Loss of biodiversity is recipe for devastation
Last week’s column detailed the extinction crises facing one million species and a new international agreement to try to stop the catastrophic loss of biodiversity. The agreement is not enforceable so it will depend on people everywhere to assure its goals and steps to achieve them are taken to safeguard the ecological integrity of planet Earth.
But why should we be alarmed over extinctions? Why should we care? According to a growing body of research, humanity must stop the pace of extinctions or face extinction itself. But how exactly is biodiversity so important to humanity and for the stability of our planet?
Morality and ethics demand we protect biodiversity: The most central ethical argument is that humans have a duty to protect species, ecosystems, and biodiversity based on their intrinsic value, unrelated to human needs. People do not have the right to destroy species and should take action to prevent their extinction. Preservation of biodiversity is a moral and ethical imperative.
Pope Francis took the name of Francis in homage to the patron saint of animals. In his environmental encyclical he states, “It is not enough, however, to think of different species merely as potential ‘resources’ to be exploited, while overlooking the fact that they have value in themselves. Each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal species which we will never know, which our children will never see, because they have been lost forever. The great majority become extinct for reasons related to human activity. Because of us, thousands of species will no longer give glory to God by their very existence, nor convey their message to us. We have no such right.”
Fifty-eight percent of our prescription drugs are derived from plants and animals:
A full 40% of the drugs behind the pharmacist’s counter in the Western world are derived from plants. These include the top 20 best-selling U.S. prescription drugs. Another 18% come from animals. Cures for cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases may be yet to be found in other species. Unless we eradicate them.
Some medicines come from the Earth’s natural systems: Natural medicines have been used for tens of thousands of years, starting with indigenous people. The natural pharmacopoeia includes thousands of cures made from leaves, herbs, roots, bark, and animal and mineral substances.
While traveling in the Brazilian Amazon jungle, our native guide saw our photographer’s psoriasis on her hand. For months she had been using creams prescribed by a dermatologist without success. The guide cut a tree branch with his machete. Out oozed a white sap, which he applied to her hand. This cured her psoriasis. The guide also chewed little chili peppers to treat his arthritic shoulder pain.
Taxol, from the U.S. Pacific coast yew tree, was found to kill cancer cells, which led to the synthesis of taxol-like medicines that effectively treat advanced ovarian cancer. The Pacific yew had been routinely discarded as a trash tree during logging.
Much safer biopesticides: Biopesticides come from animals, plants, bacteria, and minerals. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, biopesticides are usually less toxic, affect only target pests and no other species like birds and mammals, are often effective in very small quantities, and decompose quickly avoiding pollution problems. They can greatly reduce use of conventional pesticides while crop yields remain high.
Pest control: Animals and plants provide natural pest control. About 70% of bats are insectivorous, preying on mosquitoes and agricultural pests, saving U.S. farmers $23 billion annually in crop losses. One bat can catch 1,000 mosquitoes in a single hour, helping reduce the spread of diseases and minimizing the need for spraying dangerous pesticides. Insectivorous birds — including swallows, swifts, and bluebirds — also consume insects. Owls, hawks, foxes, coyotes, wolves and many other predators eat tons of rats and mice, preventing infestations.
Pollination: Around 75% of global food crops rely on animals and insects such as bees, bats, butterflies, and birds to pollinate them. Many of these pollinator populations are crashing, which could put more than $235 billion of agricultural products at risk.
Fructivorous bats — or bats that feed on fruit — are critical pollinators of 1,000 tropical plant species including 300 species of fruit dependent on bats for pollination or seed dispersal. This is 70% of all tropical fruits eaten by humans. Mexico’s tequila industry relies on the bat-pollinated agave plant. Birds are also important pollinators and, like bats, are essential to dispersing seeds.
Honeybees play a huge role in agriculture, contributing over $15 billion to U.S. crop production. Without bees, we would lose 100% of the almond crop and 90% of apples, blueberries, and cucumbers. Alarmingly, the rate of insect extinction is eight times higher than that of mammals, birds, and reptiles with bee and butterfly numbers crashing. Many bat species also are endangered.
Soil fertility.: Earthworms play a significant role in enhancing soil fertility and plant productivity. Worms help increase the amount of air and water, break down organic matter for plants to use, and leave behind castings that are a valuable fertilizer. Farmers and gardeners know their importance.
Biodiversity in culture and identity: Wildlife are frequently integral to religious, cultural and national identities. All major religions include elements of nature and 231 species are formally used as national symbols; more than one-third of them threatened.
Biodiversity is good for the economy:
At least 40% of the world’s economy and 80% percent of the needs of the poor are derived from biological resources. The food, commercial forestry, and ecotourism industries could lose $338 billion per year if the loss of biodiversity continues at its current pace. Ecotourism is big business as people travel the world to see wildlife. Millions of people also depend on nature and species for their day-to-day livelihoods. This is particularly true for struggling communities in developing countries.
Protection for wildlife can prevent pandemics: COVID-19 is one of 827,000 animal-borne (zoonotic) viruses that could cause human infections. Some 75% of new human infectious diseases come from animals. It is quite likely COVID-19 was contracted from bats slaughtered in the Huanan Seafood Market in central China, one of tens of thousands of such high-risk markets with unsanitary conditions and little refrigeration found in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America. They bring butchers and consumers in direct contact with wild animals and their viruses.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has joined UN and World Health Organization scientists in urging the end to live wildlife markets around the globe. Fauci, who last year retired as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, called wildlife markets “a superhighway” for transmission of disease.
More than 60 members of Congress joined in urging enactment of a global ban of live wet wildlife markets and closing international trade in wildlife. Alarmingly, the scientific consensus is that risks of new zoonotic viruses are increasing. One disease ecologist noted, “We are doing everything to help them emerge.” The global trade in wildlife must be stopped.