Ediong, Rhiza
Dante, Jarish
Felipe, Cherry Ann
BIODIVERSITY AND THE HEALTHY SOCIETY
Introduction:
This report entitled Biodiversity and the Healthy Society discusses the interrelatedness
of society, the environment, and health.
From the early times, when ancient philosophers of nature tried to explain all things as
coming from the elements of water, fire, air, or earth, science sought for the common
characteristic, a unifying element, in all of nature's phenomena. There was a growing
awareness of how all living things are related to each other, an idea called biodiversity.
This recognition started when naturalists began to classify organisms in the natural world
using taxonomy, a system devised by Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus. Still used in the
biological sciences today, taxonomy is the hierarchical system of classifying and
naming organisms. However, with a limited number of resources, how do the many living
organisms of a diverse region survive? The answer lies in the way the available energy
supply in the world is shared among the different species through the various ecological
relationships. The energy needed to live is shared among the elements of the living
world or passed on from one to another.
Biological diversity, also known as biodiversity, is the term given to the variety of life on
earth and the natural patterns it forms. This diversity is often understood in terms of the
variety of plants, animals, and microorganisms. About 1.75 million species are identified,
mostly small creatures such as insects. Some scientists believe that there are about 13
million species, though estimates range from three to 100 million. The loss of
biodiversity threatens food supplies, opportunities for recreation and tourism, and
sources of wood, medicines, and energy. It also interferes with essential ecological
functions. On December 20, 2006, the UN General Assembly declared 2010 as the
International Year of Biodiversity. It designated the secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity as the event's focal point. The assembly also invited the secretariat
to work with other UN bodies, environmental agreements, and organizations to bring
greater international attention to the continued loss of biodiversity.
BIODIVERSITY and ECOSYSTEM
- Is defined as the vast variety of life forms in the entire earth. It encompasses all
kinds of life forms, from single-celled organisms to the largest multi-celled
organisms. 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 industry. (Villaggio Globale,2009).
Biodiversity plays a major role in this natural dynamic.
- Therefore, we, as human inhabitants of the ecosystem, must preserve and
conserve the biodiversity of all creatures.
- In simple terms, indeed, people will always depend on biodiversity on the
wholeness of our being and in our everyday lives.
- 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 for 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 we who
are putting our lives at risk.
- A significant decline in biodiversity has a direct human impact when the
ecosystem in its insufficiency can no longer provide the physical as well as the
social need of human beings.
- Indirectly, changes in the ecosystem affect livelihood, income, and on occasion,
may even cause political conflict. (WHO,n.d.)
HEALTH, BIOLOGY, AND BIODIVERSITY
- Almost all living organisms are dependent on their environment to live and
reproduce. Basic needs of living organisms such as air, water, food, and habitat
are provided by their environment.
- The evolution of human beings was due to improved access to these basic
needs. Advances in agriculture, sanitation, water treatment, and hygiene have
had a far greater impact on human health than on medical
- 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 can lead to infectious
diseases, such as diarrhea, cholera, etc.
- 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 ILLNESS
- Some human illnesses that are found to be related to its environment include
Parkinson's disease, heart disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease, asthma, diabetes, obesity, occupational injuries, dysentery, arthritis,
malaria, and depression.
- According to experts, climate change could also have a serious impact on human
health and could deteriorate the farming system, and reduce nutrients in some
foods.
- 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
pesticides could significantly reduce agricultural productivity, leading to food
shortages and increased food prices which would, in turn, increase starvation in
some parts of the world.
- When drafting and implementing environmental health regulations, it is important
to consider vulnerable subpopulations.
- If an environmental regulation is designed to protect average members of the
population, it may fail to adequately protect vulnerable subpopulations. However,
almost everyone in the population has an above-average susceptibility to at least
one environmental risk factor.
- Various public health strategies put the rights of individuals against the good of
society, such as mandatory treatment, vaccination, or diagnostic testing; isolation
and quarantine: and disease surveillance.
- Human rights issues also come up with research on environmental health that
evolves human subjects.
- For 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.
CHANGES IN BIODIVERSITY
- Alteration in any system could bring varied effects.
- A change in biodiversity could have erratic effects not only on wildlife or marine
life but also on human beings.
- We can 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
Major threats identified by United Nations Environment Programme (WHO, n.d.)
- Habitat loss and destruction
- Alteration in ecosystem composition.
- Over-exploitation
- Pollution and contamination
- Global change
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 from Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace.
- 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 non-biotic aspects.
- The loss of biodiversity has many consequences that we understand and many
that we do not.
- As stated by Tilman, “The Earth will retain its most striking feature, its
biodiversity, only if humans have the patience to do so. This will occur, it seems,
only if we realize the extent to which we use biodiversity (Rainforest
Conservation Fund,2017)
