Global Threats To Biodiversity

Bio means life and diversity mean variation biodiversity collectively refers to the variation of life. Biologically biodiversity refers to variation and divergence of living organisms in earth and ecosystem. Biodiversity describes the genetic variation of species in an ecosystem. It also tends to explain variation in ecosystem along with the divergence of species in a specific area, biome or planet , it is clear by the ecological researchers that there are nearly 14 million species in the word out of which only 1.2 million species have been   discovered  and half of the species have become extinct before getting discovered.

Ecosystems comprising rich biodiversity have many species of plants and animals that keep the system self-sustained and balanced. However, with the increase in human population and industrial evolution, the non-human species and plants species are seen under the threat of extinction. A major report, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, released in March 2005 highlighted a substantial and largely irreversible loss in the diversity of life on Earth, with some 10-30% of the mammal, bird and amphibian species threatened with extinction, due to human actions. 

Some of the global threats biodiversity is facing nowadays are: 

Poaching of wildlife: 

Illegal poaching of wildlife is mainly responsible for their extinction. Animals are poached for food and for their skin trading. Many of the animals are now on the brink of extinction due to their illegal hunting. Every state has laid down the laws and rules against the hunting of wildlife animals to protect them from total extinction but more is to be done to avert the threat.

Deforestation –main threat to biodiversity :

Cutting of forest aided much in the extinction of rare and valuable species of plants and animals. A man has cut the forests on the mass level to get the timber and land for the lodging. This, in turn, made many species get vanishes from the ecosystem and many got endangered to become extinct.  The demand for timber in China for the paper and wood material production has become a serious threat to the forest and animals species of the region.

Change in climatic condition:

Climatic change is also an important global threat to biodiversity. Carbon gas emitted from the from the human-made sources causes the temperature of the earth to rise that in consequence effects the animal and plant life on earth, climatic change effects the vegetative land by extreme temperature causing the land to become barren. the rise in temperature is making the ice glaciers to melt in polar regions this is making native species move to other unfavorable regions or causing them to become extinct. polar bears now lie in the list of endangered species due to climatic change factor.

Pollution of air and water affects the biodiversity a lot:

Waste and polluted matter from factories and human daily use is also affecting the world species on the alarming extent the polluted substances drained into ocean and rivers make the water toxic and causes the  marine animals to die beside  amphibians and mammals that drink the water from such resources also become the victim of the toxic materials in water.

Invasion of alien species:

Invasion of alien species in an ecosystem occurs mostly a result of human activities sometimes the invasion is natural also. The introduction of such species in the ecosystem has always negative effects often makes the native species to get extinct. Introduction of Nile Perch in Victoria lake is an example of such invasion Nile Perch invaded the Lake Victoria near to 170s and caused half of the native species to become extinct. Specie of snake tree was accidentally moved to Guam from Australia in the 1950s the population of snake tree expanded in the absence of the predator. The snake species lowered down the number of native birds and animals down in that ecosystem

Dead Zones Of Ocean An Environmental Crisis

Dead zones of the ocean are large water bodies in lakes, rivers, and oceans that don’t have enough oxygen in them necessary for the marine life. This marine condition is also referred to as hypoxic meaning the lacking of oxygen. Often the condition occurs naturally but currently the condition is expanding in marine bodies unnaturally. It is due to due to the introduction of pollutants and the fertilizers into the water bodies. The fertilizers and toxic pollutant encourage the growth of algae which increases the bloom of algae in water bodies. The algae decompose in the water and consume the oxygen which causes to the extinction of the oxygen necessary for the marine life. Researchers say that hypoxic condition in marine bodies has become doubled in every ten years since 1960.

Development of the hypoxic zone:

Change in the climatic condition is increasing the hypoxic condition in the marine bodies. with the onset of the industrial era, there has been a rapid change in the temperature globally. Since last few decades change in the temperature affects the climate of seas and marine body directly. It is evident from the research that warm water dissolves less oxygen in as compared to cold water. The situation in the marine body becomes complicated when the warmer air above the surface of the water heats the water on the surface reducing the chances of mixing of top layer warm water with cold water at the bottom of the sea surface. The dead zone thus occurs in the deeper water as the temperature increases the animals in the area get less supply of oxygen and move toward the mortality. The change in climate will expand the production of the dead zone in oceans.  Currently, there are 400 dead zones available worldwide and it is expected that 94 % of these areas will experience the rise of 3.6Farenheit till the end of this century.

How to combat with hypoxic zone :

Climatic change is no doubt the great cause of the dead zones but pollutant introduction also contributes. If we control the harmful nitrogenous and other poison pollutant introduction in the seas and oceans, we can somehow avert the cause. With less pollutant in water, the algae blooms will definitely get reduced and the dead zone will occur less no matter how warm the water becomes. The hypoxic zone in black sea vanished in 1990 with the fall of Soviet Union. At that time, there was seen a great rise in the price of fertilizers. The situation was spontaneous and resulted in giving a positive impact on the Black Sea. This taught the scientist and the state advisors a lesson and now the United Nation officials are trying hard to lessen the industrial and agricultural toxin emissions in an area where dead zone is a serious concer.

Feeds Marine Life Instead of Killing Them

Drinking canned soda for saving marine life looks like a lovely idea. Cheers to Saltwater Brewery in Florida who have partnered with New York Ad agency We Believers to feed marine life in a very thoughtful way. Many ocean lovers take their best drinks to sea and throw away the plastic six-pack ring which ultimately chokes the marine life.

This is a classic example of recycling as the ring is made of wheat and barley which is a byproduct of beer making process. The waste material is then turned into rings which start to disintegrate within two hours into the sea which avoids the marine life to get stuck into it. The ring decomposes within days if left on the beach. More than 50 craft breweries have shown interest in creating similar rings for their products. Florida brewery will be able to accommodate them by 2017.

 

The brewery company has come up with a pragmatic solution to a problem which kills hundreds and thousands of marine life each year. The traditional alternatives to plastic cannot compete with this idea which costs less than any other alternative and also serves an important purpose. Whereas other options are only biodegradable but do nothing to feed the marine life. The real challenge in this example was to find an alternative which is sturdy enough to hold the weight of six beer cans yet is dissolvable in the ocean. Initially, the idea was to build the ring with seaweed but they are too fragile and too rigid when taken out of the sea to hold the cans.

 

Major Environmental Issues Of Pakistan

The environment of the world is getting degraded day by day with the passage of time. The degradation of environment and the environmental concerns   have become yellow peril for the whole of the world. The concerns are getting more catastrophic due to their effects on the lives of the organisms and human living in it. The environmental concerns are adopting the acute shape due to their increasing drawbacks on the environment and its habitat. Rapid economic and industrial development along with the increase in human population is the core reasons behind the evolution of ecological problems.

Some effects of environmental concerns:

Pakistan is right now confronting many challenging environmental issues that need to be sort out at the first priority air pollution is the most important concern of this era. The rapid increase in the numbering of automobiles on urban roads and the gas emitted from the industries and plants of Pakistan is the main cause of air pollution. The air pollution is much responsible for causing many chronic bronchi ailments in human beings. Secondly, the hazardous pollutant in air mixes up with the rain causing clouds and fall on the earth in the form of acidic air. The acidic air causes hazardous effects on the human beings animals and plants on the earth

Water pollution:

The water pollution is another factor creating serious ecological concern. The water reservoirs in Pakistan are mostly contaminated with the sewerage waste water discarded from the industries and agricultural sites. This contaminated water is consumed by the half of the population the toxic water is responsible for causing serious ailment to the consumers of the water. Besides the poor sewerage system also contribute to contamination of water in urban areas of Pakistan.

Deforestation:

Cutting of forests to construct the roads and residential areas have destroyed the natural environmental health in the country. A policy was presented by the government in 1992, which declared to ban the forest cutting but nothing profound was brought by the policy. Strict and strong legislation should be planned by the government to ensure sustainable harvesting of forest in the country. Secondly, a strategy for carbon financing should be developed at policy level with the motto we value the trees because tree and plantation absorb carbon dioxide from the air. The developing countries will provide the financial aid to support the cause what will be the utter requirement for this cause is that we government will need to ensure the capital comes in and is used straightforwardly for the cause.

Plantation of trees in urban areas:

Urban cities are most populated. Trees in cities absorb carbon dioxide causing the air to get purified. So plantation of new trees is essentially required for the atmosphere. Trees are planted in urban areas, but new trees are to be planted more. Besides, man-made forests like Change Mange ought to be constructed as well.

Pollution from factories:

The waste and toxic material discarded from the factories is the most concerning issue for the Pakistani authorities the waste material is wiped into the rivers causing the marine life to become extinct.  Besides, it pollutes the water in ponds and lakes which directly affects the water consuming bodies near the reservoir of the water. The waste material discarded by the factories is drained into the land area the chemical components in the matter reacts with the soil of the land making the soil erosion and the land deserted.

Climatic change in Pakistan:

The climate condition in Pakistan is continuously changing. Due to global warming, the glaciers in the Himalayan mountain range and Karakorum mountain range is continuously melting causing the floods and unusual rain in Pakistan this subsequently is destroying the crops and cattle in the country. Besides due to global warming the average temperature in the tropical area is also rising annually which will consequently result in less production of crops.

Water Pollution | Source and Causes of Water Pollution

Water pollution is basically any physical, chemical or biological change in water quality which disturbs the living organisms quite badly. Water pollution makes a water resource incongruous for many of its beneficial uses. From beneficial uses of water resources we mean irrigation, public water supply, industrial production and recreation etc. This pollution could be a result of weathering conditions and soil erosion but mainly it is related to human activities, directly or indirectly. 

Sources of water pollution:

Domestic waste: 

One of the biggest sources of water pollution is the domestic waste and sewage. Pathogens present in raw sewage contaminate water and make it oily and brownish with a foul odor. Organic waste from domestic sewage gives rise to sludge that makes water unsuitable for using in recreation and industrial use. Detergents present in domestic sewage accumulate in water as they degrade very slowly. Phosphates present in detergents improve growth of algal blooms in water making it unfit for human and animal use. 

Fertilizers: 

Fertilizers and other pollutants present on surface of land absorb in soil due to rains and reach the water reservoirs and water courses. This addition of fertilizers and pollutants into water contaminates water by giving rise to eutrophication (upgrading of an ecosystem with chemical nutrients).

Industrial waste: 

Toxic chemicals present in industrial waste are Cadmium, lead, mercury. Moreover, many liquid effluents like acids, bases and poisonous compounds are also present in industrial waste. All these solid and liquid toxic substances pass into water bodies making it contaminated.

Water pollution effects:

Deadly diseases: 

Effects of water pollution could be catastrophic depending upon the nature of chemicals and pollutants present in it. Many water bodies near urban areas are contaminated due to domestic and industrial garbage dumped into it. Water is becoming contaminated and causing many health issues like Hepatitis A, Malaria, Cholera, dysentery, diarrhea and many other deadly diseases.

Effects on aquatic habitat:

Many human activities like industrial processes are causing increase in environmental temperature means thermal pollution. These processes may not contaminate the water directly but increase the water temperature which affects the aquatic habitat.

Ocean pollution:

Garbage, oil, petroleum and other toxic chemicals from ship generated discharges are becoming a source of ocean pollution. Ocean pollution is adversely affecting the sea life. Moreover, detergents used to clean water are also dangerous for sea animals.

How to control?

“Solution to pollution is dilution.”

Water pollution can be controlled by taking this principle into consideration. Moreover, there are various methods through which we can control water pollution. By using very specific and less stable chemicals in manufacturing process of insecticides could be useful in controlling water pollution caused by insecticides. There are many chemical treatments that could convert the sewage chemicals to into harmless substances. Thermal pollution of water could be avoided through cooling processes. There should be strict laws to treat the domestic and industrial waste before discharging into rivers or seas.  

Water Pollution and the Worldwide Problem of Various Diseases

Water is all essential for the entire human race. But when water is contaminated with different types of pollutants, it becomes very dangerous. In other words, it becomes a toxic substance that causes various diseases in the human body. Since water delivers key elements and minerals to the body which make sure that the entire body processes work smoothly, the intake of polluted water creates further complications such as digestion and metabolism issues and these problems, then lead to diseases like cholera, dysentery, diarrhea, hepatitis A, lead poisoning, malaria and polyomavirus infection.

Cholera:

A bacteria, called vibrio chlorae is largely found in contaminated water and as you drink polluted water, there is a high chance that you will be caught by this bacteria. A person with cholera can suffer from numerous symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, headache, rapid heart rate, loss of skin elasticity, dry mucous membranes, low blood pressure, thirst, and muscle cramps.

Dysentery:

Dysentery is also causes of polluted water. Therefore, it is advised that always drink boiled water. The process of boiling eliminates all types of bacteria in the water. Symptoms of dysentery include mild illness, mild stomach pain, sudden onset of high fever and chills, abdominal pain, cramps and bloating, flatulence (passing gas), urgency to pass stool, feeling of incomplete emptying, loss of appetite, weight loss, headache, fatigue, vomiting, dehydration and diarrhea.

Diarrhea:

Intake of polluted water triggers diarrhea. It is also defined some of the very key diseases caused by polluted water. The waterborne viruses, bacteria and parasites are found in contaminated water that primarily cause frequent passage of loose, watery stools. Other major symptoms include thin or loose stools, watery stool, nausea and vomiting, bloating in belly, cramps, blood, mucus, undigested food in the stool, weight loss and fever.

Hepatitis A:

Hepatitis A is an infectious disease that destroys the human liver. The usual cause of this disease is also directly related to contaminated water. A person with Hepatitis A can suffer symptoms from fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or discomfort, clay-colored bowel movements, loss of appetite, low-grade fever, dark urine, joint pain, yellowing of the skin and eyes.

Lead Poisoning: 

Lead poisoning is caused due to old water pipes. The small parts of metal can directly go into the stomach and cause serious chronic diseases like kidney failures and can damage the human reproductive system. Lead poisoning symptoms include developmental delay, learning difficulties, irritability, loss of appetite, weight loss, sluggishness, and fatigue, abdominal pain, vomiting, constipation and Hearing loss.

Trachoma (Eye Infection):

Trachoma (Eye Infection) is largely caused due to water pollution. If the water supply also contains hygiene and sanitation problems, it can also trigger this disease. Children are more vulnerable to this disease as their immune systems are also very weak. Symptoms like mild itching and irritation of the eyes and eyelids are related to this disease.