Topic: Biodiversity Loss

Biodiversity Loss

Biodiversity loss describes the decreasing variety of species and ecosystems that survive on Earth. Biodiversity loss specifically due to human activity has been at an all-time high since 1955.

The United Nations climate action research has shared that biodiversity loss is the result of the destruction of habitats and ecocide, with an emphasis on the loss due to creation of food for humans. Studies have shown that food production globally has contributed to the greatest amount of biodiversity loss as a planet. Recent studies have shown that agriculture and food production have threatened 86% of all species, putting them at risk for extinction. The carbon footprint left by humans has the most significant effect on biodiversity, primarily from food production and housing, as well as transportation including cars. Studies have shared that food production makes up close to “30% of total human-produced emissions,” which contributes not only to our overall carbon footprint, but our cropland footprint as well since we use farming, grazing, and other techniques to produce our food.

Not only does food production and emissions directly contribute to biodiversity loss, but overall climate change as well. Millions of species are facing extinction and ecosystems like rainforests and coral reefs are severely threatened due to ocean temperatures rising and other effects on the planet due to climate change. The impacts of climate change on forests in particular causes a great deal of biodiversity loss. The Amazon rainforest, which has the greatest biodiversity among forests, is particularly affected by climate change. In turn, the biodiversity loss within large forests further increases global greenhouse gas emissions.

Initiatives like the Endangered Species Act, National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plans, United Nations Protected Areas, Sustainable Development Goals, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework have attempted to counter biodiversity loss with national and global action plans.

©2024 ClimateLit (Maya Symonanis with later edits by Emily Midkiff)

Related terms. Biodiversity, Climate Change, Collective Action, Ecocide, Extinction, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Species Richness

Related literature items. David Attenborough: A Life on our Planet

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    Subtopics: Extinction

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    by Ben Okri

    “You humans seem to think that we trees are just decoration. But we are beings like you. We feel. We respond to love and attention. You should see how we glow when we are loved.”

    by Megan Wagner Lloyd

    “It pushes through cracks and crannies and steals back forgotten places.”

    by Margarita Engle

    “I can’t resolve or invent the past. / I need a way to change the future.”

    by Pari Thomson

    “Daisy felt all around her the unmistakeable atmosphere of Mallowmarsh on the breeze: of cool water and silver birches and plum trees, the tang of rich and concentrated green magic that had built up in one place for centuries. She was almost dizzy with it. How could she have not sensed it before?”

    by Guerrilla Games

    “It’s not about the distant hope of creating a new world. It’s about preserving the one we have.”

    by Guerrilla Games

    “To serve a purpose greater than yourself. That is the lesson you must learn.”

    by Bren MacDibble

    “But how can Peony leave her beloved sister, grandfather, best friend Applejoy, and the orchard behind? And just for money? Don’t Ma know what’s important anyway?”

    by Lily Williams

    “From food to medicine to clothing, bees help keep our lives going.”

    by Lily Williams

    “This area, located in the Eastern Ghats, is a lushly populated home to animals that jump, pounce, stomp, and ROAR!”

    by Katherine Rundell

    “He’s a guardian. He had not been clear, until this moment, what that meant: it meant this feeling. It meant burning to keep watch, for that which needed to be watched. It meant burning to keep it safe. It meant a ferocious and careful love.”

    by Amitav Ghosh

    “This is the jungle, the timeless tide, where the river meets the sea. Here, nature’s laws alone decide, what can and cannot be.”

    by Moon Lagoon

    “Oh, that’s just a loddle. It looks like it’s covered in goop. Unfortunately, you are not authorized to use your laser on the local wildlife. Not after what happened last time…”

    by Imogen Foxell

    “They say I couldn’t change the world; it wasn’t worth the fight. / But in my head, a small voice said … maybe you might.”

    by Douglas W. Tallamy, Sarah L. Thomson

    “We just have to change the way we think about plants.”