How losing biodiversity could be killing us

Key Concepts:

Biodiversity: The variety of life on Earth, including plants, animals, and microorganisms.
Ecosystem services: The benefits that humans receive from ecosystems, such as clean air and water, pollination, and climate regulation.
Zoonotic diseases: Diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
Overharvesting: Harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns.
Land conversion: The process of changing the use of land from its natural state to another use, such as agriculture or urban development.
Rewilding: The process of restoring an ecosystem to its natural state.
Agroforestry: A land management system that combines trees and shrubs with crops or livestock.
Red List: The International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, which tracks the conservation status of species.
Ethnobotany: The study of the relationships between people and plants.

1. The Link Between Biodiversity and Medicine

Discovery of Penicillin: Alexander Fleming's accidental discovery of penicillin from mold highlighted the potential of nature in medicine.
Natural Substances in Drugs: Approximately 70% of cancer medications are based on natural substances. Examples include heart disease medication from foxglove and cancer treatments from the yew tree and mayapple.
Ethnobotanical Research: Ethnobotanists like Cassandra Quave study traditional medicines used by different cultures to find new drug leads.
Traditional Medicine: Four billion people worldwide still rely on natural medicines. Examples include latex from fig trees for intestinal parasites in the Amazon and neem oil for skin disorders in India.

2. The Biodiversity Crisis

Extinction Rates: Species are disappearing at rates 10 to 100 times faster than in the past.
IUCN Red List: Over a quarter of the 150,000 species assessed by the IUCN are threatened with extinction.
Threats to Biodiversity: The primary threats are overharvesting and land conversion for agriculture and livestock. Other factors include climate change, invasive species, and pollution.
Ecosystem Instability: Loss of species can destabilize ecosystems, leading to collapse, similar to removing blocks from a Jenga tower.

3. Ecosystem Services and Human Health

Air Purification: Trees and shrubs clean air, preventing deaths from air pollution. A Boston University study estimated that 38,000 deaths could be prevented in major US cities with more greenery.
Soil Health: Soil microbes provide nutrients for 95% of our food.
Water Purification: Wetlands purify water, as demonstrated by Kolkata, India, where wetlands treat 750 million tonnes of sewage and wastewater.
Economic Value of Ecosystem Services: The Boston Consulting Group estimates ecosystem services to be worth 140 trillion euros annually, about twice global GDP.
Peninah Murage Quote: "A lot of the things that nature does for us, it does for free. Because it does it for free, we don't really value it."

4. Biodiversity Loss and Increased Health Threats

Increased Life Expectancy: Tapping into natural resources has increased average life expectancy over the past 200 years.
Overexploitation of Resources: We are using resources faster than the Earth can regenerate them.
Zoonotic Diseases: Deforestation and human-wildlife contact increase the risk of zoonotic diseases like COVID-19, Ebola, influenza, and HIV.

5. Solutions for Protecting Biodiversity

Rewilding: Reintroducing lost species to restore ecosystems. Example: Rewilding vultures in Eastern Europe.
Agroforestry: Integrating trees and shrubs into agriculture to improve soil fertility.
Forest Conservation: Protecting existing forests and planting new trees, as forests house 80% of land-based biodiversity and provide clean air and water.
Global Commitments: Governments have committed to protecting 30% of land and oceans and restoring degraded areas by 2030.

6. Future Potential of Nature

New Drug Discoveries: Sea sponges and other species are being studied for potential cancer treatments.
Antibiotic Resistance: Scientists are exploring plant species to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

7. Conclusion

Interconnectedness of Health: Human and planetary health are intricately intertwined.
Importance of Biodiversity: Biodiversity is essential for human survival and well-being.
Final Quote: "Biodiversity is the fabric that holds our life support together on our planet. And if we didn't have living wild nature, it would be, you know, much harder or impossible to live on this planet."