BIODIVERSITY'S IMPORTANCE

Why is preservation of biodiversity important?

"Human health depends to a larger extent than we might imagine on the health of other species and on the healthy functioning of the eco-system."

- Koffi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations

The book Sustaining Life: How Human Health Depends on Biodiversity edited by Nobel-laureate Dr Eric Chivian and Dr Aaron Bernstein for the first time sets out in layman's terms the real and direct links between human health and species preservation.

They speculate that careful research into natural processes within the world's species diversity will yield a new generation of anti-biotics, treatments for osteoporosis, kidney failure, and new cancer treatments.

"Most of these opportunities will be lost unless the world acts to reverse the present alarming rate of biodiversity loss."

- Drs Chivian and Bernstein

One such loss was the Southern Gastric Brooding Frog (Rheobatrachus) discovered in Australia's south east in the 1980s. It's now thought that this frog's unique stomach gestation process might have yielded a cure for peptic ulcers - a painful medical condition affecting millions of people in Western societies. With its demise, such research is denied to science.

Dr David Lindenmayer, Professor of Ecology and Conservation Science at the Australian National University, says Australia's economic and environmental health are inextricably linked

"We are dangerously vulnerable to what I call the ‘North Africa' effect. For a long time the environments of many North African nations have been mis-managed and the productive capacity is now a fraction of what it once was. The same situation could easily occur in the large parts of Australia that have a similar Mediterranean climate."

- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Conservation Monitoring

In the last few decades there has been significant investment in nature conservation. But is protection succeeding and management effective? Rigorous monitoring programs are needed to provide managers with the information necessary to ensure best practice adaptive management is in place. The ANU's David Lindenmayer's view on this matter can be watched by clicking the link below.

Click here to watch the video.