|
Definition
for 'biodiversity'
"Biological
diversity, or "biodiversity" for short, describes the
variety of all biological life - plants, animals, fungi and micoorganisms
- the genes they contain and the ecosystems on land or in water
where they live. It is the diversity of life on earth".
From The New Zealand Biodiversity Strategy, February
2000, Part 1, Page 1. For a more detailed definition see Glossary,
Part 4, page 16. Download the text of the Strategy from the Department
of Conservation's website.
"The word 'biodiversity' is a contraction
of biological diversity. Diversity is a concept which refers to
the range of variation or differences among some set of entities;
biological diversity thus refers to variety within the living
world. The term 'biodiversity' is indeed commonly used to describe
the number, variety and variability of living organisms. This
very broad usage, embracing many different parameters, is essentially
a synonym of 'Life on Earth'. [...] It has become a widespread
practice to define biodiversity in terms of genes, species and
ecosystems, corresponding to three fundamental and hierarchically-related
levels of biological organisation".
From the World Conservation Monitoring Centre
Further details regarding the
definition of 'biodiversity' are available from environment.about.com.
See also Ian Atkinson Biodiversity:
What is it, and why is it important?, for a detailed
presentation of the concept, components and dimensions of 'biodiversity'.
The text of this paper can be downloaded from the Biodiversity
Strategy website.
What
do we know about New Zealand's biodiversity?
"Of
an estimated 80,000 or more native animals, fungi and plants in
New Zealand, only about 30,000 have been formally described, named
and classified by taxonomists (see Table 9.1). Most of the undescribed
species are fungi and invertebrate animals, particularly nematode
worms and insects. Several hundred plants are also undescribed.
On the other hand, it is well known globally that about 20 percent
of current species names are synonyms (that is, different names
for the same species). These uncertainties should be borne in
mind when consulting Table 9.1 which provides a very approximate
estimate of the number of species known and suspected in each
major living group. Apart from the uncertainty surrounding the
number of species and their identities, considerable uncertainty
also surrounds the population status and viability of many known
species. Although much data exists on the ecology and behaviour
of our more visible and endangered plants and animals, monitoring
and research tends to be sporadic and poorly coordinated for most
species and ecosystems". From The State
of New Zealand's Environment, 1997: section The State of our Biodiversity,
p. 19. This document can be downloaded from the Ministry
for the Environment website.
Table 9.1: Indigenous and Introduced Species in New Zealand (excluding
extinct species).
"Present information on New Zealand’s biodiversity
is scattered. Most of our indigenous fungi and invertebrate animals
have not been identified, and the status of most species is not
monitored. Information is best on vertebrates and vascular plants.
Fungi, mosses, invertebrates, protozoans, algae and bacteria are
less well known". Source: id. above, page
22.
Human
settlement and biodiversity in New Zealand
"New Zealand, one of the last places on earth to he settled
by humans, has one of the worst records of indigenous biodiversity
loss.[...]
As far as we know, in the last 700-800 years, humans and their
accompanying pests have made extinct:
- 32 percent of indigenous land and freshwater birds;
- 18 percent of sea birds;
- three of seven frogs;
- at least 12 invertebrates such as snails and insects;
- one fish, one bat and perhaps three reptiles;
- and possibly 11 plants.
Today, about 1000 of our known animal, plant, and
fungi species are considered threatened. An it is likely that
many presently unknown species are also threatened. Many populations
of these threatened species have disappeared from areas where
they were once found. This pattern of local loss is the forerunner
to species extinction". From The New Zealand
Biodiversity Strategy, February 2000, Part 1, Page 4. Download
the text of the Strategy from the Department
of Conservation's website.
The main pressures brought
by Humans
"The arrival of people brought three main pressures to bear
on New Zealand’s endemic species: human predation (hunting, fishing
and gathering); habitat destruction (deforestation, wetland drainage,
fragmentation and degradation of ecosystems); and pests and weeds
(alien organisms which prey on or compete with indigenous species
or degrade their habitat). These pressures arrived in two historically
distinct waves; the process started by the first wave (Maori)
was accelerated by the second wave (European)". From
The State of New Zealand's Environment, 1997: section The State
of our Biodiversity, p. 28.
The range of human impact
"Few areas of unaltered natural environment remain in New
Zealand other than in the alpine extremities. Even in the most
inaccessible forested basins, ecological communities may differ
from their pre-human state. Most areas which appear natural, and
all which do not, bear the evidence of successive human impacts
in soils, sediments and deposits, in changed flora and fauna,
and in artefacts, earthworks, monuments and constructions".
From Aidan J. Challis (Department of Conservation,
Wellington), in: The Human Parameters of Biodiversity. This paper
can be downloaded from The
Biodiversity Strategy website.
The consequences of human
settlement: some (potentially) positive aspects
"People have had an enormous impact on New Zealand’s biodiversity,
not only taking away but also adding, permanently. In many ways
people are like an ice age: some species can migrate, others become
extinct, populations are fragmented, refuges are created. But
like the ice age, the retreat rekindles restoration. People open
up the landscape and rejuvenate the processes, like a big flood.
People reset the biodiversity clock. There are new opportunities
for migration, adaptation, evolution.
All of this positive action in the medium term
is possible only if the present decline is stopped. The concept
of biodiversity is new and valuable because it is broader than
the conservation of things. Species are like beads along the glow
worm’s thread; alone they are useless, but together they serve
as a process". From Philip Simpson (Science
and Research Division, Department of Conservation, Wellington),
in: The Consequences of Human Settlement. This paper can be downloaded
from The
Biodiversity Strategy website.
Can
the decline be halted and reversed?
This is the aim and ambition of the New
Zealand Biodiversity Strategy. After extensive preparation
and consultation it was launched by the Government in March 2000.
Who
works to preserve and restore biodiversity in New Zealand?
This is primarily the task of the Department of Conservation.
The Department is the government agency with primary responsibility
for the conservation of New Zealand's unique indigenous biodiversity.
Read
more.
A number of non-governmental organisations also
contribute to the preservation of biodiversity in New Zealand,
through conservation work on flora or fauna species and ecosystems.
Among the main ones:
Who
studies biodiversity in New Zealand?
The Department of Conservation, through its Science
and Research Division
Scientific institutions, in particular:
- Landcare
Research
(Landcare Research is focusing on four key areas
that will lead to more sustainable management of our resources
and assist policy making in New Zealand: Biodiversity & conservation,
Biosecurity & pest management, Land & water quality, Climate
change and greenhouse gases)
- NIWA
(National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research)
- The
Cawthron Institute
(Specialist fields are the aquaculture of shellfish
and seaweeds, biosecurity issues, marine and freshwater science,
and analytical chemistry and microbiology)
Getting
involved
The Department of
Conservation runs a volunteer
programme for those people who want to do something practical
for conservation.
For others, conservation
events offer opportunities to take part in different activities
that are run as part of Arbor Day, Conservation Week and Sea Week.
Forest & Bird welcomes assistance from private individuals
in a number of ways: find
out more.
|
|
