BIODIVERSITY ISSUES

LUDI APIN
DEPUTY DIRECTOR
MANAGEMENT, OPERATIONS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
SABAH STATE PARKS
SABAH, MALAYSIA
 What is Biodiversity?
• The variety of life on Earth, its biological
diversity is commonly referred to as
biodiversity.
• The number of species of plants, animals, and
microorganisms, the enormous diversity of
genes in these species, the different
ecosystems on the planet, such as deserts,
rainforests and coral reefs are all part of a
biologically diverse Earth.
• Almost all cultures have their roots in our
biological diversity in some way or form.
• Declining biodiversity is therefore a concern
for many reasons.
 Why is Biodiversity Important?
• Biodiversity boosts ecosystem
productivity where each species, no
matter how small, all have an important
role to play.
• For example,
• A larger number of plant species means a
greater variety of crops
• Greater species diversity ensures natural
sustainability for all life forms
• Healthy ecosystems can better withstand
and recover from a variety of disasters.
• And so, while we dominate this planet, we
still need to preserve the diversity in
wildlife.
 A healthy biodiversity’s free services
• Ecosystem services, such as • Social benefits, such as
• Protection of water resources
• Research, education and monitoring
• Soils formation and protection
• Nutrient storage and recycling • Recreation and tourism
• Pollution breakdown and absorption • Cultural values
• Contribution to climate stability
• Maintenance of ecosystems
• Recovery from unpredictable events

• Biological resources, such as

• Food
• Medicinal resources and pharmaceutical
drugs
• Wood products
• Ornamental plants
• Breeding stocks, population reservoirs
• Future resources
• Diversity in genes, species and
ecosystems
 Species depend on each other

While there might be survival of the fittest within

a given species, each species depends on the
services provided by other species to ensure
survival. It is a type of cooperation based on
mutual survival and is often what a balanced
ecosystem means.
Soil, bacteria, plants; the Nitrogen Cycle
The relationship between soil, plants, bacteria and other life is also referred to
as the nitrogen cycle:
 BIODIVERSITY ISSUES:
Five important drivers of biodiversity loss

1. Habitat loss and degradation—which is any thinning,

fragmentation, or destruction of an existing natural habitat—reduces
or eliminates the food resources and living space for most species.
Species that cannot migrate are often wiped out.
2. Overexploitation—which is the harvesting of game animals, fish, or other
organisms beyond the capacity for surviving populations to replace their losses
—results in some species being depleted to very low numbers and others being
driven to extinction.
3. Invasive species—which are non-native species that significantly modify or
disrupt the ecosystems they colonize—may outcompete native species for food
and habitat, which triggers population declines in native species. Invasive
species may arrive in new areas through natural migration or through human
introduction.
4. Pollution—which is the addition of any substance or any form
of energy to the environment at a rate faster than it can be dispersed,
diluted, decomposed, recycled, or stored in some harmless form—
contributes to biodiversity loss by creating health problems in exposed
organisms. In some cases, exposure may occur in doses high enough to
kill outright or create reproductive problems that threaten the species’s
survival.
5. Climate change associated with global warming—which is the modification
of Earth’s climate caused by the burning of fossil fuels—is caused by industry
and other human activities. Fossil fuel combustion produces greenhouse
gases that enhance the atmospheric absorption of infrared
radiation (heat energy) and trap the heat,
influencing temperature and precipitation patterns.
 IMPACT:
Example Asia-Pacific Region
• The Asia-Pacific region has achieved rapid economic
growth, and is undergoing one of the highest rates of
urbanization and agricultural expansion in the world.
This has come at a high environmental cost, causing
degradation and loss of biodiversity.
• The region has maintained an average economic growth
rate of 7.6 per cent as compared to the 3.4 per cent
global average (from 1990 to 2010) and is experiencing
one of the fastest urbanization rates in the world (2.0–3.0
per cent per year).
• The expansion of agricultural land has also been among
the world’s highest. Rapid socio-economic transitions
have come at a high cost however, causing an
accelerated and permanent loss of biodiversity in the
ecosystems of the Asia-Pacific region.
IPBES, 2018
 IMPACT:
Example Asia-Pacific Region
• Although the Asia-Pacific region is succeeding in reducing
poverty, mass poverty persists in some subregions. Sustaining
the viability of and access to ecosystem services will contribute
to poverty alleviation.
• The Asia-Pacific region has the world’s largest number of people living
below the poverty line – 400 million of the world’s 767 million poor
people live in Asia and the Pacific.
• Eradicating poverty requires multiple strategies, including the
sustainable management of food production systems (such as
agriculture and aquaculture) that remain the main source of income
and nutrition in the region.
• Similarly, natural terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems also
offer goods and services that people need to secure their livelihoods.
Sustaining these provisioning services will assist in poverty alleviation.

IPBES, 2018
 IMPACT: Habitat loss and degradation
Example Asia-Pacific Region

• The population of large wild mammals and

birds has declined across the region.
• Habitat degradation and fragmentation,
especially in forests and grasslands, has
largely resulted in a decline in wild mammals
and birds.
• Widespread loss of large vertebrates has
had a measurable impact on several forest
functions and services, including seed
dispersal.
• Illegal trade in wildlife and wildlife products is
causing species decline in some countries.

IPBES, 2018
 IMPACT: Invasive alien species
Example Asia-Pacific Region
• Invasive alien species have increased in
number and abundance, and constitute one of
the most serious drivers of biodiversity loss
across the Asia Pacific region.
• Areas most impacted by invasive alien species in
the Asia-Pacific region include islands and
coastlines as well as agricultural heartlands and
large affluent cities.
• There is evidence that the number of these
species is growing as a consequence of the
increasing volume of international trade,
improvements in transportation, and cross-
border migration.
• This increased risk has led to efforts for their
better surveillance and management, but the
knowledge base is variable across the region.
 IMPACT: Overexploitation
Example Asia-Pacific Region

• People in the Asia-Pacific region depend heavily

on fisheries for food, with aquaculture growing
by nearly 7 per cent annually, but the capture
fisheries sector is threatened.
• Aquatic environments in the Asia-Pacific region are
home to numerous species of fish and
invertebrates, many of which are consumed as
food. About 90 per cent of the global aquaculture
production occurs in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Freshwater ecosystems in the region support more
than 28 per cent of aquatic and semi-aquatic
species, but nearly 37 per cent of these species are
threatened by overfishing, pollution, infrastructure
development and invasive alien species.
IPBES, 2018
 IMPACT: Pollution
Example Asia-Pacific Region

• The increase of waste and pollution in the Asia-

Pacific region is impacting ecosystems and
threatening the current and future health of nature
and people.
• With the increase in consumption of natural resources
in the Asia-Pacific region, there has been a rise in the
subsequent production of waste. Household hazardous
waste, e-waste and food waste are increasing with the
growth of urbanization across the region.
• Plastic waste is of concern: 8 of the 10 rivers around
the globe carrying the highest amounts of plastic waste
are located in Asia. This waste accounts for up to 95
per cent of the global load of plastics in the oceans.
• Waste in water supplies and air pollution pose
persistent threats to human and environmental health.

IPBES, 2018
 IMPACT: Climate Change
Example Asia-Pacific Region
• Climate change and associated extreme events are
impacting species distribution, population sizes and the
timing of reproduction or migration; increased frequency
of pest and disease outbreaks resulting from these
changes may have additional adverse effects on
agricultural production and human wellbeing.
• Some low-lying islands are already threatened by sea-level
rise. Climate-induced floods caused by melting of ice pose a
major threat to people and biodiversity in the Himalayan
region. Regional changes in precipitation are also anticipated,
as well as more extreme events such as floods and drought.
• Already, changes have been observed in species distribution,
population sizes and the timing of reproduction or migration,
and the frequency of pest and disease outbreaks has
increased.
• These negative impacts on biodiversity and nature’s
contributions to people are projected to worsen.
IPBES, 2018
INTITIATIVE AND APPROACH