Today, we celebrate International Day for Biological
Diversity, a bit of a mouthful, but an important day to reflect on our
environments, ecosystems and biological surroundings and to understand their
importance. As I write this, I sit on a tropical island, surrounded by rainforests,
white sandy beaches and stunning coral reef environments. So it is perhaps very
easy for me to sit and talk about the importance and value of these systems and
their biological diversity, but if you spend a few minutes to think about the
environment you live in, I am sure you will find equally important links.
2015’s theme is ‘Biodiversity
for Sustainable Development’. When people think of biodiversity and
development together, they usually see it as development destroying
biodiversity (the eco-warrior view) or biodiversity preventing development (the
corporation view). In reality, there is no reason why the two things cannot
work together, technology has advanced to a stage where there is no reason we
can’t accommodate biodiversity in our lives and development; Sustainable
Development.
To understand what sustainable
development is, we first need to know what sustainable means. The most
commonly used definition is taken from ‘Our Common Future’ (1987) states:
"Sustainable development is development
that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs”
Within
this, they consider two key notions, firstly the notion of ‘needs’,
particularly those of the world’s poorest, to which key consideration should be
given. Secondly the notion of limitations felt by technology and society on the
ability for the environment to meet said needs.
As I already said, it is very easy for
me to consider biological diversity where I am due to the very obvious
importance of the ecosystems and development for the local community. There are
inherent links between the local community and the biological diversity of the
islands. The relationships between development, society and the environment are
complicated and difficult, which just further highlights the importance of
considering sustainable development.
The community rely, predominantly, on
tourism to remain economically sustainable. Tourism, in turn relies on a number
of factors, resorts, rainforests coral reefs and turtles. A simple
questionnaire we conducted last year showed that 60% (n 274) of tourists
wanted to see a turtle, whilst 80% said they had already, or planned to go on a
snorkel tour during their stay. Both of these aspects highlight the importance
of biological diversity through the importance of the presence of coral reefs
and turtles for sustainable development. In order to develop the islands, there
must always be a consideration for these aspects, including the threats
(Sedimentation, over fishing, waste management) that come hand in hand with
development and deforestation.
Why is biological diversity important in
a coral reef you ask? Let’s look at the well-researched and complicated diagram
below to help us understand…
The image that was carefully put
together above highlights the varied intricacies found within an ecosystem.
This is a highly simplified diagram, so please do not take it as absolute. We
can see that Fish are involved in many interactions, which is because
this category includes numerous species with varying behaviours!
Parrotfish,
Butterflyfish, Damsel fish and other grazers can often be found eating algae
from the reef, without them, the algae would be given too much of a free reign
and could over grow the reef, smothering corals (not feeding on, just smothering),
a similar scenario could exist if nutrient levels were to increase excessively,
such as an area where no proper sewerage were present and waste flowed or
leeched directly into the sea. Likewise, excessive removal of predator species
at the top of the food chain, can result in explosions in the fish category, meaning
reduced levels of invertebrates and algae.
Ecosystems are carefully balanced and
naturally fluctuate annually and seasonally, but in areas where development is
occurring, like Perhentian, it is vital that it is competed sustainably,
considering the long term implications and careful management of the biological
diversity in-line with the societal and economic success.
