Biodiversity: Importance, threats and societal response

Biodiversity is fundamental to humankind. We depend on it for almost every aspect of our lives; from the air we breathe, to our housing and food, and even the raw materials for our medicines. It provides invaluable services such as clean water, nutrient cycling and erosion control- generally referred to as ecosystem services

Genetic diversity helps ensure that we can combat disease in our food crops and provides material for cures to human disease. Indeed, it is the 'biodiversity' of Planet Earth that makes it habitable for humans. Many cultures also value biodiversity for its aesthetic and spiritual aspects. Humanity's dependency on biodiversity has led many institutions and individuals to argue that we should be cautious about how we manage and use it.

Biodiversity remains under threat and the growing human population is fuelling an unprecedented decline. Key indicators such as year-on-year increases in threatened species (16,118 species in 2006, up from 11,046 in 2000) and loss of habitat (20% of tropical forests and 50% of global wetlands destroyed in the past 50 years) serve to illustrate the magnitude of the issue.

Scientists have formally described and given official names to approximately 1.75 million species. However, they estimate that there are still millions more yet to be identified. The likely reality is that species are becoming extinct before they are even known to humankind and that we are losing not only their intrinsic value and role in 'the web of life' but also the potential benefits they might bring to humanity.

What are the threats to biodiversity?

Growing populations and rising wealth are putting many sensitive and biodiversity-rich ecosystems under threat. Meeting the world's need for more and increasingly diverse energy supplies risks adding to the pressure.

As the 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment made clear, governments urgently need to find the right balance between development and nature conservation. The biggest problem is encroachment by farming and housing. However, energy production also plays a role, from the search for oil and gas in sensitive areas, to the extra land needed for energy infrastructure and, increasingly, for energy crops.

There are seven interrelated threats to biodiversity - society's response to these will be fundamental in determining the future of biodiversity on Earth:

1. Climate change. If, as predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - opens in a new window, the Earth's temperature continues to rise, habitats will undergo marked changes over a relatively short period of time. This means that many species will have to cope with new competitors, predators and diseases. Some ecosystems, such as mangroves and coral reefs, could disappear altogether as a result of rising sea levels.

2. Habitat loss. Increasing land clearance through agriculture (including more recently conversion of land to grow bioenergy crops) and deforestation, combined with urban sprawl and its associated infrastructure, are leading to the destruction, degradation and fragmentation of habitats.

3. Changing land use. Development can lead to direct impacts on biodiversity through changes in land use. Development can also open up areas through the creation of linear infrastructure, such as roads, pipelines, railways and power cables, which offer easier access to areas that were previously isolated from human activities. This can result in the establishment of new settlements, clearing of adjacent land for agriculture and logging and increased hunting of endangered species in areas remote from the development site.

4.   Over harvesting / exploitation. The unsustainable use of resources - for example over-fishing and the hunting of threatened and endangered fauna - has put a number of species at risk of extinction.

5.   Alien species. Species that are not native to an area can cause significant damage to native species by competing with them for resources such as space or food, or by altering predation and population rates; after-the-fact control measures are expensive and often ineffective. Examples of well-known alien species include the eucalyptus tree, the zebra mussel and the water hyacinth. Although in the past many of these losses have gone unrecorded, today, there is an increasing acknowledgment of the ecological costs of biological invasion in terms of irretrievable loss of native biodiversity.

6.   Pollution. Pollution causes biodiversity loss both over the short term, through die-offs, and in the long term by destroying habitats. Sources of pollution are extremely varied, but two common contaminants - nitrogen and phosphates - can cause significant changes in the chemical characteristics of soils and the biodiversity that they support.

7.   Human population growth and development. The world's population currently stands at approximately 6.5 billion, with a forecast rise to between 9-10 billion within the next 30 years. As a consequence, there is mounting pressure for resources and development of the natural environment, driving habitat loss, land use change, pollution and non-sustainable consumption of natural resources.

Society's response

Other important multi-lateral agreements include:

The World Heritage Convention - opens in a new window (1972), which identifies more than 800 sites of natural and cultural significance that should be conserved as "jewels in the crown", representing sites of universal value.
The Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species - opens in a new window (CITES) (1975), which works to protect species that are threatened by over harvesting and exploitation.
TheRamsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance - opens in a new window (1971), which provides a framework for national action and international co-operation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
The Convention on Migratory Species - opens in a new window (1979), which provides a framework for agreements between countries with habitats important to the migration of threatened species.
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification - opens in a new window (1994), which seeks to combat and reverse desertification as part of the sustainable development of countries affected by drought and desertification.

Summaries of other biodiversity-related conventions are available at The Energy and Biodiversity Initiative's - opens in a new window website.

The vast majority of the world's governments who are party to the CBD are implementing national legislation to regulate the use and management of biodiversity, for example, through National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans - opens in a new window.

The CBD requires governments to establish areas for the protection of wild flora and fauna, and landscapes. There are now over 110,000 protected areas around the world covering approximately 12% of the earth's land surface. By 2015, 15% of the world's seas and oceans could be under protection, a huge rise from the current figure of less than 1%. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development - opens in a new window held in Johannesburg in 2002, governments made the concrete commitment to significantly reduce the loss of biodiversity by 2010. The UN Millennium Development Goals - opens in a new window also recognise biodiversity as an important issue. Under their 'Ensure Environmental Sustainability' goal, one of the targets is to integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reverse the loss of environmental resources.

Very recently there has been significant movement in the European political framework to focus in on addressing biodiversity loss. There have been calls to conduct a 'Stern-like' report looking at the economics of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation, the potential allocation of allowance within the EU Emissions Trading Scheme to provide financing for biodiversity projects in developing countries, and the potential launch of a 'Biodiversity and Business Initiative' under the forthcoming Portuguese Presidency of the EU.

Read more about why Biodiversity is important to Shell