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Causes of Biodiversity Loss Environmental Resource Management Development • As population grows, landscape changes • Settlements are growing into megacities • Land uses are changed • Rivers are dammed or diverted • Modern agriculture & forestry techniques displace plants Biotechnology • Humans are now breeding new species in a lab • Some new breeds of plants and animals have been helpful • Scientists now creating new life forms with unknown effects • New species modify habitats and destroy other species • Research is expensive Genetic Modification • The total area of land around the world sown with genetically engineered crops increased 25 times between 1996 and 2000. A dramatic slowdown of this rate from 40% to 11% in between 1999 and 2000 may reflect public concern about the risks of these crops. Use of Fossil Fuels • Combustion of oil, natural gas, coal, and by-products like propane and gasoline pollute the air and increase the greenhouse effect • CO2 content has increased more than 30% and methane content has increase 145% since pre-industrial times Use of Fossil Fuels Pollution • Wastes, gases, and toxic chemicals from industry, energy production, sewage, fertilizers, transportation, and pesticides contaminate the air, soil, and water resources • Contaminants are absorbed into the plants and animals • We then eat those species! Exploitation • Commercial and recreation (fishing and hunting) overkill of a species • Public demand for tropical hardwoods remains high • Some animals seen as vermin or a threat, some used for “alternative medicine” Poverty • Globalization puts pressure on countries to build their economies – at the expense of their environments • National debts in developing countries are often paid by clear cutting or cash crops • Local dependence on the land is therefore even harder “UN Environment Chief Targets Poverty” • UNEP says the rich world is not doing enough to make sustainable development a realistic goal for every country. • "The fundamental constraint to achieving sustainable development is social inequality and its associated evils: poverty and ignorance." Bio-invasion • Invasive species are ones that are not native to a particular ecosystem • Pose threats to native species through competition for food • Some “hitchhike”, others are intentionally introduced • “Introductions, like extinctions, are forever.” Ellen Marsden Life Out of Bounds • “Bioinvasion – the spread of alien, "exotic" organisms – is gnawing away at ecosystems all over the world, largely unnoticed and unopposed. • “The continuing increase in travel and trade around the globe is fostering the spread of more and more invaders of almost every conceivable description.” Policies • Governments want to encourage development, but are not ecologically based • Lack of property rights and corrupt governments mean less interest in taking care of the resources • Effective environmental protection laws are scarce Policies So, for final exam review the following with regard to Causes of Biodiversity Loss of Natural Resources • Development • Biotechnology • Use of Fossil Fuels • Pollution • Exploitation • Poverty • Bio-invasion • Policies