MODULE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY
CHAPTER VI: BIODIVERSITY AND THE HEALTHY SOCIETY
Lesson Objectives:
At the end of this lesson, the students should be able to:
• determine the interrelatedness of society, environment, and health;
• create a diagram that would show the relatedness of species in forming up a
diverse and healthy society without compromising one another, and
• identify everyday tasks and evaluate whether they contribute to the wellness and
health of biodiversity and society or not.
INTRODUCTION
Decrease in biodiversity is eminent worldwide. Vertebrates fell to 60% from the
1970s due to human causes. It is projected that by 2020, wildlife decline will be 67% of
the present number. The World Wide Fund for Nature and Zoological Society of London
reported an annual decrease in wildlife by 2%. A major cause is human population
which has doubled in number since 1960 to 7.4 billion. Humans have industrialized the
natural habitat of wildlife as well as marine life. Leaving these creatures with no place to
live would eventually cause their deaths. Marco Lambertini, the General Director of
WWF International, described that the disappearance of wildlife is at an unprecedented
rate. Earth might enter the sixth mass extinction event according to experts. Mass
extinction is described as the disappearance of species at a rate of 1,000 faster than
usual. Moreover, the disappearance of species in a certain environment causes an
imbalance in the ecosystem, producing more chaotic changes that harm the entire
ecosystem (Inquirer.net, 2016).
This is but a pressing statement for people to know more about the importance of
our diverse environment, and how human activities can either contribute to its growth or
destruction. There is a growing importance of studying how society, environment, and
health is interrelated to each other, that if human beings fail to recognize the needs of
one of those components, the other remaining components can be affected and
compromised. Thus, it is timely to know about the pressing effects of species being
extinct and that of our ecosystem being imbalanced.
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Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Biodiversity is defined as the vast variety of life forms in the entire Earth. It
encompasses all kinds of life forms, from the single-celled organisms to the largest
multi-celled organisms. Its definition is in the structural and functional perspective and
not as individual species.
Another definition of biodiversity is "the variability among living organisms from all
sources, including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological
complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between
species, and of ecosystems. Biodiversity is the source of the essential goods and
ecological services that constitute the source of life for all and it has direct consumptive
value in food, agriculture, medicine, and in industry." (Villaggio Globale, 2009)
Understanding biodiversity within the concept of ecosystem needs a thorough
study on the relationship of the biotic, the living organisms and the abiotic, nonliving
organisms. Interdisciplinary approach is needed to study the ecosystem. Biodiversity
plays a major role in this natural dynamics. For example, a large number of golden
snails in a certain area of a rice field can help predict a low production of rice harvest,
since eggs of the golden snails are considered pest for rice plant. On a positive view,
the larger number of different species in a certain area can be a predictor of sustainable
life in that area. Sustainability of the ecosystem ensures a better survival rate against
any natural disaster. Therefore, we, as human inhabitants of the ecosystem, must
preserve and conserve the biodiversity of all creatures.
In simpler terms, it is true that people will always depend on biodiversity on the
wholeness of our being and in our everyday lives. More so, our health will ultimately
depend upon the products and services that we acquire from the ecosystem. Somehow,
there are ways and processes in the ecosystem that are not apparent nor appreciated
by us, human beings. Think about the need to drink clean and fresh water, the need to
eat healthy vegetables and food, or the need of man to transport which makes him rely
on fuel. All of these are human needs that are answered and provided by our
ecosystem. Thus, if we fail to keep the process of taking care of the ecosystem, it is us
who are actually putting our lives at risk. Significant decline in biodiversity has direct
human impact when ecosystem in its insufficiency can no longer provide the physical as
well as social needs of human beings. Indirectly, changes in the ecosystem affect
livelihood, income, and on occasion, may even cause political conflict (WHO, n.d.).
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Changes in Biodiversity
Alteration in any system could bring varied effects. A change in biodiversity could
have erratic effects not only in wildlife or marine life but also in human beings. For
example, humans inhabiting the forest would disturb the natural order of life. Trees and
plants would be affected in the land - clearing operations where the houses would be
built. The animals, insects, and all types of life forms in the cleared area would either be
displaced or most likely be killed. The loss of these life forms could affect the entire
ecosystem governing that environment. The food chain might be damaged. From this,
we can clearly infer that when our ecosystem is not well taken care of, biodiversity
encounters changes that may impact human health on such different levels.
Threats to Biodiversity
There are major threats to biodiversity that were identified by the United Nations
Environment Programme (WHO, n.d.). These are the following:
1. Habitat loss and destruction. Major contributing factor is the inhabitation of
human beings and the use of land for economic gains.
2. Alterations in ecosystem composition. Alterations and sudden changes, either
within species groups or within the environment, could begin to change entire
ecosystems. Alterations in ecosystems are a critical factor contributing to species
and habitat loss.
3. Over-exploitation Over-hunting, overfishing, or over-collecting of species can
quickly lead to its decline. Changing consumption patterns of humans is often
cited as the key reason for this unsustainable exploitation of natural resources.
4. Pollution and contamination Biological systems respond slowly to changes in
their surrounding environment Pollution and contamination cause irreversible
damage to species and varieties.
5. Global climate change. Both climate variability and climate change cause
biodiversity loss. Species and populations may be lost permanently if they are
not provided with enough time to adapt to changing climatic conditions.
6.
Consequences of Biodiversity Loss
Even with the improvement of technology and science at present, we still have a
lot to learn about biodiversity, more so about the consequences of biodiversity loss.
However, the basic concept about biodiversity loss was from Charles Darwin and Alfred
Russel Wallace.
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MODULE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY
Intact ecosystems function best since the organisms composing them are
specialized to function in that ecosystem to capture, transfer, utilize and, ultimately, lose
both energy and nutrients. The particular species making up an ecosystem determine
its productivity, affect nutrient cycles and soil contents, and influence environmental
conditions such as water cycles, weather patterns, climate, and other nonbiotic
aspects. The loss of biodiversity has many consequences that we understand, and
many that we do not. It is apparent that humankind is willing to sustain a great deal of
biodiversity loss if there are concomitant benefits to society; we hope they are net
benefits. In many cases, the benefits seem to accrue to a few individuals only, with net
societal loss. However, it is extremely difficult to estimate the future costs of losses in
biodiversity or of environmental damage (Rainforest Conservation Fund, 2017).
As stated by Tilman, "The Earth will retain its most striking feature, its
biodiversity, only if humans have the prescience to do so. This will occur, it seems, only
if we realize the extent to which we use biodiversity (Rainforest Consevation Fund,
2017)."
Nutritional Impact of Biodiversity
According to the World Health Organization, biodiversity is a vital element of a
human being's nutrition because of its influence to food production. Biodiversity is a
major factor that contributes to sustainable food production for human beings. A society
or a population must have access to a sufficient variety of nutritious food as it is a
determinant of their health as human beings.
Nutrition and biodiversity are linked at many levels: the ecosystem, with food
production as an ecosystem service; the species in the ecosystem; and the genetic
diversity within species. Nutritional composition between foods and among
varieties/cultivars/breeds of the same food can differ dramatically, affecting
micronutrient availability in the diet. Healthy local diets, with adequate average levels of
nutrients intake, necessitates maintenance of high biodiversity levels. Intensified
and enhanced food production through irrigation, use of fertilizer, plant protection
(pesticides), or the introduction of crop varieties and cropping patterns affect biodiversity
and thus impact global nutritional status and human health. Habitat simplification,
species loss, and species succession often enhance communities, vulnerabilities as a
function of environmental receptivity to ill health (WHO, 2007).
Health, Biology, and Biodiversity
Almost all living organisms are dependent to their environment to live and
reproduce. Basic needs of living organisms such as air, water, food, and habitat are
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MODULE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY
provided by its environment. The evolution of human beings was due to the improved
access to these basic needs. Advances in agriculture, sanitation, water treatment, and
hygiene have had a far greater impact on human health than medical technology.
Although the environment sustains human life, it can also cause diseases. Lack
of basic necessities is a significant cause of human mortality. Environmental hazards
increase the risk of cancer, heart disease, asthma, and many other illnesses. These
hazards can be physical, such as pollution, toxic chemicals, and food contaminants, or
they can be social, such as dangerous work, poor housing conditions, urban sprawl,
and poverty. Unsafe drinking water and poor sanitation and hygiene are responsible for
a variety of infectious diseases, such as schistosomiasis, diarrhea, cholera, meningitis,
and gastritis. In 2015, approximately 350,000 children under the age of five (mostly in
the developing world) died from diarrheal diseases related to unsafe drinking water, and
approximately 1.8 billion people used drinking water contaminated with feces. More
than two billion people lacked access to basic sanitation.
The interrelation between human health and biological diversity is considerable
and complex. With the current biodiversity loss at unprecedented rates, the delicate
balance between human health and biological diversity is at risk.
Environment-Related Illnesses
Some human illnesses that are found to be related with its environment include
Parkinson's disease, heart disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,
asthma, diabetes, obesity, occupational injuries, dysentery, arthritis, malaria, and
depression.
By contrast, activities that promote health and extend human life could have
adverse environmental effects. For example, food production causes environmental
damage from pesticides and fertilizers, soil salinization, waste produced by livestock,
carbon emissions from food manufacturing and transportation, deforestation, and
overfishing. Health care facilities also have adverse environmental impacts. Hospitals
use large quantities of electricity and fossil fuels and produce medical wastes. To
prevent some diseases, it may be necessary to alter the environment. For example,
malaria was eradicated in the United States and other developed nations in the 1940s
and 50s as a result of draining wetlands and spraying DDT to kill mosquitoes. A
reduction in mortality from starvation or disease can lead to overpopulation, which
stresses the environment in many different ways-increasing use of fossil fuels, clearing
of land, generating pollution and waste, and so on (Rensik & Portier, 2017).
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MODULE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY
Interestingly, according to experts, climate change could also have a serious
impact on human health and could deteriorate farming systems and reduce nutrients in
some foods. In this case, biodiversity increases resilience, thus helping adjust to new
environmental conditions. Safeguarding of coral reefs, for instance, is essential to
reduce the risk of floods, as this extraordinary ecosystem can reduce wave energy by
97%, thus protecting over 100 million people all over the world.
Relationships between human health and the environment raise many ethical,
social, and legal dilemmas by forcing people to choose among competing values. Many
of the issues at the intersection of health and the environment have to do with managing
benefits and risks. For example, pesticides play an important role in increasing crop
yields, but they can also pose hazards to human health and the environment.
Alternatives to pesticide use create trade-offs in health. The extreme action of stopping
all pesticide uses could significantly reduce agricultural productivity, leading to food
shortages and increased food prices which would, in tum, increase starvation in some
parts of the world. Public health authorities have opted to regulate the use of pesticides
to enhance food production while minimizing damage to the environment and human
health. Energy production and use help sustain human life, but it can also pose hazards
to human health and the environment, such as air and water pollution, oil spills, and
destruction of habitats (Rensik & Portier, 2017).
No issue demands greater care in balancing benefits and risks than global
warming. A significant percentage of global climate change is due to the human
production of greenhouse gases. Climate change is likely to cause tremendous harm to
the environment and human health, but taking steps to drastically reduce greenhouse
gases could have adverse consequences for global, national, and local economies. For
example, greatly increasing taxes on fossil fuels would encourage greater fuel
efficiency and lower carbon dioxide emissions, but it would also increase the price of
transportation, which would lead to widespread inflation and reduced consumer
spending power. Managing benefits and risks also raises social justice concerns. In
general, people with lower socio-economic status have greater exposure to certain
harmful environmental conditions in their homes or at work, such as lead, mercury,
pesticides, toxic chemicals, or air and water pollution. Communities and nations should
wisely choose a site for a factory, a power plant, or waste dump, or regulating safety in
the workplace to minimize impact to the society. The decision-making process should
be fair, open, and democratic, so that people who will be affected by environmental
risks have a voice in these deliberations and can make their concerns known (Rensik &
Portier, 2017).
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MODULE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY
When drafting and implementing environmental health regulations, it is important
to consider vulnerable subpopulations. A vulnerable subpopulation is a group with an
increased susceptibility to the adverse effects of an environmental risk factor, due to
their age, genetics, health status, or some other condition. If an environmental
regulation is designed to protect average members of the population, it may fail to
adequately protect vulnerable subpopulations. Justice demands that we take care of
people who are vulnerable. However, almost everyone in the population has an above-
average susceptibility to at least one environmental risk factor. Since providing
additional protection to everyone would be costly and impractical, protections must be
meted out carefully and the populations who are vulnerable to a particular
environmental risk factor must be defined clearly (Rensik & Portier, 2017).
In addition to this, various public health strategies pit the rights of individuals
against the good of society, such as mandatory treatment, vaccination, or diagnostic
testing; isolation and quarantine; and disease surveillance. The owner of a coal-burning
power plant must deal with many laws concerning the operation of the plant, workplace
safety, and carbon emissions. A developer who plans to build 150 new homes
with land he has purchased may also have to deal with laws concerning storm drainage,
water and sewage lines, gas lines, sidewalks, and so on.
Restrictions on property rights are justified to protect human health and the
environment. However, opponents of these restrictions argue that they are often
excessive or not adequately supported by scientific evidence (Rensik & Portier, 2017).
Human rights issues also come up with research on environmental health that
involves human subjects. For such research to be ethical, human subjects must give
consent, and great care must be taken to ensure that they understand that they can opt
out of the research project. Since the late 1990s, some pesticide companies have
tested their products on human subjects to gather data to submit to the government for
regulatory purposes. Some commentators charge that these experiments are unethical
because they place people at unacceptably high risk without a clear benefit to society.
Others have argued that the experiments, if properly designed and implemented, could
produce important benefits to society by providing useful knowledge about the effects of
pesticides that lead to stronger regulations (Rensik & Portier, 2017).
With these in mind, a mitigating plan and a workable plan of action should be
studied in order to not compromise biodiversity, while at the same time, promote good
health among the society.
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MODULE SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY
SUMMARY
Most of the time, it may seem impossible to really value species singly or in a
detailed manner. But we have to consider the entire Earth as a single unit. A loss of
single-celled species or a family of wild grass can have adverse effects in the entire
biosphere. Biodiversity seen in macro level seems to be still vast and rich, yet if we look
at it in micro- level, per species, we have lost too much. Eventually, in the near future,
this biodiversity loss will have a great negative effect especially to us humans. "The
value of biodiversity is the value of everything” (Rainforest Conservation Fund, n.d.).
We must recognize the value of the organisms with which we share the planet.
As Costanza et al. (1997) put it, “We must begin to give the natural capital stock that
produces these services adequate weight in the decision-making process, otherwise,
current and continued future human welfare may drastically suffer... many ecosystem
services are literally irreplaceable." We do not, and probably cannot, ever evaluate such
services adequately, but we can value the ecosystems of the world appropriately
(Rainforest Conservation Fund, n.d.).
REFERENCES
Convention on Biological Diversity (n.d.). "United Nations Decade on Biodiversity."
Accessed July 31, 2017. https://www.cbd. int/2011-2020/
Convention on Biological Diversity. (2010). "United Nations COHAB
Initiative: Biodiversity and Global Health" Accessed July 31, 2017.
https://www.cbd.int/doc/health/cohab-policy-briefl-en.pdf.
Inquirer.net. (2006). "Living Planet report: WWF paints dire picture for survival of the
species." Accessed July 31, 2017. http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/841255/living-planet-
report-wwf-paints-dire-picture-for-survival-of-the-species.
Rainforest Conservation Fund. (2017). "Consequences of biodiversity loss." Accessed
July 31, 2017. http://www.rainforestconservation. org/rainforest-primer/2-biodiversity/8-
recent-losses-in-biodiversity/4-consequences-of-biodiversity-loss/.
Rainforest Conservation Fund. (2017). "Value of biodiversity." Accessed July 31, 2017.
http://www.rainforestconservation.org/rainforest-primer/2-biodiversity/g-recent-losses-in-
biodiversity/4-consequences-of-biodiversity-loss/.
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Rensik, D. B. & Portier, C. J. (2017). "Environment, Ethics, and Human Health." In The
Hasting Center. Accessed July 31, 2017
http://www.thehastingscenter.org/briefingbook/environmental- health/
Villaggio Globale. (2009). (n.d.). "Biodiversity is the Life Insurance of Life Itself."
Accessed July 2017. http://vglobale.it/complementari /8913-biodiversity-is-the-life-
insurance-of-life- itself.html.
World Health Organization. (n.d.). "Biodiversity." Accessed July
31, 2017 http://www.who.int/globalchange/ecosystems/ biodiversity/en/.
World Health Organization. (2007). "Safer Future: Global and Public
Health Security in the 21st Century." In World Health Report. Accessed July 31, 2017.
http://www.who.int/whr/2007/en/.
WWF Global. (n.d.). "How does Biodiversity loss affect me and everyone." Accessed
July 31, 2017.
https://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/biodiversity/biodiversity_and_you/.
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