Environment

al Science
Presented By
B.Ameena Beebi
Assistant Professor
BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - INTRODUCTION

Biodiversity is the abbreviated word for biological diversity (bio-life or living

organisms, diversity-variety). Thus biodiversity is the total variety of life on our
planet, the total number of races, varieties and species. The sum of total of various
types of microbes, plants and animals (producers, consumers and decomposers) in a
system.

Biomes can be considered life zones, environment with similar climatic, topographic
and soil conditions and roughly comparable biological communities (Eg. Grassland,
forest). The biomes shelter an astounding variety of living organisms (from driest
desert to dripping rain forest, from highest mountain to deepest ocean trenches, life
occurs in a marvelous spectrum of size, shape, colour and inter relationship). The
variety of living organisms, the biodiversity, makes the world beautiful.
BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - INTRODUCTION

There are 1.4 million species known

presently. But based on new discoveries, by
research expeditions, mainly in tropics,
taxonomists estimate there are between 3-
50 million different species may be alive
today. Insects make up more than one half
of all known species and may comprise
more than 90% of all species on earth.
BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - INTRODUCTION
The concept of biodiversity may be analyzed in 3 different levels. They are

1.Ecosystem diversity
2. Species diversity
3. Genetic diversity

Ecosystem or ecological diversity means the richness and complexity of a biological

community, including tropic levels, ecological processes (which capture energy), food
webs and material recycling.
Species diversity describes the number of kinds of organisms within individual
communities or ecosystems.
Genetic diversity is a measure of the variety of versions of same gene within
individual species.
BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - BIODIVERSITY
HOTSPOTS
Most of the world’s biodiversity are near the equator especially tropical rain forest
and coral reefs. Of all the world’s species, only 10-15% live in North America and
Europe. The Malaysian Peninsula, for instance, has at least 8000 species of flowing
plants, while Britain, with an area twice as large, has only 1400 species. South
America has 200 000 species of plants. Areas isolated by water, desert or mountain
can also have high conc. of unique species and biodiversity. New Zealand, South
Africa and California are all mid-latitude area isolated by barriers that prevent
mixing up of biological communities from other region and produce rich, unusual
collection of species.
BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - SIGNIFICANCE OF
BIODIVERSITY
Biosphere is a life supporting system to the human
race. Each species in the biosphere has its own
significance. It is the combination of different
organisms that enables the biosphere to sustain
human race. Biodiversity is vital for a healthy
biosphere. Biodiversity is must for the stability and
proper functioning of the biosphere. Besides these
biodiversity is so important due to having
consumptive use values, productive use values, social
values, ethical values and aesthetic values.
 BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - BENEFITS OF
BIODIVERSITY
We benefit from other organism in many ways. Even insignificant organisms can
play irreplaceable roles in ecological systems or the source of genes or drugs that
someday become indispensable.
Food : Many wild plant species could make important contributions to human food
suppliers either as they are or as a source of material to improve domestic crops.
About 80,000 edible plants could be used by human.
Drugs and medicine : Living organisms provides many useful drugs and medicines.
The United Nations Development Programme derived from developing world plants,
animals and microbes to be more than $30 billion per year.
 BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - BENEFITS OF
BIODIVERSITY
Eg. For natural medicinal products

Penicillin – fungus is the source – Antibiotic

Quinine – chincona bark - Malaria treatment
Morphine – poppy bark – Analgesic

Twenty years before, once the drugs were not

introduced, childhood leukemia was fatal. Now
the remission rate for childhood leukemia is
99%.
 BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - ECOLOGICAL
BENEFITS
Human life is inextricably linked to ecological
services provided by other organisms. Soil
formation, waste disposal, air and water
purification, solar energy absorption, nutrient
cycling and food production all depend on
biodiversity. In many environments, high
diversity may help
biological communities to withstand
environmental stress better and to recover more
quickly than those with fewer species.
 BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - VALUE OF
BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity provides a variety of environmental services from its species and

ecosystems that are essential at the global, regional and local levels. Biodiversity is
essential for preserving ecological processes, such as fixing and recycling of nutrients,
soil formation, circulation and cleansing of air and water, global life support,
maintaining the water balance within ecosystems, watershed protection, maintaining
stream and river flows throughout the year, erosion control and local flood reduction.
Food, clothing, housing, energy, medicines are all resources that are directly or
indirectly linked to the biological variety present in the biosphere.
 BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - VALUE OF
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CONSUMPTIVE USE VALUE : A straight
consumptive use is the direct utilization of
timber, food, fuelwood and fodder by local
communities. The diversity of organisms
provide food, clothing, shelter, medicines,
proteins, enzymes, papers, sports goods,
musical instruments, beverages, narcotics,
pets, zoo specimens, tourism and raw
material for business prospects etc.
 BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - VALUE OF
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PRODUCTIVE USE VALUE : This category comprises of marketable goods. The
biotechnologist uses bio-rich areas to prospect and search for potential genetic
properties in plants or animals that can be used to develop better varieties of crops
for use in farming and plantation programs or to develop better live stock. To the
pharmacist, biological diversity is the raw material from which new drugs can be
identified from plant or animal products. To industrialists, biodiversity is rich
storehouse from which to develop new products. For the agricultural scientist, the
biodiversity is the basis for developing better crops. A variety of industries, like
pharmaceuticals are highly dependent on identifying compounds of great economic
value from the wide variety of wild species of plants located in undisturbed natural
forests called “biological prospecting”.
 BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - VALUE OF
BIODIVERSITY

SOCIAL VALUES : Social value of biodiversity prospecting motivated habitat

conservation in some areas, as traditional societies valued it as a resource. Ecosystem
people value biodiversity as a part of their livelihood as well as through cultural and
religious sentiments. A great variety of crops have been cultivated in traditional
agricultural systems and permitted a wide range of produce to be grown and
marketed throughout the year and acted as an insurance against the failure of one
crop. In recent years, farmers have begun to receive economic incentives to grow
cash crops for national or international markets, rather than to supply local needs.
This has resulted in local food shortages, unemployment, landlessness, and increased
vulnerability to drought and floods.
 BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - VALUE OF
BIODIVERSITY
ETHICAL AND MORAL VALUES : Ethical
values related to biodiversity conservation are
based on the importance of protecting all forms
of life against illegal activities like cloning of
animals, smuggling of valuable biodiversity
instances, bio-piracy, illicit trade etc. In India,
several generations have preserved nature
through local traditions. However, immediate
benefit rather than ethics appears to be modern
man’s objective.
 BIODIVERSITY AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE - VALUE OF
BIODIVERSITY

AESTHETIC VALUE : Biodiversity is a direct source of pleasure and aesthetic

satisfaction – its contribution to quality of life, outdoor recreation and scenic
enjoyment. They provide opportunities for recreational activities such as hiking,
canoeing, bird watching, river rafting, rock climbing, trekking, parasailing, bird
watching and nature photography. The designing of thousands of new horticultural
species, wild life conservation, landscape luxury, national parks, zoological and
botanical gardens, snake, crocodile, butterfly parks, and biotechnologically
manipulated novel curios species added to the existing aesthetics.
 Thank You
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