6.8 Maintaining Biodiversity

Question 1

What is sustainability?

Answer 1

Sustainability means meeting the needs of today’s population without harming the environment or using up resources, so that future generations can still meet their own needs. Using resources sustainably means that the rate at which we use resources is not greater than the rate at which they are replaced.

Question 2

How can we protect specific species? (2)

Answer 2

• Specific species can be protected in their natural habitat, e.g. by banning the hunting of some species.
• Species can also be protected by being kept in safe areas, away from harmful activities such as hunting or habitat destruction. For animals, safe areas include zoos and for plants they include botanical gardens and seed banks (large collections of seeds from many different plant species). Breeding programmes in captivity can also increase the number of a species before releasing them back into the wild.

Question 3

How can we protect habitats and ecosystems?

Answer 3

• Setting aside specific protected areas helps to conserve entire habitats and ecosystems by restricting the development of the land - e.g. for building houses and farming.
• Protected areas include places like national parks and nature reserves. They can also be found in the sea where human activities like fishing are controlled to protect marine ecosystems.

Question 4

How can we prevent ecosystem damage on a global scale?

Answer 4

• Some human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, are increasing the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which is contributing to global warming. Global warming is a type of climate change and causes other types of climate change, e.g. changing rainfall patterns. Climate change could reduce biodiversity on Earth - e.g. some species may be unable to survive a change in the climate, so become extinct. So, in order to protect global biodiversity, it may be necessary to control human activities in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Question 5

How can maintaining biodiversity help humans? (4)

Answer 5

1) Protecting the human food supply - over-fishing has greatly reduced fish stocks in the world’s oceans. Conservation programmes can ensure that future generations will have fish to eat.
2) Ensuring minimal damage to food chains - if one species becomes extinct it will affect all the organisms that feed on and are eaten by that species, so the whole food chain is affected. This means conserving one species may help others to survive.
3) Providing future medicines - many of the medicines we use today come from plants. Undiscovered plant species may contain new medicinal chemicals. If these plants are allowed to become extinct, we could miss out on valuable medicines.
4) Providing industrial materials and fuels - plant and animal species are involved in the production of industrial materials (e.g. wood, paper, adhesives and oils) and some fuels. If these species become extinct, these important resources may become more difficult to produce.

Question 6

What are some economic issues with maintaining biodiversity? (2)

Answer 6

• It can be expensive to conserve species or habitats. The cost of a conservation scheme has to be weighed against the potential benefits of maintaining biodiversity.
• Many developing countries are rich in natural resources, e.g. Ecuador is a developing country with many biodiverse areas, however it also has large reserves of petroleum. Accessing these natural resources and selling them may help to boost the country’s economy, but this could also have a negative effect on the country’s ecosystems.

Question 7

What are some moral issues with maintaining biodiversity? (3)

Answer 7

• The conservation of some endangered species may have no obvious benefit for humans (e.g. the Giant Panda), but many people think we should still help to prevent species from becoming extinct.
• Some people think it’s morally wrong to stop humans in developing countries from using natural resources that could boost their economy in favour of protecting plants and animals.
• Protecting one species may mean killing individuals of another species, which some people think is wrong, e.g. possums in New Zealand have reduced the number of organisms of native species, so there are widespread schemes to kill possums in order to protect native wildlife.

Question 8

What is an ecological issue with maintaining biodiversity?

Answer 8

Ecosystems are very complex - conservation schemes that try to protect one species or habitat could have knock-on effects in other parts of the ecosystem. This means that people have to think very carefully about what future effects conservation schemes could have before they are set up.

Question 9

What are some political issues with maintaining biodiversity? (2)

Answer 9

• Some conservation schemes require several different countries to work together. This can be difficult if some countries aren’t willing to sign up to an agreement. E.g. many countries have signed up to agreements to restrict whaling but there are still some that haven’t (e.g. Norway, Japan).
• On a smaller scale, conservation schemes can be objected to by local communities. E.g. people might not be keen if a local scheme reduces their income (e.g. fishing restrictions in a fishing village).

Question 10

How do field margins and hedgerows in agriculture help increase biodiversity?

Answer 10

They provide extra habitats and food sources so that a wider range of species can survive.

Question 11

How can the government encourage businesses (including farmers) to reduce damage to biodiversity? (3)

Answer 11

• Set laws prohibiting or requiring certain things.
• Pay businesses for carrying out certain practices (like planting hedgerows).
• Setting quotas or limits on harmful practices (such as quotes for deforestation).