The planet's dwindling biodiversity could

affect humans in many ways, report says

By Associated Press, adapted by Newsela staff on 05.13.19
Word Count 779
Level 1230L

Burchell's zebras and Masai giraffe seen in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. Photo by: Anup Shah/Getty Images

Regardless of whether you ever see an endangered species, the globe's biodiversity crisis threatens
all of humanity. The threats come in numerous unseen or unrecognized ways, scientists say.

Biodiversity refers to the variety of living things in a given environment, whether that's a forest, a
stream or an ocean.

A big United Nations report released on May 6 warned that nature is in trouble and estimated that
1 million species are threatened with extinction if nothing is done. It said the worldwide
deterioration of nature is everyone's problem.

An Essential Part Of Human Existence

The report was clear in noting effects for people, saying, "Nature is essential for human existence
and good quality of life."

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Food, energy, medicine, water, protection from storms and floods and slowing climate change are
some of the 18 ways nature helps keep people alive, the report said. It concluded that 14 of those
are on long-term declining trends.

"You destroy nature and it's going to bite you back," said Stuart Pimm, an ecology professor
at Duke University in North Carolina. He pointed to how difficult it has been for China to recover
from decades of forest loss. The country has replanted trees in recent years.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services report

points to more than 2,500 wars and other conflicts over fossil fuels, water, food and land. It
illustrates how important nature is to people.

"Protecting biodiversity means protecting mankind because we human beings depend

fundamentally on the diversity of the living," UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in
announcing the report in Paris, France. UNESCO is short for the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Here are four ways humanity depends on nature, based on information in the report and from
scientists.

Food And Medicine From The Environment

Nearly all food comes directly from nature, said report co-author Kai Chan, an environmental
scientist at the University of British Columbia in Canada. Even though overall the world is growing
more food, pressure on crops from pollution, habitat changes and other forces has made prices
soar and even caused food riots in Latin America, he said.

Bees and other pollinators across the globe are in decline, and 75 percent of the world's food crops,
including fruits, vegetables, coffee and cocoa, require pollination. The report said pollinator loss
could cost the world $285 billion to $577 billion a year.

About 70 percent of the drugs used to fight cancer "are natural or are synthetic products inspired
by nature," the report said. About 4 billion people rely primarily on natural medicines.

Thomas Lovejoy, an ecologist at George Mason University in Virginia, points to a single heat-
thriving microbe that comes out of Yellowstone National Park's hot springs. Pieces of its genetic
code are the key to a scientific technique called polymerase chain reaction that is used for medical,
genetic and other tests and much of modern biotechnology.

"Nature underpins all dimensions of human health," the report said.

Weather And Climate Effects

The world's forests and oceans suck nearly 6.2 billion tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide out of
the air each year, the report said. That's about 60 percent of what humans produce through
burning fossil fuels.

Without forests and oceans, global warming would be worse, as Earth would be warming more
and faster, scientists said.

Climate change and biodiversity loss are equally huge environmental problems that make each
other worse, report chairman Robert Watson said.

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People can build expensive time-consuming sea walls to fight the rise of oceans from climate
change or the same protection can be offered by coastal mangroves, the report said.

They are trees or shrubs that grow in coastal swamps and can form dense thickets. However,
mangroves are in trouble, Watson said.

"They often act as a nursery for fisheries basically," Watson said. "And they clearly help to protect
land from severe weather events and storm surges from the sea."

The problem, he said, is that many mangrove systems have been converted to shrimp farms,
leaving the land vulnerable to storm surges and devoid of biodiversity.

Living Planet

People may think of biodiversity or endangered species as something detached from their daily
lives. However, those people don't understand that Earth functions as a "living planet" with many
parts dependent on each other, Lovejoy said.

"We're here in Paris. Can you experience Paris without nature?" asked report co-chairman
Eduardo Brondizio of Indiana University. "Every place we turn here we see biodiversity exposed to
us in the streets. When we open the tap here, we drink excellent water. When we look at the parks,
when we look at the atmosphere here in the city, it's all about nature."

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Quiz

1 Read the following sentence from the article.

"Nature is essential for human existence and good quality of life."

What specific evidence provided by the UN study supports this statement?

(A) Of more than 18 ways nature supports human life, 14 of these are in decline.

(B) People can grow enough food to feed the total human population.

(C) Many people enjoy nature for recreation and hobbies like hiking and fishing.

(D) Nature provides vast resources that can only be replaced if we use and study them in laboratories.

2 Read the selections from the article.

1. A big United Nations report released on May 6 warned that nature is in trouble and
estimated that 1 million species are threatened with extinction if nothing is done.
2. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
report points to more than 2,500 wars and other conflicts over fossil fuels, water, food and
land.
3. Bees and other pollinators across the globe are in decline, and 75 percent of the world's
food crops, including fruits, vegetables, coffee and cocoa, require pollination.
4. "We're here in Paris. Can you experience Paris without nature?" asked report co-chairman
Eduardo Brondizio of Indiana University.

Which two selections provide the BEST evidence to support the idea that nature and biodiversity are deteriorating?

(A) 1 and 3

(B) 1 and 4

(C) 2 and 3

(D) 2 and 4

3 Why are decreases in bees and other pollinators threatening human food supplies?

(A) Bees control and eliminate plant diseases.

(B) Most crops require pollination to grow and reproduce.

(C) Without pollinators, fruits and vegetables do not taste as good.

(D) Farmers have not been able to grow crops without pollinators.

4 Is the author of the article suggesting that nature actually helps to fight climate change? Which selection from the article BEST
supports your answer?

(A) Yes; The world's forests and oceans suck nearly 6.2 billion tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide out of
the air each year, the report said.

(B) Yes; "They often act as a nursery for fisheries basically," Watson said. "And they clearly help to protect
land from severe weather events and storm surges from the sea."

(C) No; "Climate change and biodiversity loss are equally huge environmental problems that make each
other worse," report chairman Robert Watson said.

(D) No; People can build expensive time-consuming sea walls to fight the rise of oceans from climate
change or the same protection can be offered by coastal mangroves, the report said.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.

5 Why are mangroves essential for combating both climate change and coastal storm damage?

1. Mangroves remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

2. Mangroves lower sea surface temperature, weakening storms.
3. Mangroves provide a natural buffer to storm surge and flooding.

(A) 1 and 2

(B) 1 and 3

(C) 2 and 3

(D) 1, 2 and 3

6 Read the list of words and phrases from the article.

1. essential
2. depend fundamentally
3. underpins all dimensions

Why does the author use these words and phrases?

(A) to explain how important humans are to the survival of biodiversity on the planet

(B) to emphasize just how much human life relies on the health and diversity of nature

(C) to argue that people are constantly failing to see how interconnected humans are with nature

(D) to indicate that humans are responsible for the great loss of biodiversity in nature

7 Which are justifications for maintaining and protecting the biodiversity of our planet?

1. ensuring that there is an adequate food supply for global populations

2. ensuring a source of new medicines and drugs from wild organisms
3. buffering against coastal damage caused by high winds during storms
4. reducing the benefits of harvesting and marketing natural products

(A) 1, 2 and 3

(B) 1, 2 and 4

(C) 1, 3 and 4

(D) 2, 3 and 4

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8 Read the paragraph from the section "Weather And Climate Effects."

The problem, he said, is that many mangrove systems have been converted to shrimp farms,
leaving the land vulnerable to storm surges and devoid of biodiversity.

Adding which of these sentences to the article would BEST help explain the meaning of the word "vulnerable" in the context of
the article?

(A) The land is finally free from the problems caused by the mangrove system and is now ready to grow
unhindered.

(B) The land will now become immune to storm surges because the shrimp farms are healthy and strong.

(C) The land will no longer have the same protection from the mangrove systems that it once had.

(D) The land is under the same threat of storm surges as before, since shrimp farms are just as unlikely to
help as mangroves were.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.