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B7 N) Maintaining Biodiversity
B7 N) Maintaining Biodiversity
There are a variety of different policies that authorities can adopt to protect biodiversity. One way of protecting biodiversity is to protect habitats. For example, you can measure the quality of water in a habitat and take appropriate actions to increase the quality or maintain the quality of water. It could be the case that a firm is polluting a river because of the activities that it is undertaking. Authorities can find out whether this is the case and take appropriate actions to ensure that the firm stops the activity that is causing the river to become polluted (this could be fining/ shutting the firm down or helping them to internalise the pollution). Also, governments can take action against firms and individuals that are producing large quantities of gases that cause climate change or acid rain. For example, the UK charges individual’s road tax based on the emissions that come from their cars; electric cars pay no road tax and 4x4 that produce large quantities of gases pay a lot of road tax.
Another example of protecting habitats is the managing of forests in the UK and across the world. The forestry commission in the UK is responsible for managing about 1 million hectares of forest. They ensure that the conditions of the forest are suitable so that organisms and plants can grow together. If the population of one organism is increasing too much, the authorities will reduce the number of that organism. We see this happen in the UK with deer; when the population of deer becomes too high, authorities undertake a cull to decrease the deer population bringing it to a level that the ecosystem can maintain.
Another method to protect biodiversity is to create protected areas, such as national parks, nature reserves and area in the sea where you cannot fish. The activities of humans are restricted in these areas so that biodiversity levels are maintained; building and farming activities are restricted in these areas. Examples of protected areas in the UK are the New Forest, Brecon Beacons and the Lake District.
Another example of protecting habitats is the managing of forests in the UK and across the world. The forestry commission in the UK is responsible for managing about 1 million hectares of forest. They ensure that the conditions of the forest are suitable so that organisms and plants can grow together. If the population of one organism is increasing too much, the authorities will reduce the number of that organism. We see this happen in the UK with deer; when the population of deer becomes too high, authorities undertake a cull to decrease the deer population bringing it to a level that the ecosystem can maintain.
Another method to protect biodiversity is to create protected areas, such as national parks, nature reserves and area in the sea where you cannot fish. The activities of humans are restricted in these areas so that biodiversity levels are maintained; building and farming activities are restricted in these areas. Examples of protected areas in the UK are the New Forest, Brecon Beacons and the Lake District.
Authorities can also regenerate and then protect rare habits/ ecosystems. Examples of ecosystems that are being regenerated are mangroves and coral reefs. The regeneration and protection of these habitats protects the organisms that live there, which preserves the ecosystem and maintains biodiversity. Some governments are also incentivising the planting of trees/ the creation of forests. This is because the trees in forests take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere when they photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas, so a decrease in carbon dioxide from the trees photosynthesising can help to counteract the enhanced greenhouse effect/ climate change/ global warming.
Also, authorities can pay farmers to leave a strip of land around the outside of their fields for wildflowers and grasses, and to have hedgerows that provide places for organisms to live (insects, birds and rabbits). Theses strips increase the biodiversity of an ecosystem because the strips of land and hedgerows can support a greater number and variety of organisms compared to the number of organisms that would be supported in a monoculture crop field (monoculture means that only one organism/ crop is grown). Farmers may also be paid to keep certain organisms on their farm. For example, the bee population in the UK has been falling over recent years. Bees are extremely important for the pollination of both crops and wildflowers, which is why a reduction in the population of bees is concerning. This has led to a variety of initiatives in the UK to increase the population of bees.
Biodiversity can be protected by controlling or preventing the introduction of harmful species. Sometimes species from abroad are introduced into an ecosystem either intentionally or unintentionally. The species that are introduced to an ecosystem may threaten local biodiversity because the organism that is introduced may eat the other organisms or compete with other organisms for food. An example of when this has happened in the UK is the introduction of the grey squirrel from North America. The red squirrel was the native squirrel in the UK, but when the grey squirrel was introduced, the two squirrels competed with each other for food, which resulted in the populations of red squirrels declining; it is extremely rare to see a red squirrel in the UK and very common to see a grey squirrel.
Another method of protecting biodiversity is breeding programs or keeping the animals in captivity. Breeding programs involve the breeding of certain animals in captivity (known as captive breeding). The breeding of animals in captivity ensures that there are some of the species in the world even if the population of them falls in the wild. Zoos undertake breeding programs for endangered species, and we keep seed banks for plants. Animals that are breed and kept in zoos are protected from hunting and habitat destruction. Sometimes the organisms that have been breed in captivity will be released into the wild if it is deemed appropriate. However, sometimes the organisms will not be able to survive in the wild because they have become too dependent on the zoo/ have not learnt the necessary skills to be able to survive in the wild.
Countries also encourage individuals and businesses to reduce the amount of waste that they produce and to recycle as much as possible. This reduces the amount of waste that goes to landfill sites, which means that less land has to be cleared for landfill sites. Also, if we are recycling more, fewer raw materials need to be extracted, which means that more of the ecosystem will remain intact – fewer mines need to be created and fewer forests need to be cut down.
Countries also encourage individuals and businesses to reduce the amount of waste that they produce and to recycle as much as possible. This reduces the amount of waste that goes to landfill sites, which means that less land has to be cleared for landfill sites. Also, if we are recycling more, fewer raw materials need to be extracted, which means that more of the ecosystem will remain intact – fewer mines need to be created and fewer forests need to be cut down.
Challenges of Maintaining Biodiversity
There are many challenges with maintaining biodiversity.
One example is that many developing nations are using their raw materials as a way to develop. Lots of developing countries that have forests are deforesting so that the raw materials can be sold and the land that has been cleared can be used for farming. The cleared land is usually used to crop cash crops or rear cattle. Jobs are created in both the clearing of the land and in the farming of the land after it has been cleared. The deforestation of land is a huge loss to biodiversity, but a huge boost to the local economy, which creates a conflict. Authorities in countries must weigh up the benefits and costs of any type of development that affects biodiversity and choose to approve or reject them.
Another challenge to maintaining biodiversity is the cost. We learnt earlier that some farmers are being paid to keep strips of land at the sides of their fields free. The paying of farmers costs authorities money, and this money could have been spent on something else like healthcare, education etc. (this concept is known as opportunity cost). Furthermore, it also costs money to monitor that farmers are actually doing what they are being paid to do.
We can also protect biodiversity through international agreements. Countries sign up to these agreements and then get penalised if they break them. However, a country does not have to sign up to an agreement, which means that these agreements are notoriously hard to get countries to sign up to. For example, President Trump has pulled out of the Paris agreement, which was set up to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the effects of climate change. Another example is an agreement set up by the International Whaling Commission to stop whaling. The majority of countries around the world signed up to the agreement, but a few countries did not. The countries that did not sign up are the ones who undertake the most whaling. This has meant that around 2,000 whales are still killed each year. Norway and Iceland did not sign up to the agreement and these countries do a lot of whaling. In addition to the difficulties of getting countries to sign up to an agreement, it is also very hard to monitor and assess whether everyone is following the agreement. For example, there are many fishing restrictions across the world that limit the number or type of fish that boats are allowed to catch or the areas that they are allowed to catch the fish in. However, it is extremely difficult to monitor these sorts of agreements, which can lead to individuals or countries completely ignoring them.
A final conflict is between biodiversity and food security. It is often the case that farmers will undertake actions that reduce the number of crops that are lost to pests (insecticides, herbicides and pesticides). This increases the yields of their crops, thus increasing the profit that the farmers make and maintaining food security. Examples of pests are insects, rabbits, foxes etc. However, the actions that farmers use to control pests will lead to the reduction of these pests, which can have implications on the food chain and ecosystems.
There are many challenges with maintaining biodiversity.
One example is that many developing nations are using their raw materials as a way to develop. Lots of developing countries that have forests are deforesting so that the raw materials can be sold and the land that has been cleared can be used for farming. The cleared land is usually used to crop cash crops or rear cattle. Jobs are created in both the clearing of the land and in the farming of the land after it has been cleared. The deforestation of land is a huge loss to biodiversity, but a huge boost to the local economy, which creates a conflict. Authorities in countries must weigh up the benefits and costs of any type of development that affects biodiversity and choose to approve or reject them.
Another challenge to maintaining biodiversity is the cost. We learnt earlier that some farmers are being paid to keep strips of land at the sides of their fields free. The paying of farmers costs authorities money, and this money could have been spent on something else like healthcare, education etc. (this concept is known as opportunity cost). Furthermore, it also costs money to monitor that farmers are actually doing what they are being paid to do.
We can also protect biodiversity through international agreements. Countries sign up to these agreements and then get penalised if they break them. However, a country does not have to sign up to an agreement, which means that these agreements are notoriously hard to get countries to sign up to. For example, President Trump has pulled out of the Paris agreement, which was set up to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the effects of climate change. Another example is an agreement set up by the International Whaling Commission to stop whaling. The majority of countries around the world signed up to the agreement, but a few countries did not. The countries that did not sign up are the ones who undertake the most whaling. This has meant that around 2,000 whales are still killed each year. Norway and Iceland did not sign up to the agreement and these countries do a lot of whaling. In addition to the difficulties of getting countries to sign up to an agreement, it is also very hard to monitor and assess whether everyone is following the agreement. For example, there are many fishing restrictions across the world that limit the number or type of fish that boats are allowed to catch or the areas that they are allowed to catch the fish in. However, it is extremely difficult to monitor these sorts of agreements, which can lead to individuals or countries completely ignoring them.
A final conflict is between biodiversity and food security. It is often the case that farmers will undertake actions that reduce the number of crops that are lost to pests (insecticides, herbicides and pesticides). This increases the yields of their crops, thus increasing the profit that the farmers make and maintaining food security. Examples of pests are insects, rabbits, foxes etc. However, the actions that farmers use to control pests will lead to the reduction of these pests, which can have implications on the food chain and ecosystems.