What is biodiversity and why does it matter?

What is biodiversity and why does it matter?

Biodiversity is short for biological diversity. It is a collective term for the huge array of living organisms including humans. It includes all species of bacteria, micro-organisms, algae, fungi, plants, animals (both wild and domesticated), the genetic variety within species and the habitats in which they live. Biodiversity is the variety of life on Earth and the natural patterns it forms and processes it drives in our ecosystems.

Biodiversity provides many of the basic services that make life possible for people. It is essential to our environment, livelihoods, economic prosperity, culture, health and wellbeing. It provides us with a huge range of resources; the food we eat, the medicines, materials and clothing we use. It drives ecosystem services like pollination, decomposition of waste, flood control, erosion and carbon storage. It purifies the water we drink and the air we breathe, it is our life-support.

Biodiversity shapes our landscape, history and culture. It’s all round us, in the places we live, work and relax. It underpins the sustainability and productivity of the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors, as well as the many businesses and industries which depend on the natural environment or on natural raw materials. Biodiversity regulates climate and protects us from extreme weather and other effects of climate change. Biodiversity must be protected and resources used sustainably.

Human activity means that biodiversity is under threat. Nearly 95% of the Earth’s land surfaces have been modified by activities such as urban development, agriculture, infrastructure, energy production and mining. Over 20% of assessed species in Ireland are threatened with extinction with 85% of the 59 most precious EU habitats in unfavourable status. In Ireland we have lost 30% of our semi natural grasslands in the past decade and more than half of our native plants are in decline. Climate change drives further biodiversity loss, with degraded habitats less resilient to the impacts of climate change. We need to take action to address these twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.