperature has increased by 0.6°C. Scientists from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change believe that this is mainly caused by human activity, however many people think that humans are not to blame for climate change, or don’t see it as an issue at all. There are natural causes for climate change such as volcanic eruptions, which release SO2 and ash into the atmosphere, or changes in the orbit of the earth, which can lead to warmer summers and colder winters. The current of the ocean can also affect the amount of CO2 that is in the atmosphere. Climate change is a very relevant and important issue in society today, and although we may not be able to stop or reverse climate change, we can work to reduce it in order to protect our planet. We must educate ourselves and others in order to make this happen...watching the following video could be your first step in the right direction.

Check out the following link http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/climate-change/take-action/ to find out what you can do to help!