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Ecosystem services, values to humans based on the state of the environment (in this case terrestrial biodiversity) can be used to outline what the effects of loss of biodiversity are. Although ecosystem services relate explicitly to humans, they often have complementary effects on the environment. Some examples of ecosystem services that are benefited by biodiversity are detailed below.

Provisioning

            Food

Increases in biodiversity result in increases in plant production (Winfree, 2013). This is because plant diversity increases plant production since multiple species can be more productive than a single species as they can occupy a greater range of niches. This leads to increases up the food web due to bottom-up effects and has positive impacts on humans because, for example, meat from wild animals is a critical food source for many countries.

           Water quality

Ecosystems with greater species richness are more effective at removing nutrients from water. Excessive nutrient content is considered a leading cause of global water pollution (Cardinale, 2011).

          Human health

Biodiversity loss lowers the quantities of raw materials available for the discovery of potential drugs and biotechnology and effects the spread of human diseases (Alves & Rosa, 2007).

Regulating

           Carbon fixation

Plants take in CO2 as they undergo photosynthesis and change it into organic carbon (Cain, Bowman, & Hacker, 2014, p. 113). Increased plant production from increased biodiversity (see 4.1.a.i.) results in more photosynthesis and thus more carbon fixation. The reduction of atmospheric CO2 , a greenhouse gas, reduces global warming and therefore biodiversity has a positive effect on both humans and the environment.

            Biological control

Plant biodiversity promotes resistance to invasive species by lowering their ability to establish or thrive due to increases in crowding (Lugnot & Martin, 2013).

              Pollination

Declines in pollinator biodiversity result in extinctions of other plant species (Abrol, 2012). Insect pollination, mostly by bees, is necessary for 75% of all crops that are used directly for human food worldwide (Abrol, 2012). In this way, declines in pollinator diversities contribute to other biodiversity declines along with lower food crop supplies for humans.

                Stability & resilience

Biodiversity contributes to ecosystem resilience, including the ability to continue to provide ecosystem services in changing environmental conditions (Sukhdev, Wittmer, Schröter-Schlaack, & Nesshöver, 2010). Biodiversity stabilizes ecosystem function over space or time by response diversity: different species have different responses to environmental change (Winfree, 2013).

Supporting

            Soil fertility, & structure

Biodiversity has several positive effects on soil including increases organic matter content, better nutrient cycling and the promotion of water retention (Lugnot & Martin, 2013). This allows farmers to need less fertilizer and to be able produce food more efficiently (which in turn have positive environmental effects such as reducing the driver or food production.

 Cultural

             Aesthetic value

Humans, especially in developed countries, tend to value complexity and diversity in their surrounding landscapes such as wildflowers, or while bird watching (Tscharntkea, et al., 2012).

*The impacts of the current state (e.g. decline) of biodiversity are outlined by the ecosystem services, above. These impacts inspire responses from human society.*

 

Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention of Biological Diversity is the most comprehensive international biodiversity protection regime (Markussen, Buse, & Garrelts, 2005). It was signed at the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, and implemented at the end of 1993. The convention has many focal areas, outlined in the list below, each with goals, sub-targets and indicators, that demonstrate the mitigations of pressures on biodiversity and the reduction of negative impacts such as losses of ecosystem services.

Reducing the rate of loss of the components of biodiversity, including: (i) biomes, habitats and ecosystems; (ii) species and populations; and (iii) genetic diversity;

Promoting sustainable use of biodiversity;

Addressing the major threats to biodiversity, including those arising from invasive alien species, climate change, pollution, and habitat change;

Maintaining ecosystem integrity, and the provision of goods and services provided by biodiversity in ecosystems, in support of human well-being;

Protecting traditional knowledge, innovations and practices;

Ensuring the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of genetic resources; and

Mobilizing financial and technical resources, especially for developing countries, in particular least developed countries and small island developing States among them, and countries with economies in transition, for implementing the Convention and the Strategic Plan.

List: Focal areas of the CBD text (UNEP, 2015)

In the convention text, there were many targets set for 2010. Although none of the 21 targets were achieved worldwide, there was local and regional progress for goals such as reducing the impact of pollution or conservation at certain scales (Alkemade, et al., 2009).

 Endangered species legislation

                CITES, 1975

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora is an international agreement, aiming to ensure that international trade of species does not threaten their survival. CITES targets the pressure of overexploitation, currently protecting over 35,000 species of animals and plants (CITES Secretariat, 2013).

              National legislation examples

Around 170 countries have national biodiversity strategies and action plans (Alkemade, et al., 2009).

                                 ESA, 1973

In the United States’ Endangered Species Act, listed species cannot be killed, harmed or traded, their critical habitat must not be damaged or destroyed, and there is an obligation to prepare recovery strategies. (Waples, Nammack, Chocrane, & Hutchings, 2013). It therefore reduces pressures such as habitat loss and overexploitation of specific species

                                SARA, 2002

Canada’s species-at-risk legislation, the Species At Risk Act, was enacted to prevent wild species from becoming extirpated or extinct. Assessment is done by COSWEIC, and the government chooses to list, refer back, or not list suggestions based on socioeconomic factors. The effects of listing are similar to those of ESA but recovery strategies must be prepared within a set amount of time (Waples, Nammack, Chocrane, & Hutchings, 2013).

 Endangered Species Assessment Lists

                  IUCN Red List

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List, assesses the status of species (as in the figure below) to inform decisions and priorities for conservation action.

Figure : Structure of the categories of the IUCN Red List (after IUCN Species Survival Commission, 2012)

 Protected areas

Across the world, different levels of government along with NGOs and other groups have responded to biodiversity loss by creating protected areas as an attempt to mitigate the pressure of habitat change. Connected, large reserves buffered from areas of intense human use are effective at sustaining biodiversity (Cain, Bowman, & Hacker, 2014, p. 559). Challenges in implementing protected areas such include human rights of native groups and pressures from industry. Many studies are being done on whether sustainable use conservation areas[2] can be effective in preserving biodiversity (Almudi & Kalikoski, 2010).

Furthermore, work is being done towards ecological restoration or ‘rewilding’ of lands, including an expected 200,000 square kilometers of land in Europe by 2050 (Alkemade, et al., 2009).

 Market tools

One example of a market tool is payments for ecosystem services, which are voluntary mechanisms creating positive incentives for limiting activities that cause environmental degradation.

           REDD+

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation is a UN program which incentivizes developing countries to keep forest stands by offering payments for actions done to reduce or remove forest carbon emissions. This targets the pressures of both climate change and habitat loss.

 

*Although responses can relate to any of the four other DPSIR categories, most of these responses relate to the pressures on terrestrial biodiversity.*

For my conservation class, I wrote an essay on the impacts of governance on human rights of fisher-folk in Lagoa do Peixe National Park, a conservation area in Brazil. In this essay, I suggest a shared governance approach may be better than state governance as top-down effects of state governance has lead to conflict, lack of empowerment and human rights violations. I also prove that conservation should be treated as a human rights issue.

emmasherwood_assignment2

Although the essay was focused on the human dimensions of conservation, I learnt a lot about the traditional ecological knowledge of the fisher-folk while researching. One thing I found interesting was that they have been opening up the lagoon annually, since at least 1820, to allow nutrients and organisms to get in, which has allowed for the ecosystem to thrive.

Note that the word count was 600, which presented a challenge in concisely including everything I wanted to say on the topic. From writing this essay, not only did I learn about social and human rights impacts of conservation (as the prompt required), but also about ecosystems in Brazil. On top of that, I improved my skills at writing concise papers that contain a lot of information.