Saturday, June 14, 2014

What is Biodiversity and why is it Important?: By Vandana Shiva



What is Biodiversity and why is it Important? According to Shiva biodiversity means the diversity of life. There are 3.6 million-100 million species that are in existence, and out of that 3.6 Million around1.7 million have been described by scientists. Bacteria makes up 3,058 recognized Species, 70,000 fungi, 500,000 viruses, and 950,000 insects. When you add those up you get close to 1.5. That's the majority of known species, making Animals and Humans outnumbered by far. These Microbes may be a lot smaller then us, but in numbers we can't even compete. "Humankind is among millions of other species. It does not have the right to push other species to extinction, or to manipulate them for greed, profit, and power." I love this, because it shows how humans believe that they have a higher importance over other life forms. But the smallest life forms are just important as you and I, and without them we would not survive. But yet "Microbes have no conservation movements or campaigns for "Microbe rights" for their protection"

One of the things Shiva blames for the decreasing amount of biodiversity, is Globalization. "Global Market Integration converts millions of acres of farms and forests into industrialized monocultures displacing and destroying the diversity and cultural diversity of local communities."Many animals and plants that once thrived, are now extinct, even some in the last few years. The Second cause, is what Shiva calls "the monoculture of the mind; the idea that the world is or should be uniform and one dimensional, that diversity is either disease or deficiency, and monocultures are necessary for mass production of more food and economic benefits. This hits home with the exact mentality of the world today. While uniformity can be good in certain situations, it takes away everything that makes each and every part of life unique and special.

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