Life is an abundant web
Life on Earth is abundant, and this abundance isn't just beautiful; it's essential for our existence. Our world operates as an intricate web of interconnected life forms. For example, within healthy soil, every organism serves a purpose in the grand scheme of things, whether it's in the food chain, nutrient cycling, water regulation, carbon storage, erosion prevention, or disease and pest control. If even one species is missing, it's like removing a thread from the web, making it more fragile.
As humans, we rely on nature for our survival. For instance, we need the oxygen that plants produce, and we depend on plants for food, medicine, and materials for shelter and clothing. Plants also play a crucial role in regulating our climate by absorbing carbon dioxide and moisturizing the air. They, in turn, rely on pollinators, clean water, and the microorganisms that create healthy soil. It's all interconnected, and humans are a part of this intricate web.
According to estimates published by the US National Academy of Sciences in 2006, the Earth could be home to a staggering 1 trillion species. Astonishingly, only a tiny fraction, about 1.74 million species (or 1.74%), have been described so far. Out of those 1.74 million, an incredible 1 million are insects (A. Chapham, 2009). Let's make every effort to preserve and protect the Earth's biodiversity to the fullest extent possible!
The man-made mass extinction of species
Life is an abundant web
Life on Earth is abundant, and this abundance isn't just beautiful; it's essential for our existence. Our world operates as an intricate web of interconnected life forms. For example, within healthy soil, every organism serves a purpose in the grand scheme of things, whether it's in the food chain, nutrient cycling, water regulation, carbon storage, erosion prevention, or disease and pest control. If even one species is missing, it's like removing a thread from the web, making it more fragile.
As humans, we rely on nature for our survival. For instance, we need the oxygen that plants produce, and we depend on plants for food, medicine, and materials for shelter and clothing. Plants also play a crucial role in regulating our climate by absorbing carbon dioxide and moisturizing the air. They, in turn, rely on pollinators, clean water, and the microorganisms that create healthy soil. It's all interconnected, and humans are a part of this intricate web.
According to estimates published by the US National Academy of Sciences in 2006, the Earth could be home to a staggering 1 trillion species. Astonishingly, only a tiny fraction, about 1.74 million species (or 1.74%), have been described so far. Out of those 1.74 million, an incredible 1 million are insects (A. Chapham, 2009). Let's make every effort to preserve and protect the Earth's biodiversity to the fullest extent possible!
Industrial farming is a major factor contributing to species extinction.
The man-made mass extinction of species
Most conservation biologists believe that we are currently experiencing the 6th mass extinction of species in Earth's history, also referred to as the "Holocene extinction." This crisis is impacting all taxonomic groups, including marine organisms.
According to the IUCN Red List (2020):
28% of closely monitored species are threatened by extinction.
34% of amphibians are facing the threat of extinction.
33% of reef-forming corals, sharks, and marine mammals are also under the threat of extinction.
Furthermore, data from the Living Planet Index indicates that the number of monitored vertebrate species declined by a significant 68% between 1970 and 2016.
If you were driving in a car through the countryside about 20 years ago, your windshield would have been covered with splattered insects. This is no longer happening to the extent it did before. It is an anecdotal observation indicating a decline in insect populations. This decline in insect populations is concerning, considering that insects play vital roles in ecosystems as pollinators, decomposers, and as part of the food chain. A decline in insect populations can lead to cascading effects on ecosystems.
Unlike the previous five mass extinctions, which were caused by natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions and the asteroid impact that led to the extinction of dinosaurs, most conservation biologists now attribute the current mass extinction to human activities.
How does human activity contribute to the extinction of species?
Grafik: Habitat Loss, WWF, Living Planet Report 2018
Water reservoir used for the irrigation of rice paddies in Japan showing signs of severe eutrophication caused by chemical fertilizer runoffs (nitrogen).
Habitat Degradation
Approximately 40% of the Earth's land is currently used for food production. Agriculture is the primary driver behind 90% of worldwide deforestation and consumes roughly 70% of the Earth's freshwater resources.
The currently predominant method of farming, known as industrial agriculture, was introduced after WW2 with the aim of making farming more efficient and supplying larger quantities of food for the growing human population on Earth. However, it comes at the cost of a loss of biodiversity.
Monocultures of crops, which are common in industrial agriculture, are more susceptible to pests and diseases because a large population of a single crop provides an ideal environment for these pests and diseases to spread. Cultivating a single crop species over large areas of land also has several negative effects on the soil, just as the use of large industrial tilling machines that are common in industrial agriculture. These unsustainable farming practices necessitate the heavy use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers for crops to grow. However, these chemicals have unintended consequences, such as killing non-target species and further degrading the quality of soil and water in habitats. For instance, a high concentration of fertilizers in water bodies leads to excessive algae blooms that remove light and oxygen from the water, ultimately harming aquatic plants and animals, a process called eutrophication.
Between 1900 and 2000, around 75% of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops was lost. From 30,000 wild and 7,000 cultivated edible plants, only 30 provide 95% of global dietary energy. Wheat, rice, and maize provide more than 50% of plant-derived calories globally. The low genetic diversity of crops poses a threat to global food security as they are more susceptible to diseases and pests (which are then controlled with chemical pesticides). Crops with low genetic diversity may not have the adaptability to withstand changing environmental conditions, such as increasingly frequent and severe weather events. A narrow genetic base in crops can also result in limited nutritional diversity in our diets.
Unlike the previous five mass extinctions, which were caused by natural phenomena such as volcanic eruptions and the asteroid impact that led to the extinction of dinosaurs, most conservation biologists now attribute the current mass extinction to human activities.
The fish we find on our plates often has a troubling history.
Exploitation
Exploitation in the context of biodiversity loss refers to the unsustainable removal of plants and animals from nature by humans. Many species have become extinct due to over-hunting, overfishing, or poaching, including species like the Dodo, the Black Rhinoceros, the Tasmanian Tiger, or the Chinese Paddlefish.
The worldwide average of fish consumption per person is around 20 kg per year, roughly double the consumption from 50 years ago. Unfortunately, what is caught in fishing nets isn't limited to the intended species; it often includes a significant amount of unintended catch, known as "bycatch." Globally, approximately 40% of the fish caught is unintentional and is often discarded back into the sea, either dead or dying. This means that the fish we ultimately find on our plates often has a troubling history.
Grassroots activities
What can you do as a World Unite! volunteer against the loss of biodiversity? Some examples...
Pollinator Action
On Sado Island in Japan, we are enhancing biodiversity in an abandoned rice paddy by improving soil quality, planting wildflowers, and creating habitats for ground-nesting bees, solitary bees, and various other insects and animals. You can participate in this initiative as a volunteer through our Mother Nature program on Sado.
At our Mother Nature base in Matemwe, Zanzibar, we have a colony of stingless bees that serve as co-workers in our permaculture garden. As a volunteer, you can observe their beehive and emphasize the significance of pollinators during environmental education sessions at local schools.
By adding flowers and insect hotels on the roof and around our sharehouse in central Tokyo, we support pollinators in the city. This isn't exactly a volunteering project you can join, but if you ever come to Tokyo, you're welcome to visit us and spread the word. If you happen to stay in our sharehouse, you can also assist us with watering the plants! :)
Regenerative Farming
Once per week we learn about and get involved involved in permaculture farming at the Mother Nature Camp in Zanzibar with our permaculture instructors Antje and Laura.
Insects as stewards: One of the educational sessions that is part of all Mother Nature programs explains how insects can be used as biocontrol agents instead of chemical pesticides.
On Sado, as a volunteer at our Mother Nature program, one of the activities is to help a farmer that is using ducks as natural pest control on his ricefields.
We arrange placements into various permaculture and organic farming project in various countries.
Conservation of particular habitats
The Zandvlei Estuary Nature Reserve is a river delta at the coast near Cape Town in South Africa. It is an important habitat for many animals such as birds, amphibians and fish, including species which are endangered.
As a volunteer you will help with landscape preservation, environmental conservation, and environmental education.
Mangroves are super important for coastal protection, carbon sequestration, as water filters and as habitat for an incredibly rich variety of species, including fish, crabs, mollusks, and birds.
In Zanzibar, as a volunteer at our Mother Nature Program in Jozani, you will plant mangroves.
Coral reefs are among the most diverse ecosystems on Earth, providing a habitat for a vast array of marine species. Although they cover less than 1% of the ocean floor, they are home to an estimated 25% of all marine species. This biodiversity supports various food webs and contributes to global marine life. Coral reefs providing essential breeding and feeding grounds, including those of interest for human consumption.
In Zanzibar, volunteers at our Mother Nature program in Matemwe participate in the monitoring of coral reefs, work on the coral farm, and transplant coral to degraded parts of the reef.
The Satoyama landscape in Japan is a man-made ecosystem typically situated at the transition zone between flat land and hills. These areas have been artificially irrigated since the Edo Period in the early 17th century. Many of these traditional, terraced rice fields are classified as "Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems" (GIAHS).
Rice paddies, when farmed in the traditional pre-industrial way without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers, are rich in biodiversity. They host more than 500 species of organisms, including birds such as the Crested Ibis, herons, and falcons that feed in the rice fields and nest in nearby pine trees.
Due to the aging and declining population, the rice fields are no longer irrigated, and chemical pesticides and fertilizers are widely used. Volunteers at our Sado Mother Nature program collaborate with rice farmers who promote organic and regenerative farming methods and create biotopes between the rice fields.
We can arrange many other habitat conservation volunteering programs.
Conservation of particular species
Kemp's ridley and Hawksbill sea turtles are listed as “Critically Endangered”, the Loggerhead and Green turtle as “Endangered”, the Olive ridley and Leatherback as “Vulnerable”.
We provide volunteering opportunities with marine turtles in Zanzibar, Nicaragua and Japan.
The Crested Ibis was extinct in the wild in 1981. The Japanese government captured the last 5 living individuals and initiated a rehabilitation project, which you can be a part of on Sado Island. There are again around 500 bird now that breed again in the wild.
Today, only a total of 25,000 breeding pairs of the African Penguin exist in the whole world, out of which 21,000 can be found in the Algoa Bay in South Africa. The Penguin and Seabrid Rescue Centre is caring for sick, injured or malnourished penguins and other seabirds such as seagulls, gannets, and cormorants.
We can arrange many other animal conservation programs.
Conservation of plants
On the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro, volunteers in our Mother Nature program in Moshi, Tanzania, work on a tree nursery that grows a large variety of indigenous trees. Under the guidance of our experts, they also promote the use of indigenous seeds to local farmers.
Takano-san is over 80 years old. In his childhood, he used to collect edible plants from the forest. He is now teaching his knowledge to the younger generations, including volunteers at our Mother Nature program in Japan.
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