DEFINITION

Biodiversit

y

Definition Threat

ImportanceConservation

DEFINITION

Biological diversity, or the shorter

"biodiversity," (bio-di-ver-si-ty) simply means

the diversity, or variety, of plants and

animals and other living things in a

particular area or region. For instance, the

species that inhabit Los Angeles are

different from those in San Francisco, and

desert plants and animals have different

characteristics and needs than those in the

mountains, even though some of the same

species can be found in all of those areas.

IMPORTANCE

Importanc

e

Recreational

area

Hidden

treasure

Greenhous

e

BreedingBalanceEnergy

Ecosyste

m

Medicine

Wood

product

Hidden treasureHidden treasureHidden treasureHidden treasureBreedingBreedingBreedingBreeding

IMPORTNACE OF BIODIVERSITY

Biodiversity increases ecosystem productivity; all of the species in that ecosystem, no matter their size, have a big role. A diverse ecosystem can prevent and recover from lots of disasters. Humans depend on plants and animals. For example, one quarter of all prescription medicines in the U.S. have ingredients from plants. If a diverse ecosystem is more productive, it 's easier to get these plants.

Humans also directly benefit from a diverse ecosystem: plants, clean water and air, provide oxygen, and control erosion.

Here are some of the major ways biodiversity helps humans:

IMPORTACE OF BIODIVERSITY

Plants absorb greenhouse gases and help stop global

warming.

It is easier for biodiverse ecosystems to recover from

natural disasters.

Healthy biodiversity of species can provide a variety of

food (like meat and produce).

Many of our medicinal drugs come from plants.

IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY

All of our wood products come from nature.

We can learn more about our earth by observing a

diverse ecosystem.

Many recreational areas benefit from a healthy

ecosystem, which promotes tourism.

Biodiversity is beautiful and should be enjoyed.

LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY

Loss of

biodiversi

ty

Overexploitat

ion of

resources

Climate

change

ClearAlteration and

loss of the

habitats

Exotic

species

Pollution

CAUSES OF LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY :

1)Alteration and loss of the habitats: the

transformation of the natural areas determines not

only the loss of the vegetable species, but also a

decrease in the animal species associated to them.

Refer to “Alteration and loss of the habitats”.

CAUSES OF LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY :

2)Introduction of exotic species and genetically

modified organisms; species originating from a

particular area, introduced into new natural

environments can lead to different forms of

imbalance in the ecological equilibrium. Refer to,

“Introduction of exotic species and genetically

modified organisms”.

3)Pollution: human activity influences the natural

environment producing negative, direct or indirect,

effects that alter the flow of energy, the chemical

and physical constitution of the environment and

abundance of the species;

CAUSES OF LOSS OF BIODIVERSITY :

4)Climate change: for example, heating of the Earth’s surface affects biodiversity because it endangers all the species that adapted to the cold due to the latitude (the Polar species) or the altitude (mountain species).

5)Overexploitation of resources: when the activities connected with capturing and harvesting (hunting, fishing, farming) a renewable natural resource in a particular area is excessively intense, the resource itself may become exhausted, as for example, is the case of sardines, herrings, cod, tuna and many other species that man captures without leaving enough time for the organisms to reproduce.

CONSERVATION

Conservati

on

Renovating

Stop junk mail

CompostingEco-friendly

Park or a

zoo

bird feeders

CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY:

Put out bird feeders, bird bathes, and houses.

Put up a bat house.

Be careful not to buy coral, ivory, or tortoise shell

products. They come from endangered species.

You can volunteer at a nature center, park, or a zoo.

Add mulch to soil to prevent erosion.

Composting can add nutrients to your soil.

Buy organic produce.

Don’t use pesticides; they can kill plants and

animals.

CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY:

Stop junk mail to save paper and protect our forests.

When renovating your house, buy FSC approved wood, because it is harvested in ways that don’t harm the forests.

Use renovating your house

Recycle old newspaper and buy recycled paper products.

Use e-mail since it saves paper.

You should always use eco-friendly cleaning products.

Educational implication:

ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

Activity 1: Understanding biodiversity

Introduce the idea of variety by giving the students a one minute challenge to write the names of all the plants, animals and insects they know.

Explain that ‘diversity’ is the name that we give to this variety. Develop the idea that this diversity is what makes life interesting.

Introduce students to the concept of variety in nature. Can they imagine a world where there was only one type of tree or bird? e.g. only pine trees and magpies.

Can they imagine a world with only buildings and roads and no green spaces in our towns and cities? What would it be like to live in this type of environment?

ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

Explain that this variety of life is called biodiversity

(short for biological diversity).

Challenge students to expand the following

examples of biodiversity:

the differences between animals or plants of the same

species, e.g. different types of ducks

different species who live in a particular area, e.g. birds,

fish, insects, plants, fungus could all live in a wetland

differences between different environments

(ecosystems) e.g. forests, wetlands, lakes etc.

Using the school and the local environment as a

resource have students

ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

identify examples of the three different categories of

biodiversity, e.g.

birds, insects, trees, animals

living in the local area

identify and count the number of different bird species

identify and name particular environments within a local

area ( bush, wetland, stream…).

ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

Activity 2: Use the Conservation Week poster (visual

language)

The poster is particularly useful to stimulate discussion

on environmental topics, e.g.

what actions can you see taking place that demonstrate that

the environment is being looked after?

how will the planting of trees benefit the environment?

why is the farmer fencing the river bank?

the tui eating the nectar of the flax and dropping the seeds of

native plants can be used to illustrate the web of life concept.

use the poster to help the students identify the different

types of

ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

environments found between the mountains and the sea

(including dairy farms).

Focus on the person fishing for whitebait. Tell students

that whitebait are the young of some types of native fish

found only in New Zealand.

Have students

visit www.biodiversity.govt.nz/kids/ (external site) to:

find the names of the native fish we call whitebait

identify ways we can protect them

find out where and when to go whitebaiting

Use the website to find out ways we can protect and

look after our waterways.

ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

Activity 3: Everything is connected

Spend time in the school and local environment so

students can identify things they could do to improve

their environment.

Visit www.enviroschools.org.nz (external site). What is

an EnviroSchool? Identify the positive actions that

students are taking. Can they be applied at their school?

Do the students know that our native pigeon – the kereru is

under threat? It depends on the fruit of trees for its food, but

the trees depend upon the kereru to distribute the seeds of

the trees found in the fruit. If this web of life is broken, it could

be a disaster for our native forests!

ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

Activity 4: Interactive web-based research

This stimulating and easy-to-use bilingual resource has

been especially designed for students to show them just

how everything is connected.

Dion, Rick and Ani are fishing for whitebait but locals tell

them that the fishing is not as good as it used to be.

They decide to go on a journey up the creek, through

the suburbs, rural land and to the source of the river to

find out why. On their way they discover just how

everything is connected. A comprehensive Teacher’s

Guide is provided including resources, websites,

background information, and classroom activities.

ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

.

Activity 5: Taking positive action

List the simple, yet positive actions we can take to

look after the web of life – as described

on www.biodiversity.govt.nz/kids/ (external site)

Get these messages out to school students and

and the local school community as posters and in

slideshow and video format – illustrating, instructing

and demonstrating how we can protect the web of

life and how everything is connected. Consider a

display at a local shopping centre.

ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS

Inspire your students to improve the local area, e.g.

planting a native area or a stream clean-up…

Find out what is planned in your area for

Conservation Week.

Talk to your local DOC office to find out if they have

any special events planned.

Establish a media watch bulletin board highlighting

environmental problems and positive actions

taken.