ENS 112 - Biodiversity Conservation Management

- Manage biodiversity conservation programs

Intro:
​ 1. Importance of Biodiversity
​ 2. Threats/ Status
​ 3.
Biodiversity = life, different, various sp. Including flora and fauna
Conservation - wise utilization of resources/ biodiversity

4 levels of biodiversity
​ 1. Species-level
​ 2. Genetic level

Species Diversity
​ - (United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, 1999) - defined biodiversity
as the variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial,
marine, and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they
are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.
Biodiversity - or biological diversity the sum of an area’s organisms, considering the
diversity of species, their genes, their populations, and their communities.
​ ​ - there is no exact definition of biodiversity; it has been conceived in
many different ways.

The Origin of Life

This timeline illustrates the origin and evolution of life on Earth, spanning from the
planet’s formation to the emergence of modern humans. It is divided into three major
sections:

1. Early Life Formation (5,000 million years ago)

●​ 4,600 MYA (Million Years Ago): Formation of Earth.

●​ 3,600 MYA: The first life forms appeared, represented by blue-green algae
(cyanobacteria).
●​ 2,300 MYA: The development of akinetes (specialized cells for survival) and
cellular differentiation.
●​ 570 MYA: The appearance of hard-bodied marine invertebrates.

2. Evolution of Complex Life (500 million years ago)

●​ 500 MYA: Emergence of jawless fish and invertebrates like agnathans.

●​ 400 MYA: The first land plants evolved.
●​ 370-350 MYA: Amphibians, gymnosperms (early seed plants), and insects
like spiders emerged.
●​ 300 MYA: First reptiles appeared.
●​ 200 MYA: Dinosaurs evolved along with the first true mammals.
●​ 140 MYA: The first birds, such as Archaeopteryx, evolved.
●​ 100 MYA: The radiation (diversification) of mammals occurred.
●​ 65 MYA: A mass extinction event wiped out the dinosaurs.

3. Evolution of Humans (5 million years ago - Present)

●​ 4 MYA: Australopithecus afarensis, an early hominid, appeared.

●​ 2 MYA: Homo habilis, the first species of the genus Homo, evolved.
●​ 1 MYA: Homo erectus, an ancestor closest to modern humans, appeared.
●​ 130,000 years ago: Homo sapiens (modern humans) emerged.
Biodiversity exists on several levels: Components of Biodiversity

​ 1. Genetic diversity

​ 2. Ecosystem diversity

​ 3. Species diversity

​ 4. Landscape diversity

Species Diversity- The number or variety of species in a particular region.

​ - Species richness = number of species​
​ - Evenness, or relative abundance = extent to which numbers of different
species are equal or skewed
​ - Species = a particular type of organism; a population or group of
populations whose members share certain characteristics and can freely breed with
one another and produce fertile offspring
​ - Shannon-Wiener index, given the equation: H’ = -∑ p log(pi)
- pi = proportion of individuals in the community that belong to species i.
- H’ = 0 = means the community has only 1 single species
- The higher the H’ the higher is the species diversity of the community
- Species and Taxonomy - Each species is classified within a hierarchy
reflecting the evolutionary diversification of life. (Kingdom, phylum, class,
order, family, genus, species)
​ - Two related species might be in the same genus; two related genera
in the same family, etc.
- Diversity of subspecies
​ - Within species, diversity exists in subspecies, or geographic
variations.
- Measuring biodiversity - We are still profoundly ignorant of the number of
species that live on our planet. Roughly 1.75 million species have been
formally described by science. But many more exist: Estimates range from 3
million to 100 million.
Why are we still so unsure of the number of species on Earth?
​ a. Some areas remain little explored (hydrothermal vents, rainforest canopies,
tropical soils).
​ b. Many species are tiny and inconspicuous (microbes, roundworms, protists,
fungi…).
​ c. Some species are very similar in appearance (many taxa, even trees, birds,
whales).
Genetic Diversity - Includes the differences in DNA composition among
individuals within a given species
​ - Adaptation to particular environmental conditions may weed out genetic
variants that are not successful.
- But populations benefit from some genetic diversity, so as to avoid
inbreeding or disease epidemics.
- Genetic variability is essential for a healthy breeding population of a
species.
- If the number of breeding individuals is reduced, the dissimilarity of genetic
makeup is reduced and in-breeding occurs. Eventually this can lead to the
extinction of the species.
- The diversity in wild species forms the ‘gene pool’ from which our crops and
domestic animals have been developed over thousands of years.
- Today the variety of nature’s bounty is being further harnessed by using wild
relatives of crop plants to create new varieties of more productive crops and
to breed better domestic animals.
Ecosystem Diversity - Includes diversity above the species level
​ - Biologists have viewed diversity above the species level in various ways.
Some alternative ways to categorize it include:
​ ​ a. Community diversity
b. Habitat diversity
c. Landscape diversity
Landscape Diversity
- Landscape – large area consisting of a mosaic of ecosystems and habitats,
including the edges and the spaces (matrix) surrounding them.
- Landscape components are laid out in various spatial configuration or
patterns, providing layers of information on features, such as vegetation
cover, soil type, topography, geological & ecological events, land use, species
distribution and land ownership.
- Distribution of biodiversity - Species are not evenly spread among different
groups.
​ a. Insects comprise more than half of all species in world.
​ b. Beetles comprise fully 40% of all insects.
​ c. Mammals are outnumbered by spiders and their relatives 16 to 1.
- Size of each organism is scaled to its number of species.
- Mammals are located in front of the insect’s mandibles.
- Some groups that have more species may have gone through an adaptive
radiation.
- adaptive radiation - Some groups that have more species may have gone through
an adaptive radiation. eg
​ - Darwin’s Galápagos finches
- Hawaiian honeycreepers
- Asteraceae—daises and relatives
- Another pattern in the uneven distribution of biodiversity is the latitudinal gradient:
species richness increases toward the equator.
 - Ecologists are not certain why the latitudinal gradient exists, but one
prevalent idea is that tropical climates encourage specialist species that can
pack tightly in a community.
- latidunal gradient:
​ - Temperate and Polar - Variable climate favors fewer widespread
generalist species.
​ - Tropical Latitudes - Greater solar energy, heat, and humidity
promote more plant growth to support more organisms. Stable climate favors
specialist species. Together these encourage greater diversity of species.
- Biodiversity loss and species extinction
- Extinction = last member of a species dies and the species vanishes
forever from Earth
- Extirpation = disappearance of a particular population, but not the entire
species globally
- These are natural processes.
- On average one species goes extinct naturally every 500–1,000 years—this
is the background rate of extinction.
- 99% of all species that ever lived are now extinct.
- Mass extinctions
- Earth has experienced five mass extinction events in which over half its
species were wiped out suddenly.
- 5 Mass extinction:
a.Ordovician Extinction,
b.Devonian Extinction,
c.Permo-triassic extinction,
d.end-triassic extinction,
e.cretaceous-tertiary extinction
- Today’s mass extinction
​ - Currently Earth is undergoing its sixth mass extinction—because of us.
- Humans have increased the extinction rate by a factor of 1,000.
- 1,100 species are known to have gone extinct in the past 400 years.
- The Red List, from the IUCN, lists species that today are facing high risks of
extinction.
- Species of large mammals and birds plummeted with the arrival of humans,
independently, on each of three continents— suggesting that human hunting
was the cause.
- Causes of species extinction - HIPPO
➔​ Habitat alteration - Accounts for 85% of population declines of birds
and mammals
​ - Habitat change hurts most organisms because they are
adapted to an existing habitat.
​ - Alteration due to: Forest clearing, Urban development,
Agriculture, Global climate change, etc.
 ➔​ Invasive species - Accidental or intentional introduction of exotic
species to new areas
○​ Most do not establish or expand, but some do—
likely because they are “released” from limitations
imposed by their native predators, parasites, and
competitors.
○​ In today’s globalizing world, invasive species have
become perhaps the secondworst threat to native
biota.
➔​ Pollution - Air and water pollution; agricultural runoff, industrial
chemicals, etc.
- Pollution does serious and widespread harm, but is not
as threatening as the other elements of HIPPO.
➔​ Population growth - Human population growth exacerbates every
other environmental problem.
- Magnifies effects of the other elements of HIPPO: More
people means more habitat change, more invasive
species, more pollution, more overexploitation.
- Along with increased resource consumption, it is the
ultimate reason behind proximate threats to biodiversity.
➔​ Overexploitation- • Two meanings:
◆​ Overharvesting of species from the wild (too much hunting,
fishing…)
◆​ Overconsumption of resources (too much timber cutting, fossil
fuel use…)
- Usually overexploitation is not the sole cause of
extinction, but it often contributes in tandem with other
causes.
​ - In most cases, extinctions occur because of a combination of factors.
- e.g., current global amphibian declines are thought due to a complex
combination of:
• Chemical contamination
• Disease transmission
• Habitat loss
• Ozone depletion and UV penetrance
• Climate change
• Synergistic interaction of these factors
- How important is biodiversity to humans?
- Benefits of biodiversity - Preserving biodiversity preserves ecosystem services,
and directly provides things of pragmatic value to us.
▫ Ecological role
▫ Food, fuel, and fiber
▫ Shelter and building materials
▫ Medicine
 ▫ Air and water purification
▫ Waste decomposition
▫ Climate stabilization and moderation
▫ Nutrient cycling
▫ Soil fertility
▫ Pollination
▫ Pest control
▫ Genetic resources
- Importance of Biodiversity
• Ecological • Economic • Ethical • Scientific
- Ecological Role
• All species provide some kind of function to an ecosystem.
• capture and store energy
• produce organic material
• decompose organic material
• help to cycle water and nutrients throughout the ecosystem
• control erosion or pests
• help regulate climate
• purification of the air and water
• stabilisation and moderation of the climate
• decrease of flooding, drought and other environmental disasters
- A more diverse an ecosystem is better able withstand environmental stress and
consequently is more productive.
- The loss of a species is thus likely to decreases the ability of the system to maintain
itself or to recover from damage or disturbance. Just like a species with high genetic
diversity, an ecosystem with high biodiversity may have a greater chance of
adapting to environmental change.
- The more species comprising an ecosystem, the more stable the ecosystem is
likely to be.
- Importance of Biodiversity
​ - Air & Water Purification - Forests purify our air and our water by taking in
carbon dioxide, regulating water vapor, releasing oxygen, and cycling nutrients.
​ - Climate Modification
​ - Drought, Erosion & Flood Control
​ - Pollination & Seed Dispersal - Many of the plants useful to us depend on
pollinators • 30% of our food crops depend on pollinators. • Fig trees that provide
food & shelter for animals depend on pollinators.
​ - Economic Value
- Benefits of biodiversity: Economic - For all nations, ecotourism can be a major
contributor to the economy—especially for developing nations rich in biodiversity. •
Affluent tourists pay good money to see wildlife, novel natural communities, and
protected ecosystems.
- Benefits of biodiversity: Food / Food security - Many species are used for food.
 - Genetic diversity within crop species and their relatives enhances our
agriculture and provides insurance against losses of prevalent strains of staple
crops.
- Benefits of biodiversity: Fuel, Timber, Fiber, & Other Resources - Most
houses, furniture and even many clothes are made from natural products, including
wood, oils, resins, waxes, gums and fibers. • The cocoons of silk worms are the
basis of the valuable, centuries-old Asian silk-making industry.
- Benefits of biodiversity: Medicine - Many species can provide novel medicines;
we don’t want to drive these extinct without ever discovering their uses.
​ - Ten of our top 25 drugs come directly from wild plants; the rest we
developed because of studying the chemistry of wild species.
​ - About 80% of the world’s population still use plants as their primary source
of medicine.
​ - Close to 30% of all pharmaceuticals on the market today were developed
from plants and animals.
- According the National Cancer Institute, over 70 % of the promising
anti-cancer drugs come from plants in the tropical rainforests.
- It is estimated that of the 250,000 known plant species, only 5,000 have
been researched for possible medical applications.
- Benefits of biodiversity: Industrial
​ • fibers for clothing, wood for shelter and warmth.
• source of energy (such as biomass).
• Other industrial products are oils, lubricants, perfumes, fragrances, dyes,
paper, waxes, rubber, latexes, resins, poisons and cork can all be derived from
various plant species.
• Supplies from animal origin are wool, silk, fur, leather, lubricants, waxes.
• Animals may also be used as a mode of transport.
- Benefits of biodiversity: Social & Cultural Value
​ • Biodiversity is directly linked with traditional, spiritual and cultural values of
people
- Benefits of biodiversity: Ethical ‘’Biophilia”
​ • Biophilia = human love for and attachment to other living things;
• “the connections that human beings subconsciously seek out with the rest of
life”
• e.g.,
• Affinity for parks and wildlife
• Keeping of pets
• Valuing real estate with landscape views
• Interest in escaping cities to go hiking, birding, fishing, hunting,
backpacking…
• the role of biodiversity is to be a mirror of our relationships with the other
living species, an ethical view with rights, duties, and education.
• If humans consider species have a right to exist, they cannot voluntarily
cause their extinction.
 • biodiversity is also part of many cultures spiritual heritage
- Benefits of biodiversity: Scientific
​ • each species can give scientists some clue as to how life evolved and will
continue to evolve on Earth.
• helps scientists understand how life functions and the role of each species in
sustaining ecosystems.
Biodiversity is the foundation of healthy and functioning ecosystems – the
fountains of opportunity for all people.
​ • Biologist Edward O. Wilson has become the bestknown spokesperson for
biodiversity.
• An accomplished scientist and writer, he has raised awareness of threats to
Earth’s life, and of impending species extinctions.
ECOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES (for Biodiversity Conservation and Management)
​ • Taken from the principles formulated by common-sensical American
environmentalist Barry Commoner
​ 1. Nature Knows Best
​ ​ - Nature has natural process and cycles that maintain dynamic and
evolving environment.
- this creates a balance to ensure existence of living creatures.
- Humankind has fashioned technology to improve upon nature, but
such change in a natural system is likely to be detrimental to that
system.
- Ecological Heirarchy> The Biosphere> Landscapes> Ecos> Comm>
Populations? Organisms (individuals)
​ - Biosphere - broad global system that includes all the different
areas where liife exists
- Nature is a complex structure
Concepts (principle 1)
• Ecosystem components/ecological interaction
• Biogeochemical Cycles
• Primary and secondary succession
• Ecological Balance
• Natural processes interrupted by anthropogenic activities
(monocropping, intro of exotic species, use of fertilizers and pesticides,
use of additives, illegal logging, quarrying etc.)
​ 2. All Forms of Life are Important ​
​ ​ - Niche
- Law of Limiting Factors
- Law of Tolerance
* Survivorship
*Growth and reproduction
*Behavioral choice
*Geographical and ecological distribution
​ 3. Everything is connected to everything else
 • There is always interdependence/interrelationships in an ecosystem.
• No man is an island.
• Humans are major actors in the earth’s ecosystems
• Our actions influence and are influenced by the ecological
interactions
- Food Chain • Shows how each living organism gets its food and
energy.
- producers > Primary Consumers > Secondary Consumers​
​ - Food Web
- Ecosystems are interconnected….
- ecosystems exchange materials and organisms with other
ecosystems.
- what takes place in the other, affects the others.
- ecological interrelationships sustain the ecosystems and fuel
their development
​ ​ - Global interaction - interconnection is brought by:
1. Air
2. Wind
3. Water
Air and wind – circulate around the world.
- Carrying clouds, particles, chemicals, and nutrients across
borders.
Water – important sculptor on Earth.
- Community-based Resource Management (CBRM) -management
strategy for achieving peoplecentered development where the focus of the
decision-making lies in the people residing in the area, or those who have
day-to-day access to these resources
- CBRM • Involves the following:
1. participatory planning
2. implementing and monitoring of sustainable uses of resources
(collective action)
3. Ecologically sound decision-making
- CBRM Addresses 3 key elements of the food
securitypoverty-alleviation-sustainable food supply from biological
resources:
1. Ensuring sustainable food supply from biological resources
2. Increasing the earning power of the rural poor to purchase
basic necessities
3. Ensuring the regeneration of resources for the future
(sustainable development)
- Points to Ponder
• Sustainable harvesting of nature’s bounty while still conserving
biodiversity and ensuring ecosystem services
 • Humans still interact with other species in a shortsighted and
narrow manner
• Live simply that others may simply live.
• Removal of the forest would mean the loss of the storehouse
​ 4. Everything Changes
​ ​ - Natural change – helped shape the natural world.
1. Cyclic change
- seasons, day and night, tides
- changes governed by the Earth’s rotation, revolution, and
relative positions of the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun
2. Linear Change
- uni-directional
- life of an individual plant or animal from birth to death, the
aging of lakes and rivers, the corrosion of metal, the weathering of
rocks
- evolution
3. Random Change
- unpredictable.
- volcanic eruptions, earthquakes
- sudden phenomena that swiftly bring about long-term changes
​ ​ 4. Cultural Change
Culture – the manner by which people interact with the natural
environment and with each other.
- includes worldview that defines these interactions as well the
technology and social systems that manifest this worldview.
Cultural evolution – multi-changes in the way that humans
have lived since we appeared in the Earthly scene.
1. Hunting-Gathering Stage - extraction of resources depend
on what nature can provide.
- extraction was driven by the need to survive
2. Agricultural Stage
▫ Taming of the land for sustenance ​
▫ Characterized by:
a. Planting desired crops, ​
b. domesticating preferred animals,
c. settling on permanent sturdy dwellings
d. Increased in human population
3. Industrialization
​ ▫ Rampant use of coal.
▫ Concentrations of peoples in towns that sprang up
around the production centers gave rise to solid waste and
sewage problems.
▫ New ecological set-up.
4. Tributary Societies
 ▫ Emergence of new social order where people moved to
specialization of activities
▫ Characterized by:
a. State structures and class, hierarchies
b. Increase in population and demands
c. Land conversion
5. Capitalism
​ ▫ Continued the plunder of nature on an unimaginable
scale.
▫ 16th and 19th century, hundreds of millions of animals
were killed for fur.
6. Colonization ​
​ ▫ “We must find new lands from which we can easily
obtain raw materials and at the same time exploit the cheap
labor that is available from the natives of the colonies. The
colonies would also provide a dumping grounds for the surplus
goods produced in the factories.” - Cecil Rhodes (famous
promoter of colonialism)
7. Global Homogenization
​ ▫ Monocrop plantations
▫ Ecological homogenization
▫ Erased the innumerable spatial and temporal niches
that specific plants and animals thrive in.
▫ Green Revolution
- transformation of agriculture in 1945
- development of new varieties of food plants to
keep pace with the growing population
8. Population Factor
​ ▫ Change in population size.
▫ Large populations along with increasing standards of
living among the affluent, has strained the Earth’s environment
to its limits.
▫ Big factor in the host of environmental problems that are
upon us today
​ Increasing Population (anthropogenic pressure)
> High demand for timber, food and space​
> illegal logging and hunting of wildlife, Encroachment of
agriculture in the upland, Urbanization/ housing/ road
constructions, Mining
> Loss of natural forest
> Decrease of forest biodiversity
Increasing population (anthropogenic pressure)
>High demand for energy, food and space
>Diversion of rivers for irrigation and dams, Quarrying and pollution, Water
withdrawal, Introduction of exotic species
>Destruction of the habitat for flora and fauna in the inland waters
>Decreasing inland water biodiversity
​ Coastal, marine and island biodiversity ​
​ > Mangrove forest, Coral reefs, Seagrass beds, Hydrothermal vents>
Estuaries
​ >Threats : increase in population and human settlements Coastal
development/tourism chemical pollution /eutrophication illegal fishing activities
Siltation and sedimentation invasion of alien species, global climate change
​ >Decrease of coastal and marine biodiversity
​ ​ ​ •Changes in Worldview
• Ethnic cultures vs Modern Attitudes
Ethnic Cultures – manifest a humble attitude towards
nature, the belief that nature is in control and not we.
Modern ways/attitudes – understanding nature through
science and manipulating it with technology have convinced
people that we can be masters of the planet.
Change is constant in nature and among humans.
• The challenge: - to re-channel human’s creativity to stop
or minimize our assault on nature.
HOW? Assess the damage we have done, understand its
root causes and look for solutions that are in harmony with the
laws of the natural world
INSTRUMENTS TO EFFECT POSITIVE ECOLOGICAL CHANGE
a. EIA – requirement for ay project that has potentially large impact on
the environment
- an instrument that mandates in-depth exam and evaluation of
all phases and aspects of the project
- a powerful tool to ensure that the change is positive
b. Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB) - various
stakeholders around a national park or various protected areas
- make policy and decisions that would preserve the value of the
park
- reconcile varied, often conflicting modes of utilization of the
park’s resources
Points to ponder……………
• We all impact on the Earth. We all contribute to changes, subtle or
otherwise. The need is for all to factor in the environment in our behavioral
choices, to make the necessary adjustments and if necessary, sacrifice so as
to lighten our ecological foot-print on the earth.
​ ​ 5. Everything must go somewhere
• Earth – has natural ability to purify itself. - can process organic
matter into something useful
 • Organic material degradation useful nutrients
• Particulate matter washed down by rain + dispersed by the
wind ​
Organic pollution is taxing the earth’s cleansing ability
• Improper garbage disposal ecological indigestion pollution
• Too much will go somewhere other than the intended path e.g.
nitrates + phosphates (eutrophication)
• Greenhouse gases – CO2, methane, ammonia, sulfur dioxide,
ozone and water vapor
- absorb the radiation reflected by the earth giving the
troposphere a heat-retaining property
- tolerable heat (not freezing)
- facilitators of warmth
• Industrial Revolution
- increase of CO2 release
- excessive emissions from factories, automobiles, forest
denudation
• Global Warming
– rise of temperature
- melting of ice caps
- rise in sea level
- weather irregularities
- coral bleaching
- biodiversity loss
- spread of diseases
• Garbage of the 21st Century
Everything goes somewhere and unfortunately, with
serious consequences.
• Plastics
– easy to use, lightweight, easy to clean, very stable, and
can be in any color
- its non-biodegradability (curse)
- it takes 500 years or more to degrade
• CFCs - low boiling points, non-reactive, nontoxic,
non-corrosive and non-flammable (good aerosol can be
propellants, refrigerants)
- its non-reactivity allows them to reach the stratosphere
interacts with UV radiation break down ozone to oxygen
molecules ozone depletion
• Ozone
– shield against solar radiation
- ultraviolet rays are mutagenic cancer/eye cataracts
• Heavy Metals – pollutants
▫ e.g. lead and mercury
 ▫ Lead can affect the brain and bone marrow
▫ Mercury is a by-product of geothermal plants and coal-fired
power plants, pesticide/fungicide manufacturers (more
devastating in the higher end of the food chain or
biomagnification); affetcs the neural tissue e.g.Minamata
Disease, Love Canal Incident
• Dumpsites and landfills – can contaminate aquifers
- rain leaching of toxins, bacteria, trace metals ground water
contamination
Bear these in mind…………
• Everything goes somewhere must be the guiding principle in the
management of waste
• Efforts must be exerted so that garbage can go where it becomes a resource
instead of a hazard
• Sharp cutback in the use of fossil fuels
• Massive reforestation activities worldwide
• IPM
• Waste Exchange Programs – make the waste of one industry the input of
another
• Reduce, reuse, recycle
• Ecological Waste Management Program
Let’s talk about this…..
• It takes a commitment of every citizen to adopt an outlook where garbage is seen
as a resource – something that can become useful.
6. Ours is a Finite Earth
• “Our entire society rests upon and is dependent upon our
water, our lands, our forests and our minerals. How we use these
resources influences our health, economy and well-being”
• It is only about within 200 years that human activity has
affected the environment so seriously that human survival and
development have been threatened.
• CULTURAL CHANGE (Stone Age Industrial Revolution)
economic growth + human development + ecological collapse
• We look technology to bring good health, prosperity and
material satisfaction to future generations, but we must be conscious of
the limits to growth in a finite Earth.
Earth’s surface = 13 billion has. of land
- 11% arable
- 28% suffer from drought
-23% subject to mineral stress
-22% too thin to be cultivated
-10% waterlogged soils
- 6% permanently frozen (Antarctica and Greenland)
 • In spite of our seemingly large planet, habitable spaces are
now hard to find because of increased population and migration
• World’s Tropical forests = originally 1.5 billion has. ; now 900
million has or less
▫ About 11 million being destroyed each year
• Withdrawal of water has drained many of our water
reservoirs at rates that far exceed that of natural replenishment
• Fresh, clean air is also becoming a rare commodity
• Earth’s Natural Resources Resources – total fixed amount
that exists in the Earth’s crust.
a. Renewable Resources (Potentially Renewable)
b. Non-renewable Resources
Renewable Resources
• Forest – provider and protector of living organisms
(food, medicine, timber, fuel)
- powerhouse for basic biospheric processes and
biological growth
- regulate climate
- preserve watersheds
- gene reservoir
- denuded due to increasing demand for agriculture,
mining and land conversions Renewable Resources
• Water – treated as unlimited resource that can be
harnessed cheaply for:
▫ Domestic and industrial use
▫ Agriculture
▫ Energy production
▫ Transportation
▫ Recreation
▫ Waste disposal
Non-renewable Resources
• Fossil Fuels (coal, oil and natural gas)
- remains of plants/animals that lived millions of
years ago
- oil accounts for half of the world’s energy
production ; other half provided by coal, natural gas, other
fuels, geothermal energy and nuclear energy
Non-renewable Resources
• Non-fuel Mineral resources – naturally formed
inorganic solids that make up the earth
(metallic/non-metallic minerals)
- products of geological processes
- finite
 - continue to exist after they are used in altered
forms that can be retrieved to some extent for re-use
Limits to Water
• How can water shortage become an issue when 70% of the
earth’s surface is covered by water?
- extensive withdrawals due to increasing demand
- groundwater depletion
- water pollution aggravates the problem
- illegal logging/watershed destruction
Limits to Land
• Amount of land is fixed but the forest is destroyed
• Erosion, land conversion, overgrazing, intensive cultivation,
industrialization, urbanization, land conversions
Limits to Earth’s Absorption Capacity
• Earth’s absorption capacity is exceeded due to
- Misuse and overuse of soil, air and water
- improper disposal of garbage
- burning of waste
- overcultivation/overgrazing
- extensive use of fossil fuels
- chemical fertilizers/pesticides
Ecological and Technological Sustainability
• Complex approach
• Saving finite earth can begin anywhere, from personal
accountability to the :
a. commitment of government
b. grassroot environmentalists
c. social groups
d. indigenous people
e. policy makers
Ecological Sustainability
• Approach rooted in the absolute finiteness of the earth’s
resources
• Imposes limits on technology, material wants and undue
environmental stress
• Understand and manage the environment
• Value traditional practices of the IPs
• Collective effort
• Drastic change of lifestyle (consumerism – minimization;
individualism – cooperation)
• Definition of need (wants to needs)
• Think globally, act locally!
Technological Sustainability
 • Better management of the environment and its
resources through technology and governance
• Interplay of technology and envi mgt make a positive
gain towards sustainable use of natural resources and thus,
sustainable development
Sustainable development
• Legislation of resource use
• Low-input sustainable agricultural systems
• Sustainable management of tropical forests
• Increased efficiency of small-sized irrigation systems
• Increased reuse of wastewater
• Reduction/recycling of solid and toxic wastes
• Advances in energy efficiency
• Increased use of renewable energy sources
Points to ponder…………..
• If the utilization of renewable resources is faster than their renewal by natural
processes, the line that draws renewables from non-renewables becomes obscure.
• We live in an age of resource depletion and environmental degradation.
• Can legal/technological means fix these problems? How?
• Can human ingenuity put technology, economic and political systems to work to
control depletion? How?
Let us recall…..
• A natural tropical forest once destroyed can never be fully replaced.
• A resource used today is a resource gone tomorrow.
• How much and how fast should resources be used?
7. Nature is beautiful and we are stewards of God’s creation
To see the world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower……….
William Blake
• Knowledge and freedom imply responsibility, and according to
the traditional view, one aspect of responsibility is that humans should
exercise appropriate concern about other forms of life.
• The responsibility of stewardship is not an ownership or
exploitation but rather as a caretaker and preserver.
• Why, as humans multiplied upon the earth, did the pattern
change from judicious use to exploitative abuse?
• Humans are the consciousness of the earth. No other species
can care for it but us. What is needed here is a redefinition of the
concept of stewardship.
A Pledge for the Earth
​ • If we choose to care for the earth and nurture it, live in harmony with our
fellow creatures, we may be able to save the earth for our children and our children’s
children.
• We can make first small steps, then big leaps
• We can plant trees
 • We can ride bikes to save energy and lessen pollution
• We can eat natural foods that render the soil impotent
• We can segregate our waste to maximize reuse and recycling
• We can protect endangered species by showing respect for each living thing
• We can link chains that support life
• We can take steps towards sustainable development
• We commit to keep the earth beautiful and sustainable for our descendants
of our fellow creatures.
• We heed God’s call to “keep the garden”