When Biodiversity is in Problem, Humanity is also in Problem

By – Dr. N. Munal Meitei
Biodiversity is the foundation of all life forms. It is 4.5 billion years of evolution, embodied. But we are destroying our planet at an unprecedented rate and losing a variety of plants, animals, insects and marine life – to the detriment of our own future.
The 22nd May is observed as International Day for Biological Diversity with 2026 theme, “Acting locally for global impact,” a powerful idea, centering to protect biodiversity including action close to home with family members, at local level with communities, organizations and governments. The campaign is articulated around three pillars: Look and Learn, Connect and Act, and Share.
Biodiversity is the sum total of all life on our planet – everything from smallest microorganisms to the biggest blue whales. Our planet contains a staggering amount of variety in its plant and animal life, so much so that we’ve really only scratched the surface of our understanding of it.
We have only discovered 19% of all species on Earth. However, considering how many we have yet to find, species discovery is a race against time. Biodiversity is more than just the total number of species on Earth. It is actually about the genetic diversity within species, the diversity of habitats, and the large biological units known as biomes.
It’s estimated that there are at least 8 million species of plants and animals living on earth today, including humans coexisted for thousands of years. But the problem started while human encroach upon, and in some cases overtake, ecosystems of others.
Road mapped with the 23 targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is the world’s blueprint to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The objective, “30×30” goal of conserving 30% of global land, water and seas by 2030, alongside restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems is now only four years away.
Global biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, with extinction rates up to 100 times higher than the natural baseline. The rate is alarming, one species per 20 minutes and about 150 species per day, many may no longer exist before we even have the time to see them. Driven by human activities and climate change, this crisis threatens essential ecosystem services, human health and the future of species threatened to extinction. Humans have significantly altered about 75% of land and 66% of marine environment from their natural states. Experts warn, we are entering a “sixth mass extinction.”
Biological diversity are the pillars upon which civilizations built. Less Biodiversity means a higher risk of disease. It essentially acts as a barrier between humans and animal-borne disease like Corona, Ebola and Nipah. While there is a growing recognition that biological diversity is a global asset of tremendous value to future generations, the number of species are being significantly reduced.
A species once loss is lost forever and when a species is lost, it affects others. According to the WWF’s 2022 Living Planet Report, wildlife populations have dropped by 69%since 1970. And, nowhere saw population increases. Twelve per cent of birds, 21% of mammals, 30% of amphibians, 27% of coral reefs and 35% of conifers and cycads face extinction. According to IUCN, over 47,677 species may soon disappear. Over 90% of Biodiversity loss is due to over exploitation and habitat loss thereby insisting us for reuse, reduce and recycle.
Climate change is causing biodiversity loss, and biodiversity loss is causing climate change. Biodiversity is our strongest natural defense against climate change. Land and ocean ecosystems currently absorb 60% of human emissions, proving the planet’s only massive carbon storehouse.
Biodiversity on land depends on biodiversity in water and thus, maintaining the ocean’s ecology is crucial for protecting land biodiversity. Indigenous communities have served as the planet’s most effective environmental stewards. Indigenous people manage more than 20% of the planet’s land and 80% of its biodiversity.
Biodiversity being the future foundation, it’s the answer for all our environmental issues. It coins the economies like agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism, among others. By halting biodiversity loss, we are investing for pristineness in people and future.
Biodiversity is the living fabric which underpins human wellbeing in the present and future. It’s like a large tank, from which humans can draw food, medicine and even livelihood. Biodiversity is the insurance for the lives on the Planet.
Biodiversity is the measure of the health of ecosystem. Preserving biodiversity and human development must go hand-in-hand. Once there was only a choice between development and biodiversity, but now, we realize that we can longer separate these two worlds.
Biodiversity provides the building blocks for livelihood. Nearly 39.4% of all known tree species are already at risk of extinction. Woody tree species are enabled to shift pole ward with changing climatic conditions. Hence, the conservation of forests is vital to protect biodiversity and mitigate climate change.
Despite the dire nature of the state of our planet today, there are still time to repair. One of our most promising solutions is preservation. This means creating protected areas, curbing extractive capitalism, and restoring the planet’s enormous amount of degraded land. We need cooperation – and partnerships- at all levels calling for the theme – 2026 to halting extinction.
Nature is not something with a fence around it in the middle of an expansive, human-dominated landscape but it has also its own limit. Without biological diversity, there is no other life on Earth – including our own.
Thus, Biodiversity is a country’s sovereign property and hence it should be kept under our national security. Now, human need to forge a peace pact with nature and biodiversity. Together we can galvanize, actions and awareness on political impetus for the nature and the planet. For the sake of future, let’s save our Biodiversity today because tomorrow may be too late.
(The author is Environmentalist, presently working as DFO/Chandel, email: [email protected])