Environment conservation and the use of natural resources

By Tara McLaughlin

Date: 24/05/06

Before the mid-1980s, no one had heard of the term 'biodiversity'.

Some 20 years later, however, scientists, politicians and conservationists use the term to address environmental conservation and the utilisation of natural resources.

Coined in 1985 for a national forum on the subject held in Washington, DC, the following year, biodiversity refers to the varieties of genes in a species, the varieties of species in an ecosystem,or the variety of ecosystems in a region.

The main themes of biodiversity are not new. Conservationists encourage maintenance of biodiversity because within natural environments plants, animals and micro-organisms interact to maintain a natural balance and the highest level of efficiency. When something interferes with that balance, the effectiveness of the system is diminished.

In 1992, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity was a pact agreed to by most of the world's governments to protect the environment as their economies expanded.

Protecting biodiversity means different things to different people. Some believe in protecting the earth because they believe in a sense of human responsibility for natural resources.

Others see protecting biodiversity as a means to protect an economic system that relies on the many resources in a healthy ecosystem.

"The dollar value of services provided by ecosystems throughout the world is estimated to be $33 trillion per year. The value of all human-produced goods and services per year is about $18 trillion," according to WWF, the conservation group.

Many governments are working towards a target to reduce biodiversity loss by 2010.

Background information on biodiversity.
Article is part of a European Voice Special Report, 'Biodiversity'.

European Commission: DG Environment: Policies: Nature and Biodiversity http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/index_en.htm

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