Biodiversity

For other uses, see Biodiversity (disambiguation).

What communities can do Overview, see right hand column for more Set up nature trails Advocate for and promote the idea of wildlife corridors Wildlife surveys promote and encourage wildlife gardens Campaigns No to Biodiversity Offsetting! Why it matters Biodiversity is the degree to which species vary throughout the environment. It is used as a measure of an ecosystem's health. Biologists and ecologists who study biodiversity typically look for the number of species and the way in which species differ. They also study the distribution of biodiversity across the globe and trends that may be contributing to decreased biodiversity. The period since the emergence of humans has displayed an ongoing biodiversity reduction and an accompanying loss of genetic diversity. Named the Holocene extinction, the reduction is caused primarily by human impacts, particularly habitat destruction. Conversely, biodiversity impacts human health in a number of ways, both positively and negatively. W Cities and biodiversity Cities and Biodiversity Outlook Wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or wild garden) is an environment that is attractive to various forms of wildlife such as birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects, mammals and so on. A wildlife garden will usually contain a variety of habitats that have either been deliberately created by the gardener, or allowed to self-establish by minimising maintenance and intervention. Many organic gardeners are sympathetic to the philosophy of wildlife gardening, and will usually try to incorporate some aspects of the wild garden into their own plots in order to both act as a means of biological pest control, as well as for its value in promoting biodiversity and generally benefitting the wider environment. W Resources Citizens data initiative More than 1,200 species of bats comprise nearly a quarter of all mammals, and their ecological services are essential to human economies and the health of whole ecosystems worldwide. Source: unep.org, 21 January 2011 In Asia, more than 70 percent of primates are classified on the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered – meaning they could disappear forever in the near future. Source: IUCN, August 2008 The great apes are the closest living relatives to man, bonobos sharing 98.4 per cent of our DNA, gorillas 97.7 per cent and orang-utans 96.4 per cent. Source: Defra Inspiration Surf's up, dolphin dudes! guardian.co.uk Maps Biodiversity and WorldMap Quotes "We are not defending nature, we are nature defending itself" Resistencia Indigena "I believe in God, only I spell it Nature." Frank Lloyd Wright "If you hurt nature you are hurting yourself" ~ J Krishnamurti Video

News and comment See separate article: Biodiversity news Events 2015 May 22 - International Day for Biological Diversity Annual event. 2015 - Biodiversity for Sustainable Development W / cbd.int 2011-2020 United Nations Decade on Biodiversity The goal of significantly reducing biodiversity loss includes special focus on supporting actions that address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, including production and consumption patterns. W See also local information can be found, or shared, via our many location pages Natural climate solutions Ethical consumerism Extinction Rebellion Food, sustainable community action Open spaces Trees, woodland and forest Interwiki links Wikipedia: Biodiversity, Biocultural diversity, Biosphere reserve, Convention on Biological Diversity, Endangered species, Great Apes Survival Partnership, IUCN Red List, Orangutan, Tiger, World Land Trust External links Ape Alliance Biocultural Heritage, site dedicated to promoting the interlinked biological and cultural riches of indigenous peoples and local communities Biodiversity Media Alliance the Gorilla Organization Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services International Animal Rescue, animal welfare non-profit organization based in the United Kingdom that comes to the aid of wild and domestic animals with hands-on rescue and rehabilitation. International Animal Rescue returns rehabilitated animals to the wild while also providing permanent sanctuary for those that cannot be released. International Animal Rescue specializes in comprehensive sterilization and vaccination programs for stray dogs and cats, particularly in developing countries. They also work to educate the public in the humane treatment of all animals. International Animal Rescue has offices in the United Kingdom, United States, India, Indonesia, Malta and the Netherlands. International Fund for Animal Welfare IUCN Red List of threatened species Open Source Beehives, global network of citizen scientists aiming to discover the reason bee populations are declining throughout the world River of Flowers WildAid References This page includes Creative Commons Licensed content from the Sustainable community action wiki on Wikia. The list of authors can be seen in the history, link via drop down menu at top left of page.

CASwiki... Places - Topics - Resources - News / About - Join - Talk - Village pump / UK