VilaWeb - Diari escola: 2010: Year of Biodiversity

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> Why is it essential to preserve biodiversity?

> Biodiversity under threat: figures

> A list of the ten most endangered species

dimarts, 19 de gener de 2010

This year, 2010, has been declared the International Year of Biodiversity by the United Nations (UN) in order to raise awareness that biodiversity (or biological diversity) is essential to preserve life on Earth (including, therefore, human life).

The term 'biodiversity' refers to the variety of living beings that populate the Earth, that is, to all the plants and animals found in nature.

Humankind has the ability and the duty to preserve biodiversity. That is why in 1992, nearly 20 years ago, the world's leaders established the Convention on Biological Diversity, which was signed by over 190 countries.

Ten years later, in 2002, the countries that signed the Convention set 2010 as the target by which to significantly reduce the rapid loss of biodiversity on the planet.

However, despite such commitments, human activity has multiplied the rate of extinction of species by a factor of a thousand. Such a loss is exacerbated by climate change: if solutions are not found, over 30% of all known species could disappear before the end of this century.

+ 'Exploradors: aventura i biodiversitat': exposició oberta al Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona fins el 31 de maig.

Why is it essential to preserve biodiversity?

+ The term 'biodiversity' refers to the variety of living beings.

'Biodiversity is life. Biodiversity is our life'. The International Year of Biodiversity's slogan aims to remind us that the preservation of biological diversity is essential for human life. Amongst other things, the balance of ecosystems enables us to have wood and fuel, it purifies the water and the air, it detoxifies and breaks down waste products, it stabilises the climate, it lessens the consequences of the onslaughts of nature (floods, droughts, extreme temperatures, etc.), it returns fertility to the soil, and it controls plagues and diseases, etc.

Biodiversity under threat: figures

+ The Red List is published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The Red List published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is testament to the threat faced by biodiversity. Out of the 47,677 species studied, 17,291 of them are in danger of extinction. The results show that 21% of known species of mammal are under threat, as are 30% of amphibians, 12% of bird species, 28% of reptile species, 37% of freshwater fish, 70% of plant species and 35% of invertebrate species.

A list of the ten most endangered species

+ There may be as few as 3,200 tigers left in the wild.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF), another organisation that is committed to preserving the environment, has recently published a list of the ten most threatened species of 2010. It includes very well-known animals such as the tiger, the mountain gorilla, the giant panda and the polar bear. The latter has seen its natural habitat drastically reduced because of climate change. Also on the list are the Pacific walrus, the Magellanic penguin, the leatherback turtle, the bluefin tuna, the monarch butterfly and the Javan rhinoceros.

MATERIALS

2010 International Year of Biodiversity
Format:Web
Pàgina oficial de l'Any Internacional de la Biodiversitat. En anglès, espanyol i francès.
Convention on Biological Diversity
Format:Web
Conveni signat per cent noranta-dos estats i per la Unió Europea. També en anglès, espanyol i francès.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Format:Web
Llista Vermella d'Espècies Amenaçades, de la Unió Internacional per la Conservació de la Natura.
Countdown 2010
Format:Web
Promoguda per la IUCN, treballa per aturar la pèrdua de biodiversitat.
Biodiversity
Format:Web
Pàgina sobre biodiversitat del World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

QUE HO SABIES?

Scientists believe there are about 13 million different species, although estimates range from 3 million to 100 million.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, recent studies indicate that there may be as few as 3,200 tigers left in the wild. Tigers occupy less than 7% of their original territory, which has reduced by 40% over the last ten years.