Biodiversity Conservation: Importance, Impact, and Legislation

This essay examines the concept of biodiversity, emphasizing the variety of life forms and habitats on Earth. It highlights the significance of biodiversity conservation, noting that the loss of biodiversity leads to species extinction and disrupts ecological balance. The essay discusses how biodiversity impacts climate, affecting natural habitats and carbon dioxide levels. It also explores the impact of biodiversity loss on amphibians and other species. Furthermore, it delves into the causes of biodiversity loss, including habitat alteration, pollution, and climate change, while also underlining the importance of biodiversity for human well-being, including food security and medical research. The essay mentions legal frameworks for biodiversity protection, specifically citing Singapore's legislation such as the Parks and Trees Act and the Wild Animals and Birds Act.

Running head: BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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The term biodiversity refers to the different type of animals, plants, fungi, microbial
organism which are living in this earth within the different habitats. It is estimated that,
almost 10 million different type of species in this earth under different habitat. This term was
first coined in 1985 by the scientist Walter G. Rosen. However in recent time, it is reported
that, in various countries of this world, the issue of biodiversity loss has become a serious
area of concern. The impact of biodiversity loss has multiple effects on the environment and
the habitats of the environment as well. In order to minimize the adverse impact on the
environment and on the habitats, it is crucial to conserve the biodiversity (Carrington,2018).
In this essay, the importance of biodiversity conservation, impact of biodiversity conservation
on human, legislation regarding the biodiversity conservation are discussed in a brief manner.
It is very important to conserve biodiversity of the environment as it is reported that,
the loss of biodiversity is associated with the extinction of various species from the
environment. Moreover, each species is important for the conservation of environmental
balance and any disruption in the amount of biomass will cause alteration in the food chain of
the environment. It is reported that, due to the loss of biodiversity, the normal functioning of
ecology can be disrupted. For example it can be said that, the losses in biodiversity can cause
significant alteration in the ecosystem functioning and it is quite true that an intact eco system
can only function in a well manner. In order to make a complete and ideal biodiversity in the
environment it is very crucial to maintain the species composition, species richness, species
interaction and all of the aforesaid factor help in maintaining the stability of the eco system
and thereby the stability of the environment is also maintained (Carrington, 2018). Moreover,
biodiversity is associated with the climate and any alteration in the natural biodiversity can be
a causative factor for the change in the climate. In various studies, it is reported that, the due
to loss in the biodiversity, the natural habitats are also affected and the amount of carbon di
oxide released in the atmosphere is also enhancing day by day due to the alteration in the

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biodiversity. Moreover, due to the change in the climate, the amphibian population of the
nature is also decreasing as they are very sensitive to the environmental changes. Thereby
alteration in the number of species in the environment will cause change in the biomass of the
environment and so it can be said that, any changes in the biodiversity is a serious concern of
the environment itself (U.S Mission to International Organization Geneva, 2019).
Scientists have identified the amphibians as the marker of the health of the
biodiversity and any changes in the amphibian population can be a bad signal for the
environment. Therefore, it is reported that, when the population of the amphibian group are
in major stress, the biodiversity of that area are also highly affected and vice versa. From
various resources it is reported that, the number of the amphibian population is reducing in a
very high rate and as a result the eco system of the environment is also highly affected. Not
only the amphibians, but other species such as reptiles, fishes are also facing the threats of
extinction due to the change in the climate as a consequence of the biodiversity loss.
According to the report of BBC, it is reported that due to the climate change, 80% of the
lizard’s species of the world could be wiped out ( Shah, 2014). On the other hand, the future
of the reptiles are not at all secure as IUCN estimated that almost 19% of world’s reptiles
have the chances of being extinct due to the loss of biodiversity (IUCN, 2013). Due to the
loss of biodiversity, the marine ecosystem is also altered highly and it is estimated that the
each year a huge amount of marine species is reducing numbers due to the climate change.
So, it can be said that, the conservation of biodiversity is very crucial for keeping the
environment in a healthy condition (Shah, 2014).
The main reason of biodiversity loss is associated with the alteration and loss of
natural areas for the vegetative specie and animal species as well. Moreover the
environmental pollution s another reason of loss of biodiversity and climate change. The
environmental pollution is associated with the human activity as human beings engaged in

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the issues like deforestation, hunting of animals and these result in the change in the
ecosystem. Along with this, the climate change is also secondarily affecting the loss of
diversity as well (Shah, 2014).
The conservation of eco system is highly associated with the wellbeing of the human
being. It is reported that, the conservation of biodiversity is the base for the human health as
conservation of the biodiversity in the environment will allow to keep the ecosystem in a
sustain condition. Genetic diversity in the food system provides food security to the human
being and promotes resistance of the crops against the crop and environmental stress. So, loss
of biodiversity may alter the food security of the human being. Along with this conservation
of the natural biodiversity will allow the human beings to continue the medical research and
practice of traditional medicinal experiments as they have adequate resources in the nature
(Pecl et al., 2017).
In order to protect the biodiversity in nature, there are a few legal frameworks in all
the countries of the world and Singapore is not at all different from them. In Singapore, it is
reported that, there are primarily two acts which are associated with the protection of the
biodiversity in the country and they are Parks and Trees Act 2005 and National Parks Board
Act 2005. Apart from that, the wild animals and birds are protected by the act named Wild
Animals and Birds Act 1965 (Chan, Davison & Chia, 2019).

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References
Carrington, D. (2018). What is biodiversity and why does it matter to us? The Gurdian.
[Online]. Retrieved from- https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/12/what-is-
biodiversity-and-why-does-it-matter-to-us [Accessed on 7th June, 2019].
Chan, L., Davison, G., & Chia, C. (2019). Biodiversity Conservation in Singapore. A Centre
for Urban Greenery and Ecology Publication. Retrieved from-
https://www.nparks.gov.sg/-/media/cuge/ebook/citygreen/cg1/cg1_11.pdf
IUCN (2013). Almost one in five reptiles struggling to survive. IUCN. Retrieved from-
https://www.iucn.org/content/almost-one-five-reptiles-struggling-survive [Accessed on
7th June, 2019].
Pecl, G. T., Araújo, M. B., Bell, J. D., Blanchard, J., Bonebrake, T. C., Chen, I. C., ... &
Falconi, L. (2017). Biodiversity redistribution under climate change: Impacts on
ecosystems and human well-being. Science, 355(6332), eaai9214.
Shah, A. (2014). Loss of Biodiversity and Extinctions. Global Issues. [Online]. Retrieved
from- http://www.globalissues.org/article/171/loss-of-biodiversity-and-extinctions
[Accessed on 7th June, 2019].
U.S Mission to International Organization Geneva (2019). The Importance of Biodiversity
for Development. USAID. Retrieved from-
https://geneva.usmission.gov/2010/04/20/usaid-biodiversity/ [Accessed on 7th June,
2019].

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