1.1.

Ecosystems at Risk

Almost everywhere on earth man has changed nature greatly. Above all, the
destruction of natural habitats, environmental pollution, intensive agriculture, forestry and
fishing have led to species and habitats being threatened on a dramatic scale worldwide.
Air pollutants can cause direct damage to plants and animals, and on the other hand
they can change abiotic environmental factors after their deposition. As a result, certain
species and communities are displaced. High levels of airborne pollutants thus lead to a loss
of biological diversity and permanently threaten the existence of semi-natural ecosystems.
Limiting air pollution is therefore a crucial step towards protecting the environment. In order
to estimate the extent to which ecosystems are at risk from air pollutants, the amounts of
pollutants introduced are compared with ecosystem-specific critical loads. [1] This makes it
possible to identify contamination points and to optimize mitigation measures. In order to
protect sensitive ecosystems from harmful effects, emission and nature conservation law
stipulates that facilities (roads, agricultural animal husbandry facilities) are only approved if
the emissions from the planned facility do not cause any significant damage to plants and
ecosystems.
In the event of damage, for example through air pollutants, ecosystems can only fulfill
their diverse functions in the natural balance which are often of vital importance for humans,
only to a limited extent. Evaluation methods are therefore increasingly focusing on the
functionality of ecosystems and their impairment, for example through pollution.
Measures to protect ecosystems are still not sufficient. Animals would continue to
lose their habitat due to the clearing of the rainforest. This also benefits CO2 emissions. This
in turn leads to further species extinction. Due to the advancing development, soils are sealed
further and agriculture is also claiming more and more soils. This not only affects the animals
and the environment, but also has a significant impact on us humans and our living space.
Species and habitats are threatened at an alarming rate worldwide: up to a million
species are threatened with extinction, many of them already in the next few decades.
Although humans depend on numerous ecosystem services, these are increasingly being
damaged. The term biodiversity encompasses the diversity of living organisms on earth. This
includes species diversity, the diversity of ecosystems and genetic diversity within individual
species. Conserving biodiversity is important for a number of reasons. The decline and
extinction of individual animal and plant species can endanger entire ecosystems. Because
ecosystems only function if the composition of the species is intact. Intact ecosystems are
important for climate protection, for example, because they store CO2. At the gene level,
maintaining diversity is just as important so that species can adapt to changing conditions -
for example to changes in the climate.

But animals and plants as well as intact ecosystems are also vital for humans. People
eat plant and animal products and take raw materials such as wood from nature. However,
ecosystems provide many other services: They provide fresh air, clean water or medicine.
The storage of CO2 in forests, seas and soil is an ecosystem service, as is the regulation of
pests and diseases. The loss of species and damage to ecosystems thus directly affect people
and their well-being. Nevertheless, biodiversity is continuously declining worldwide. The
ability of ecosystems to provide the numerous services is deteriorating. Man is the main
cause of this development. Humans have had a significant impact on nature almost

1 www. globalgoals.org
everywhere on earth. Conserving biodiversity is important for a number of reasons. The
decline and extinction of individual animal and plant species can endanger entire ecosystems.
Because ecosystems only function if the composition of the species is intact. Intact
ecosystems are important for climate protection, for example, because they store CO2. At the
gene level, maintaining diversity is just as important so that species can adapt to changing
conditions - for example to changes in the climate. Man is changing the entire planet.
Humans have had a significant impact on nature almost everywhere on earth. 75 percent of
the land surface and 66 percent of the sea surface are heavily modified.
Human influences lead in many cases, to an unknown extent, to a decline in biological
diversity. The vast majority of indicators by which the state of nature is assessed, are
deteriorating rapidly. Species extinction is now at least tens to hundreds of times greater than
the average for the past ten million years. According to the latest report from the World
Biodiversity Council, since the year 1500, 680 species of vertebrates have become extinct.
Over 85 percent of wetlands have been lost. Half of living coral has disappeared since 1870.
Reasons for this loss of biodiversity include:
 Changes in use of land and sea (loss of tropical rainforest for agricultural land,
mining);
 Direct use of animal and plant species (through logging, hunting or fishing);
 Climate change (through the reduction of habitats for animal and plant species,
changed population dynamics and species compositions in ecosystems);
 Environmental pollution (through the entry of plastic waste, heavy metals,
pesticides or fertilizers);
 Invasive alien species (through the crowding out of animal and plant species
by more competitive non-native species).
In the different regions of the world, there are very different habitats and living
conditions. Accordingly, the species or ecosystems that can be found there, differ. Some
species are highly specialized and can only be found in a small region on earth. They are
called endemic species. Other species are native to multiple continents. In some regions of
the world, there is a particularly large variety of species.
The example of the tropical rainforests illustrates how strongly and quickly humans
are encroaching on natural habitats and what effects this can have on biological diversity. It
highlights how globalized economies, trade policies and personal consumption patterns are
affecting local conditions around the world. The example also shows how important it is to
take the perspective of the local people in order to protect biodiversity in the long term. The
greatest threats to biodiversity in the region are unsustainable forestry and agriculture,
leading to rapid deforestation of old-growth forests. The wood is used for paper production,
among other things. Huge plantations with fast-growing trees for wood production and palm
oil plantations are being planted on former forest areas. The development is driven by
steadily increasing demand in the big countries. Palm oil from Indonesia is also used, among
other things for the production of biofuels, food, animal feed, pharmaceutical products and
cosmetics. The media keep reporting on the dramatic extent of the deforestation. Almost half
of the rainforest disappeared. Large parts of the deforested areas are used for the palm oil
industry. The species originally native to the areas are being expelled. In addition, the
development of infrastructure in sparsely populated areas threatens the natural habitats of
numerous species. New roads make access easier for logging and other businesses, which in
turn contribute to the destruction of rainforests. In recent years, forest fires have become a
further threat. Tropical forests do not burn naturally. But the changes brought about by the
timber industry have altered forests and soils in a way that fires are possible. In addition, new
areas for palm oil plantations are to be created through partly targeted fire clearing. The fires
are extremely harmful to the climate, because the peat soils of the rainforests release large
amounts of stored carbon dioxide. From the point of view of the cultivation countries, the
growth of the timber and palm oil industry is not only viewed negatively. The development
brings income from exports and new jobs are created in rural areas. In addition, oil palms
have the advantage that they yield more per hectare than other oil crops such as rapeseed or
sunflowers that are grown in other regions of the world. However, the local population is also
aware of the problems of these economic sectors. Poor working conditions often prevail in
the cultivation of palm oil. From Indonesia in particular there are reports of social injustice,
land conflicts and human rights violations. Indigenous peoples are often driven out of their
settlement areas and lose their livelihoods. In order to stop deforestation, the local conditions
must be taken into account - that means, above all, taking the interest of the producing
countries and the population in economic development seriously. Approaches to a solution
aim to make the cultivation of oil palms more sustainable. Areas may not be converted into
plantations at the expense of nature. Particularly valuable natural habitats must be protected,
while new plantations should preferably be established on areas that are already being used
for agriculture and forestry. Sustainable cultivation also includes enabling wild species and
agriculture to coexist. For example, corridors at the edge of plantations that connect different
habitats can be preserved.Companies and consumers in industrialized countries also have a
great responsibility. Because the reduction in demand for conventional palm oil or the
increase in demand for palm oil from sustainable cultivation creates incentives in the
producing countries to reorganize production accordingly.
There are numerous efforts at various political levels worldwide to protect
biodiversity. This goal is firmly anchored at the level of the United Nations, among other
things as one of the 17 goals for sustainable development. Goal 15 "Life on Land" includes
stopping the loss of biodiversity. The Convention on Biological Diversity was created in
1992. It is the world's most comprehensive convention in the field of biodiversity and aims to
reconcile ecological, economic and social aspects when dealing with biological diversity.
Each Member State is called upon to develop its own national biodiversity strategy and action
plan. The European Union has also developed its own biodiversity strategy. The preservation
of biodiversity worldwide is an extremely complex task. In order to really reverse the
negative trend worldwide, what is known as transformative change is required. This means a
fundamental reorganization of our social, economic, technical and social systems. Of course,
this cannot be done overnight, which is why it is important to contribute at all levels and with
different measures to protecting and promoting biological diversity worldwide.[2]
The European Union names a whole series of fields of action. This includes the
establishment of protected areas and their networking, species protection, water protection,
sustainable agriculture, the limitation of settlement and traffic areas, the reduction of nitrogen
pollution and climate protection. The whole of society is addressed, in addition to politics at
various levels, companies, civil society organizations and the general public. Depending on
the field of action, different actors can play an important role. In the area of agriculture, for
example, in addition to politics and business, consumers can have an influence by preferring
food from organic and regional agriculture. Based on the example of palm oil, consumers can
specifically select products that either contain no palm oil at all or palm oil from sustainable
cultivation. These are mainly foods with organic and fair trade seals. Palm oil is also found in
many cosmetics. Here it is often not easy to recognize what exactly is contained in the
products, because uniform and clear labelling is not required for such items. Instead of the
term "palm oil," the labels instead list the names of the ingredients that are made from palm
oil. These include, for example, sodium palmitate, isopropyl palmitate, palm kernel alcohol,
glyceryl palmitate. So far, there is also no state seal for palm oil from sustainable production.

2 Barbu, G. "Turismul si calitatea vietii", Editura Politica, Bucuresti, 1980, pag. 15-61;
The manufacturing companies can only mark their products with a voluntary label. Citizens
can also do something in other areas of consumption and in everyday life. There is a whole
range of sustainability labels for products that are closely related to threats to species and
habitats. Anyone who wants to work directly for biodiversity can also get involved in their
own garden or in nature conservation projects in the region.
But the world is also struggling with the climate crisis, unchecked resource
consumption and unprecedented species extinction are also threatening to deprive our
societies of their livelihoods. Up to this day of the year, mankind has consumed as many raw
materials as nature can restore in a whole year and thus make available in a sustainable
manner. The causes and effects of climate change, species extinction and resource
consumption interact and influence each other. Therefore, these central environmental
problems cannot be solved in isolation from each other. They must be considered in their
entirety and slowed down in order to deal sustainably with our livelihoods in the future. A
fundamental change in economic activity and action is necessary. Scientists from many
different disciplines have been calling for a fundamental change in the way we do business
for a decade. They mean a fundamental change towards a sustainable life. A global change is
necessary because mankind has already exceeded the limits of the earth's capabilities in some
areas. The concept of planetary boundaries is used to examine and evaluate performance.
This refers to the ecological limits of the earth, the crossing of which endangers the basis of
human existence. Currently, nine planetary boundaries are mostly discussed. With regard to
the planetary boundaries, certain threshold values must not be exceeded or fallen below in
order not to endanger the adaptability of the earth as a system.