Research

Articles about the importance of biodiversity by the Guardian

Europe faces 'biodiversity oblivion' after collapse in French birds, experts warn

Have come across a couple of interesting articles about the importance of biodiversity. The first article has to do with the loss of farmland birds in France. This is in consequence of heavy use of pesticides, which in turn affects bird's diets, and as a result most of the avian wildlife has been lost. This is important because ultimately "the agriculture needs pollinators and the soil fauna. Without that, ultimately, we will die.” One of the statistics stated told how there has been a loss of a quarter of the skylark population in the last 15 years.

The briefingWhat is biodiversity and why does it matter to us?

A good article highlighting why biodiversity is crucial to the well-being of life on the planet overall and how our health, and economy, depend on it. 

An excerpt detailing what constitutes the "sixth mass extinction" 

" Life on Earth has suffered five mass extinctions of biodiversity in its long history, caused by massive volcanic eruptions, deep ice ages, meteorite impacts and clashing continents. But some scientists believe a sixth mass extinction has now begun.

This one is very different, caused not by geology or natural climate change, but by a single species – us. Humans and our livestock now consume 25-40% of the planet’s entire “primary production”, i.e the energy captured by plants on which all biodiversity depends. We have become a voracious top predator across the entire globe."

One estimate suggests that, by weight, 97% of the world’s vertebrate land animals are now either humans or our farm animals – just 3% are wild