Report: Understanding the Loss of Biodiversity and its Impact

This report delves into the critical issue of biodiversity loss, examining its environmental, social, and economic dimensions. It explores the causes of this loss, including habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, and resource exhaustion, as well as social elements like demographic changes and poverty. The report also addresses the ethical aspects, such as anthropocentric and biocentric viewpoints, and highlights the opportunities and threats biodiversity loss poses to businesses. Furthermore, it proposes solutions like enhanced use of crop and livestock genetic resources and integrated pest management to mitigate the negative impacts of biodiversity loss. This comprehensive analysis is designed to provide students with a thorough understanding of this pressing global issue, offering insights and potential solutions, available on Desklib.

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Biodiversity – A Global sustainability
Issue
[Type the document subtitle]
5/19/2018
Name:
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Contents
1. Sustainability challenge.......................................................................................................................2
2. Environmental Elements of Loss of Biodiversity..................................................................................2
Change and loss of the habitats...........................................................................................................2
Pollution..............................................................................................................................................2
Climate change....................................................................................................................................2
Exhaustion of resources.......................................................................................................................3
3. Social elements of loss of Biodiversity.................................................................................................3
Demography........................................................................................................................................3
Poverty:...............................................................................................................................................3
Public Policy.........................................................................................................................................3
Government and regulatory Standpoint..............................................................................................4
4. Economic Elements of Loss of Biodiversity..........................................................................................4
5. Ethical aspects involved in Loss of Biodiversity...................................................................................4
6. Ethical Theories of Global sustainability issues....................................................................................5
Anthropocentricism:................................................................................................................................5
Biocentrism:............................................................................................................................................6
7. Opportunities and Threats to Business due to Loss of Biodiversity.....................................................6
Physical threats........................................................................................................................................6
Regulatory and Legal threats...................................................................................................................6
Market threats..........................................................................................................................................7
Others threats...........................................................................................................................................7
8. Recommended solution to the Loss of Biodiversity.............................................................................7
a. Enhanced use of crop and livestock genetic resources................................................................7
b. Use of integrated pest management...........................................................................................8
References...................................................................................................................................................9

1. Sustainability challenge
Loss of Biodiversity is a threat to Sustainability.
2. Environmental Elements of Loss of Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the short form of ‘Biological diversity’ which indicates the variability of
life forms on Earth. The concept of biodiversity incudes the varieties of species of plants,
animals and microorganisms, along with the various ecosystems of the planet such as rain
forests, water systems, deserts, coral reefs, etc. that support the life forms (Schmeller et
al. 2017). Loss of biodiversity means extinction of species, harm to the habitats of plants
and animals, and disruptions in ecosystems.
Apart from natural causes such as cyclones, floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. that
disrupt the habitats of life forms, activities of humans have the largest negative impact on
the biodiversity. The researchers have reported that human activity has caused the
environment to change irreversibly and deeply. The environmentally adverse human
activities include direct exploitation of natural resources, destruction of habitats,
changing the biogeochemical cycles through industrial activity, etc (Whitehead, Kujala,
and Wintle 2017). The environmental threats to biodiversity can be concluded with the
following factors.
Change and loss of the habitats: Transferring plant and animal species from its naturally
occurring environment to other locations can not only increase the risk of loss of species
but also can destroy the eco-system associated with the plant or animal.
Introduction of genetically modified organisms: Dislocation of new species into a
particular area can cause imbalance to the ecological system.
Pollution: This is a manmade element of environment. The emissions and effluents from
industrial activity create an unnatural and harmful surrounding that increases the risks of
loss of biodiversity (Rieuwerts 2017). The presence of harmful chemicals and materials
creates an artificial environment that is detrimental to the natural ecosystem.

Climate change: The increased temperature on the earth’s surface cause the loss of
biodiversity as the many ecosystem and species are sensitive to their physical and
biological surroundings. For example, the coral reefs cannot survive if temperature of the
ocean rises above certain limit (Adipudi, Beernink, Lakey, and Zarzuela 2017).
Exhaustion of resources: when humans capture and harvest the natural resources with
activities such as hunting, fishing, farming, gathering, etc. from a renewable natural
resource in a particular area, the respective natural resources get depleted. The faster rate
of harvest causes the depletion of resources.
3. Social elements of loss of Biodiversity
There are several societal causes that adversely affect the biodiversity. Some of the major
causes include demographic changes, social inequality and poverty, inadequate public
policies, macroeconomic policies, and social and economic developmental changes.
Demography: The researchers have identified a relationship between human population
size, growth and density and loss of biodiversity. As the human population increases, he
need for land and natural resources increases causing a displacement of biodiversity. The
demand for increased food production, infrastructure for housing, public utilities such as
roads, bridges, etc., cause human encroachment into ecological systems. Patterns of
industrial production and human consumption are other important causes of loss of
biodiversity.
Poverty: When communities have limited paths to sustenance, they tend to depend on the
consumption or exploitation of biodiversity. Lack of income and sources of sustenance
cause the people to look for short term survival resources and sacrifice the long term care
for their natural environment (Lynch, Stretesky and Long 2017). The poor farmers,
hunters, gatherers, fishermen, nomads, etc. use natural resources to survive which has
adverse effect on the environment.
Public Policy: Irresponsible policies that disregard biodiversity and encourage economic
activities for financial gain is another socio-political factor for environmental degradation
(Prato and Herath 2017). For example, policies related to tourism, agriculture, water

mining, energy production, telecommunication, etc. sometime are not sensitive to
consequences on biodiversity.
Government and regulatory Standpoint: Many government departments work in silos
and fail to incorporate environmental values in their decisions and programs. Most
departments focus on their goals and pursue their economic purposes than consider the
underlying environmental concerns.
4. Economic Elements of Loss of Biodiversity
Most of the economic policy decision makers have not been valuing the role of
ecosystem in the pursuit of achieving monetary gains. The policy makers are just
beginning to recognize that ecosystem is valuable to all of us (Carver and Sullivan 2017).
The classical economics has been promoting the idea to exploit the acre resources to gain
higher value from the consumers. The scientific research has identified the value of
biodiversity on the quality of life of the citizens.
As per economics angle, ecosystems and biodiversity is a public good. And, placing a
value on any public good is complex process, especially on biodiversity. As the link
between a public good and the quality of life of people is less comprehensible, economic
activity often bring harm to the public good. However, the individual organizations,
households and governments, have begun to include biodiversity into the cost benefit
analysis of the economic activity. The governments and organizations have started to
include environmental auditing and accounting in their economic evaluations. The
organizations have begun to include costs required to conserve environments which
includes biodiversity also (Carver and Sullivan 2017). Considerable costs are
encountered in the process of protecting ecosystems. In appreciation of these costs, the
cost of producing and servicing the customers have gone high which reflects in the GDP
growth as well as the consumption pattern of the consumers. The higher cost paid by the
consumers is used to preserve the environment.

5. Ethical aspects involved in Loss of Biodiversity
There are many ethical reasons that contribute to the loss of biodiversity. One of the
major ethical aspects that contribute to harm to biodiversity is the human tendency to
modify the environment to benefit human conditions and disregard the diversity in the
process (Apostolopoulou and Adams 2017). Even if humans are aware that biodiversity is
essential for wellbeing of the earth’s inhabitants and for the short terms gains, humans
exploit the environmental systems. The intrinsic value of the biodiversity is disregarded
to achieve the personal benefits. Some of the unethical practices that lead to loss of
biodiversity include the following.
Extensive deforestation intended to use the land for profitable agriculture is one of the
unethical practice by humans (Ives and Bekessy 2015). This activity not only directly
causes the loss of biodiversity but also destroys the habitats of thousands of species. The
human activity of agriculture, mining, industrialization, urbanizations, etc., displaces
many of the floras and fauna of a region.
Second unethical practice is the fragmentation of the habitats for the economic benefits.
For example, humans introduce invasive species to control the apparent menace from the
animals to protect the agriculture. For example the over use of bee keeping, displaces
other species of insects from the environment. Third is the animal and tree poaching for
economic gains are second highest unethical activity. This practice directly affects the
loss of biodiversity. Many of the species are endangered and run the risk of extinction
due to animal poaching.
6. Ethical Theories of Global sustainability issues
There are many theoretical explanations to the unethical practices of humans with respect
to loss of biodiversity. However, there are cultural communities who practice the
preservation of the biodiversity. The theories behind both the practices are discussed
here.
Anthropocentricism: It is an approach that represents the superiority of human
existence and is closely related to ethics of loss of biodiversity. This theory suggests that
due to the indoctrination of the idea that human are superior to the other life forms and

have the capacity to conquer the nature, the human communities have been practicing the
exploitation of ecosystems without considering the its harmful consequences (Shoreman-
Ouimet and Kopnina 2015). The communities that exploited nature did not even
considered as their practice as unethical. The anthropocentric theory suggests that all
animals and plants are instrumental for existence and benefit of human existence.
Humans have the natural right to exploit the natural resources of the world. The
theological interpretation of human supremacy has caused many communities to practice
cultures that negated biodiversity.
Biocentrism: According to this theory, all life forms in the planet have the right to
live and are worthy for existence. Depending on the functionalities they play in the total
ecosystem, each species have relative value. There are and were communities around the
world that practiced bio centric ideals. Many of the species are not extinct because of
their cultural practices and reverence to life forms (Martin, Maris and Simberloff 2016).
The communities that practice biocentrism have morals that give space to all life and the
community members of such culture allocate their resources to all the vital life forms.
Rather than quantifying the value of biodiversity, the people who practice biocentrism
often place absolute value on the environment. As an antidote to anthropocentrism, the
bio centric principles are gaining momentum in recent era.
7. Opportunities and Threats to Business due to Loss of Biodiversity
Many business leaders are aware of the global problems of biodiversity loss and
degradation in ecosystem but it is often not perceived as a problem of business (Reade,
Thorp, Goka, Wasbauer, and McKenna 2015). Even though many businesses consider
that they are unrelated to biodiversity, a close examination indicate that most business
depend on the ecosystems and biodiversity. Loss of biodiversity is threat as well offers
opportunities to business. Some of the threats and opportunities are discussed below.
Many of the primary industries such as natural extraction, forestry, farming, fishing, etc.
are under threat because of the diminishing resources and the increasing demand. The
business risks can be classified in the following manner and the associated business
operations are indicated below.

Physical threats: because of the reduced resources, the business that depend on the raw
materials from the ecosystem will be affected through reduced productivity, increased
cost of resources and frequent disruptions in operation (Van Dover et al. 2017).
Regulatory and Legal threats: The governments across the globe are employing
restraints on the use of natural resources, hence the businesses that depend on natural
resources are often restricted to use land and resources, have increased chance of being
litigated, and are liable to pay higher compensation for the use.
Market threats: Because of the increased awareness among the consumers regarding the
environmental sustainability, consumers are changing their preferences and the customer
requirements are frequently changing.
Others threats: There are other threats to business that are related to biodiversity such as
risk to reputation, restrictions to supply chain and the investor confidences.
Along with presenting a business with threats, the loss of biodiversity opens up many
opportunities. Companies that source materials from sustainable sources are likely to be
surviving in the market. Companies that plan their operations without negatively
impacting the environment and conserving the natural heritage are likely to be accepted
in the market (Wunder et al 2018). The new generation businesses such as responsible
tourism, non- invasive civil construction, creation of green building, organic farming, etc.
are some of the opportunities.
8. Recommended solution to the Loss of Biodiversity
There are many approaches emerging in many parts of the world to minimize and
eradicate the loss of biodiversity (Wunder et al 2018). Agriculture is one of the areas
where the business managers can employ the schemes that increase biodiversity and
ecosystem. About one third of the available land on earth is used for agriculture, and that
proportion cannot be increased any further. The demand for food also increases as the
demographics expand. The scientists and practitioners are looking for ways to improve
the agricultural productivity while maintaining the ecological balance (Rockström et al.
2017).
Two suggestions are made here to arrest the loss of biodiversity.

a. Enhanced use of crop and livestock genetic resources: This activity will help in
achieving sustainable increases in food production. Through preserving and
breeding the naturally occurring breeds and deploying genetically diverse breeds
in the agriculture, the practitioners can control pests and diseases and maintain
biodiversity.
b. Use of integrated pest management: The agriculture practitioners may use
planned natural pollinators, soil biota and maintaining animals that prey on
agricultural pests. Similarly, the plant diseases may be controlled using
microorganisms that fight the disease causing microbes. By applying this practice
the farmers will be able to protect and promote biodiversity.
The effective management of agricultural biodiversity is critical in meeting emerging
food needs and maintaining sources of other goods and services from the agricultural
ecosystems. It is possible to recreate the biodiversity systems.

References
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Carver, L. and Sullivan, S., 2017. How economic contexts shape calculations of yield in
biodiversity offsetting. Conservation Biology, 31(5), pp.1053-1065.
Ives, C.D. and Bekessy, S.A., 2015. The ethics of offsetting nature. Frontiers in Ecology and the
Environment, 13(10), pp.568-573.
Lynch, M.J., Stretesky, P.B. and Long, M.A., 2017. Blaming the poor for biodiversity loss: a
political economic critique of the study of poaching and wildlife trafficking. Journal of Poverty
and Social Justice, 25(3), pp.263-275.
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