Energy efficiency and
environmental issues...

Biodiversity Overview

Biodiversity is a term coined in the 1980s as shorthand for the variety of all life on earth. It differs from species richness (i.e. the total number of species) in that biodiversity expressly includes the variety of life at all scales, progressing down from ecosystems, communities, species and populations, to the level of genetic variation present within species and their constituent populations. It should be noted that human life is dependent upon the biodiversity that exists on Earth.

The risk to our survival through reductions in biodiversity is evident today and without modification to our consumption habits human kind is at risk. Developing school grounds provides an opportunity to enhance biodiversity on a local scale. Possible actions include organic grounds maintenance, leaving "wild-life" areas, establishing a water feature or even the use of potted plants and shrubs in urban schools, as well as the development of garden areas for student activities such as growing plants. Developing such an approach in schools will assist the development of and inclusion of curriculum usage of the outdoor environment.

There is considerable benefit from involving the pupils in your biodiversity environmental audit. (cf. Eco-schools "School Grounds", BRE School "Toolkit").

Extensive curriculum information is available on the Growing Schools site of Teachernet. (www.teachernet.gov.uk)

Biodiversity Facts and Figures

(Agenda 21 article15.2.)

Our planet's essential goods and services depend on the variety and variability of genes, species, populations and ecosystems. Biological resources feed and clothe us and provide housing, medicines and spiritual nourishment. The natural ecosystems of forests, savannahs, pastures and rangelands, deserts, tundra’s, rivers, lakes and seas contain most of the Earth's biodiversity. Farmers' fields and gardens are also of great importance as repositories, while gene banks, botanical gardens, zoos and other germplasm repositories make a small but significant contribution. The current decline in biodiversity is largely the result of human activity and represents a serious threat to human development. The Strategic Plan for the Convention on Biological Diversity 1992 [UN Environment programme] sets out to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on earth.

The Convention has three main goals: The conservation of biodiversity, Sustainable use of the components of biodiversity, and Sharing the benefits arising from the commercial and other utilization of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way.

Details on the convention can be found at www.biodiv.org

Estimates

Surprisingly, scientists have a better understanding of how many stars there are in the galaxy than how many species there are on Earth. Estimates of global species diversity have varied from 2 million to 100 million species, with a best estimate of somewhere near 10 million, and only 1.4 million have actually been named. The problems stemming from the limits of current knowledge of species diversity are compounded by the lack of a central database or list of the world's species.

In the UK over 100 species have been lost during the last century including more than 2% of all fish and mammal species, 5% of butterflies and 7% of dragonflies.

In 1994 the UK government published "Biodiversity: The UK Action Plan" which can be accessed at www.ukbap.org.uk. You can access your local biodiversity plans from this site and it may be possible to involve your school in activities to support the protection of the environment.

The Erosion of Biodiversity

Biological diversity is being eroded as fast today as at any time since the dinosaurs died out some 65 million years ago. The crucible of extinction is believed to be in tropical forests. Around 10 million species live on earth, according to the best estimates, and tropical forests house between 50 and 90 percent of this total. About 17 million hectares of tropical forests--an area four times the size of Switzerland--are now being cleared annually, and scientists estimate that at these rates roughly 5 to 10 percent of tropical forest species may face extinction within the next 30 years.

Tropical forests are by no means the only sites with endangered biodiversity. Worldwide, nearly as much temperate rainforest--once covering an area nearly the size of Malaysia--has also been lost. Although the total extent of forest in the northern temperate and boreal regions has not changed much in recent years, in many areas the species-rich, old-growth forests have been steadily replaced by second-growth forests and plantations. (World Resources Institute www.igc.org/wri)

Young People and Biodiversity

There is much scope for increasing young peoples understanding and appreciation of the need for biodiversity. The Futerra Youth Engagement report (2003) for DEFRA makes clear that whilst appreciating the importance of biodiversity most young people consider biodiversity as “something distant and important elsewhere”. It features low on young peoples concerns. If today’s students are to act as responsible and informed citizens in a sustainable society their understanding needs to be improved, with schools being logical choices to undertake this process. But to do so schools must undertake to improve the biodiversity of their school grounds and provide opportunities within the curriculum for developing this understanding. Thus making biodiversity locally and socially relevant to their students.