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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    Tales from the Inner City

    by Shaun Tan

    “It’s hard to convey how natural it all seemed, and how even the first conversations began without us really noticing.”

    by Lauren Stringer

    “The Dark was tired of hiding. Nightlights, streetlights, flashlights, and table lamps — all pushed the Dark away. Everyone was afraid of the dark. Everyone wished the Dark would leave.”

    by Lamar Giles

    “So many times in history it’s the youth who see the clearest and can save the day”.

    by Caryl Hart

    “Soon I shall grow a whole forest”

    by Maja Lunde

    “But bees cannot be tamed. They can only be tended, receive our care.”

    by M. G. Leonard

    “One snowflake will melt on its own, but billions of them together … are powerful enough to change the face of a planet.”

    by Todd Mitchell

    “Kiri scanned the forest, spotting the panther less than a stone’s throw from where she crouched. Moonlight glinted off the panther’s fiery green eyes as the creature studied her. ‘Follow’, whispered a voice that sounded less like her mother, and more like the hiss of a cat.” 

    by Piers Torday

    “How could I be so wrong? The stag was right—we can’t trust any other humans. How can you ever trust someone who wants to eat you?”

    by Cara Delevingne, Jane Goodall, Ricky Gervais, Taika Waititi

    “This comic book is brave. It is like no other. It asks YOU, the reader, to don the tights, the capes, and go out and become the superheroes who will change our ecological crisis for the better.”

    by Adam Gidwitz, Jesse Casey

    “I believe that someday we will be able to undo all the damage the Schmoke brothers have done to the world and its creatures.”

    by Adam Gidwitz

    “Brand-new friend. Terrifying teacher. Mythical animal. Breaking and entering. First day at a new school.”

    by Yuval Noah Harari

    “Animals and plants depend on one another, so if something happens to one kind of creature, it usually influences many others. And this law even applies to you”

    Wilderness Wars

    by Barbara Henderson

    “We are destroying the habitats—the homes—of all these plants and animals … Nature, the wilderness, is fighting back.”

    World Without Fish

    by Mark Kurlansky

    “You cannot afford to be passive. … The survival of not only the oceans but of our world is at stake”