Abstract In this article, the writer discusses that it is a generally accepted fact that biodiversity must be preserved not only for the aesthetic inheritance of future generations, but also for the continuation of life on earth. Indeed, the topic has been the focus of many a lecture, seminar and conference on sustainability and economics. The concept of overprotection for biodiversity might therefore seem somewhat bizarre to the uninitiated. The writer maintains that the term overprotection should however be understood in a particular sense in order to make sense in the context of biodiversity, conservation and sustainability. Only when this understanding is achieved, an assessment can be made regarding the possible overprotection of biodiversity. In conclusion, the writer does not think that biodiversity is overprotected, but believes that the protection that is available for biodiversity throughout the world is handled incorrectly.
From the Paper "Human beings today, especially those living in urban areas, tend to be separated from the natural environment that sustains them. Everything is made available in processed form. The urban citizen is no longer responsible for hunting, farming or slaughtering his or her own food. Hence, when problems such as sustainability and biodiversity present themselves, it tends to be romanticized in the minds of those not directly affected. It is as if the urban citizen is obsessed by these ideas when they are broadcast over the media. It is the fashion, as it were, to be concerned with the environment. Such concern however does not directly affect those responsible for laws governing environmental conservation and sustainability."
Abstract This paper assesses the ethical and utilitarian arguments concerning animal rights in respect to global biodiversity. In respect to the question of biodiversity, it is questionable as to whether there is an ethical position as to why animals should be preserved, or whether humanity justifies their support of animal rights due to purely self- serving reasons. This paper investigates whether animal rights in this instance is created out of concern for the animals themselves, or whether the argument is merely justification for preserving the welfare of the human race.
Abstract Of all the forests in the world the rain forests are the most diverse and are being destroyed at the greatest rate. Rainforests cover only about 5% of earth, but they contain 50% of her species. This paper discusses the importance of Forests and shows that Forests are the most valuable eco-systems in the world, containing over 60 per cent of the world's biodiversity. This paper emphasizes the importance of maintaining this important natural resource and what it means to our environment.
Abstract This paper examines how, despite their apparent dissimilarities, the nations of Uganda, India, and Colombia are united by their biodiversity emergencies. In all of these impoverished nations, wildlife is being lost at an alarming rate. It shows how in India, poaching is to blame, while Uganda and Colombia must both combat years of civil unrest to protect their wildlife. It discusses how all three countries must employ both governmental and private agencies in order to save their disappearing wildlife.
From the Paper "In addition to its coal reserves, India has great diamond mines. Diamonds are the country's largest export, providing it with $6.6 billion a year (Kripalani 2000). Currently, India's mines are controlled by small-community based companies (Kripalani 2000). Steps have been taken by the federal government to bring in outside organizations with advanced mining equipment, such as De Beers Consolidated Mines (Kripalani 2000). However, those efforts have been greatly opposed by locals, who illegally dig for diamonds and fear losing profits to foreigners (Kazmin 1998). In addition to diamond mining, India is involved in diamond cutting and polishing. Because of this, nine out of ten diamonds sold worldwide pass through India (Kripalani 2000). In smaller quantities than its coal and diamonds, India also contains petroleum, iron ore, many different minerals, and natural gas (India 1999)."
Abstract This paper examines the issue of biodiversity through a review of an article, "Hotspots and the Conservation of Evolutionary History" written by Wes Sechrest and Thomas M. Brooks and published in "The National Academy of Sciences". The paper contends that the article stops short of attempting to identify any possible solutions to this impending problem. The paper claims the it does help to illuminate some of the shortcomings of current conservation strategies; namely, a conservation strategy focused upon preservation of single species ignores much larger trends of extinction that mankind imposes upon the natural world. The paper explains that the ideologies that the study relies upon are implicit and the article itself merely warns that the consequences of ruining seemingly insignificant expanses of land possess the potential to be quite severe.
From the Paper "An article written by Wes Sechrest and Thomas M. Brooks and published in The National Academy of Sciences reveals the results of a study they conducted investigating the varying levels of biodiversity distributed throughout the world. The authors employ a fairly novel approach in their measurements of biodiversity, specifically, relying upon two methods approximating the levels of evolutionary history endemic to twenty-five terrestrial "hotspots." The significance of evolutionary history as a measuring stick is that it is associated with the past importance of particular geographic locations, and implies that future evolution is threatened if these locations are threatened."
Abstract Biodiversity or biological diversity is the study of living organisms in relation to the environment. This paper explains that, because Ontario has significant natural resources, there is a growing concern to protect the ecosystems that support all life in the region. Plants animals birds and insects are dependant on the land and waterways within Ontario, and it is up to the current social order to ensure that these elements of the environment are protected.
Abstract This paper presents a short summary of the freshwater ecosystem. It focuses on the species thriving in freshwater areas, the threats to freshwater biodiversity, and the ways to fight those threats.
Outline
Abstract
What is a Freshwater?
Lakes and Ponds
Rivers and Streams
Wetlands
The Freshwater Environment
Threats to Freshwater Biodiversity Solutions to the Problem
From the Paper "Plants and algae are vital to freshwater ecosystems for they provide oxygen and food for the animals in this system. In moving waters, some plants have special characteristics that prevent them from being carried away. Some plants have stems that bend with the flow of moving water, some have strong roots anchored in the soil, while some like mosses can stick to rocks. Meanwhile in still waters, some plants have different ways to adapt. For example, algae, water lilies, and duckweed can float on the surface of the water. Reeds and cattails thrive along the shoreline of freshwater regions. Estuaries are also rich in plant life with the unique characteristic of being able to grow in fresh and salt water. Pickleweed and mangroves are some examples of plants living in estuaries."
Abstract This paper looks at the nation's existing biodiversity in a species-centered approach to environmental protection. It examines the costs it imposes on society and looks at the stakeholders involved in species protection issues include farming and industrial groups, environmentalists, and politicians and policy-makers.
From the Paper "In today's society, it would not be hard to convince the average U.S. citizen that saving Earth's endangered species from extinction should be a national priority. Thanks to the press, over the years, most people seem to have gained a general ethical and scientific understanding of the value of biological diversity. This biological diversity, or biodiversity, is a concept that emphasizes the fragile nature of the genetic and social interrelationships of the many varieties of plant and animal life that can be found in any given ecosystem (DiSilvestro, 1993). If one species disappears, the entire ecosystem may be affected by the loss, in a possibly disastrous chain reaction that modern science does not currently have the capability to fully predict the outcome of."
Tags:biodiversity, economic, ecosystem, environmental, esa, habitat
Abstract This paper explains that the impression that all of Mexico is hot and dry and made up of mostly rural societies is wrong. The writer points out that the countery also contains icy mountain peaks as found in the Sierra Madre systems, lush jungles and agricultural regions as found in the temperate tierra templada and exquisite coastal zones along the Pacific Ocean and Baja California. The author explains that anthropologists have traditionally divided the ethnic categories of Mexico into two categories, the Indian and the Mestizo; today the majority of Mexican society is mestizo, one of the most distinctive sociological elements of Mexico. The paper relates that because of the variety of these topographical and geological regions, vast species of flora and fauna thrive despite the interference of the modern-day world.
From the Paper "All of the major topographical regions of northern Mexico run north and south and can be viewed as extensions of regions within the southwestern United States. The Sierra Madre Occidental is thus an extension of the Sierra Nevada; the Sierra Madre Oriental which defines the eastern edge of the highlands of northern Mexico is an extension of the Rocky Mountains. The Sierra Madre Oriental runs from the border with Texas south to the northern part of the state of Puebla and although narrower than the Sierra Madre Occidental, it reaches higher altitudes, peaking at over 3,700 meters in the state of Nuevo Leon. In this environment, "animal life is rich and is reminiscent of those biomes elsewhere in the world with similar vegetation characteristics." "
This paper discusses the bio-invasion of a noxious seaweed caulerpa taxifolia, "killer algae", continuing to spread along the coasts of Spain, France, Monaco, Italy, Croatia and Tunisia.
Abstract This paper explains that caulerpa taxifolia, which had been grown as an aquarium strain of caulerpa taxifolia bred for its pleasant appearance, rapid growth and tolerance for cold conditions, now is an accidentally introduced, invasive specie of algae, which has taken over the Mediterranean Sea. The author reports that the dense mono-cultures of the weed are smothering native plant and animal species, drastically reducing biodiversity, and, because of the toxic effects of the weed's caulerpenyne compounds, are making surviving fish, unsuitable for human consumption. The paper relates that some effective methods of eradication of caulerpa taxifolia are (1) covering and sealing by PVC tarpaulins, which were injected with chlorine, (2) applying coarse sea, (3) removing manually or using a sump-pump and (4) bio-control, which is the introduction of yet another non-native species that can combat caulerpa taxifolia.
From the Paper "Efforts have been made in attempt to eradicate Caulerpa taxifolia at high costs. Six million United States dollars have been spent in Southern California (another location of C. taxifolia invasion) as of 2004 to kill the weed. And in South Australia, yet another place the invasive algae have been introduced, six to eight million Australian dollars have been spent on killer algae extermination. The elimination of Caulerpa taxifolia, while very costly, is necessary."
Abstract Our entire society is governed by consumerism and competition and in order for our economy to thrive, our appetite for prosperity must continually grow. The paper argues that it is for this very reason that we must take wilderness protection very seriously. As a commercial society we are dependant on our abundance of natural resources and our common wealth of public land to fuel our ever-growing population. The paper argues that even if the average person never visits a pristine forest, their quality of life is seriously affected by its preservation.
Paper Outline:
Introduction
Why Protect Wilderness?
Wilderness as a Resource
Biodiversity Wilderness as a Laboratory
The Arctic Refuge; An Urgent Risk
Conclusion
Bibliography
From the Paper "Perhaps a fundamental importance of wilderness lies in its ability to provide a basis for understanding the effects of our current land-use practices. Wilderness offers us "an ecological laboratory" (Miller, 199) where it is possible to examine nature as it was meant to function. Multiple use approaches to land management and other attempts at conservation may well be practical solutions towards preserving wilderness. However, without being able to compare our practices to an area of land that has not been managed or disturbed, it would be almost impossible to judge the difference. In addition, the National Resource Defiance Council, or NRDC, claims that half of our public lands are home to endangered or threatened species. Unspoiled wilderness provides a habitat in which both nature and evolution can progress without disruption."
Abstract For several decades, many Americans have been aware that the rainforests of Central and South America are shrinking as well as the fact that the lost of significant amounts of rainforest could well have a negative effect on the entire world as well as the immediate areas in and near the former forests. This paper examines how the environmental issue of rainforest loss, with its accompanying soil erosion, contamination of the water table and loss of biodiversity, is caused by many factors that interplay with each other.
Outline
Introduction
Deforestation
Cultural Contributions
Conclusion
From the Paper "Consideration of humankind's impact on the rainforests should begin with the people who have the longest histories there. The indigenous peoples of these rainforest lived for millennia without doing unrecoverable ecological damage (Barnham & Coomes, 1997), even though "slash and burn" farming was a traditional way of life. In "slash and burn" agriculture, the people simply cut down the wooded area and/or burn the vegetation off so they can use the land for their own agricultural purposes (Morrison, 2001). When these groups of people farmed in this manner, however, they moved on to new areas when the land became depleted. Gradually, the rainforest reclaimed the disused farmland, reducing the impact of this farming approach (Morrison, 2001). "
Abstract This paper defines and describes the different sorts of ecological communities found in nature. Each section of the paper defines and explores specific ecological concepts. The Caspian Sea region is selected as a biologically diverse and thriving ecological community.
Food Webs
Succession
Climax Community
Biodiversity The Nature of a Community
From the Paper "Furthermore, characterization of communities can occur based on the number of species and feeding links per species. As community diversity increases, the number of trophic levels, such as the herbivore or omnivore levels, and the number of guilds, such as the leaf eaters of the herbivore trophic level, also increase. These trophic levels, then, help influence the food web by describing either a top down or bottom up energy chain. In top down chains, predators depress populations of other animals, such as herbivores, resulting in a "green" earth. In bottom up chains, plants resist consumption by toxins and digestion inhibition, resulting also in a "green" earth. In both cases, predation and production form intricate parts of the food web (Ricklefs, 2001)."
Abstract The paper relates that many freshwater sources in India are becoming excessively poisoned with pollutants because of industrialized development. The paper explains that this increased water pollution threatens species that cannot live under polluted conditions. The paper notes the obstacles facing efforts to combat these issues and concludes that ultimate improvements in water quality and biodiversity will only emerge when the short-term benefits of economic development are carefully weighed against the long-term threat of environmental destruction.
From the Paper "India, like much of the developing world, faces significant environmental issues. In particular, we must consider the twin threats of excessive pollution in water sources as well as innumerable species threatened with extinction. These may seem to be widely different environmental concerns. After all, the loss of biodiversity isn't necessarily related to water pollution--though it doesn't take much to see how it could be. Consider marine life that would be highly sensitive to water-borne pollutants. Equally, extinction rates could climb if fresh water sources were contaminated to the point that they were killing off wildlife. However, there is a more significant manner in which these two environmental issues are connected, and that is through their requisite root cause. I am referring, of course, to industrialization and economic development."
