CHAPTER 8

Biodiversity and a Healthy Society

Biodiversity and Healthy Society
What is Biodiversity?

• Biodiversity is defined as the variety of life present in

an ecosystem.

• It is important on how society benefits from it.

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The Three different types of biodiversity

1. Genetic Biodiversity
2. Specific Biodiversity
3. Ecological Biodiversity.
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Genetic Biodiversity
• Refers to the variations among organisms of the
same species.

• Variations are usually passed down from parents to

offspring.
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Specific Biodiversity
• Refers to the variety of species within a particular
region.
• Influenced by the environmental conditions in the
region.
• Measure biodiversity for these are the basic units of
biological classification.
• Species are grouped together in families based on
shared characteristics.
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Ecological Diversity

• Refers to the network of different species in an

ecosystem and the interaction of these species.
• Variations of climatic and altitudinal conditions along
with varied ecological habitats are the reasons for the
richness in biodiversity of a particular region on
earth.
Marine Biodiversity
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 Health and Medicine

• Since 2600 BC, people have been using plants to

treat illnesses, hence the practice of herbal medicine.
• Cupressus sempervirens (Cypress) and Commiphora
myrrha (myrrh)
- used to treat cough, colds, and inflammation since
the ancient times.
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Health and Medicine

• Herbal medicines were also used in healing rituals

and in the treatment of injuries resulting from wars
or accidents.
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Health and Medicine

• Various plant-based drugs

- Gargles, pills, infusions, and ointments were used
in Ancient Egypt as well as an Ancient China.
• 100 BC to 300 BC
- Greeks recorded the collection, storage, and use of
medicinal herbs.
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Health and Medicine

• During the Dark and Middle Ages (monasteries)

• England, Ireland, France, and Germany
-preserved the Western knowledge of treating illnesses,
-the use of herbal medicine in ancient civilizations was
dependent on the biodiversity present in their respective
environments.
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Health and Medicine

• Salvia apiana (California sage)

- was an herbal plant used by Indian tribes of
Southern California to aid in childbirth and was
believed to protect the immune system from respiratory
ailments.
Salviana apiana or California Sage
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Health and Medicine

• Alhagi maurorum (camel thorn),

- secretes a sweet and gummy substance from its stems and
leaves called MANNA during hot days.
MANNA contains melezitose and sucrose, an invent sugar.
diuretic, diaphoretic, laxative, expectorant, gastroprotective,
antiseptic, and anti-diarrheal properties.
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Health and Medicine

• Alhagi maurorum (camel thorn),

-Israelis use the roots of the plant to treat diarrhea.
- The Konkani people smoked the plant to treat
asthma, and Romans used the plant to treat polyps.
Alhagi maurorum (camel thorn)
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Health and Medicine

• Ligusticum scoticum (Scottish lovage)

-believed to treat hysterical and uterine disorders.
-Its seeds are used to relieve flatulence and to
stimulate the senses.
Ligusticum scoticum (Scottish lovage)
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Health and Medicine

• Many medicinal products available in the

market today are derived from natural
substances from plants.
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Health and Medicine

• Salicylic acid
- active ingredient of the anti-inflammatory drug
• Aspirin
- derived from the bark of the willow tree
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Health and Medicine

• Morphine (Papaver somniferum “opium poppy”)

- one of the most widely known painkillers which was
first marketed and used in the 1800s
• Digitoxin (Digitalis purpurea “foxglove”)
- used in the management of congestive heart failure
since 1700s
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Health and Medicine

• Penicillin
-clinical trial (1938)
-first indication of antibiotic resistance to
penicillin (1941)
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Health and Medicine

• 1970s
- the production of the bacterial strains
supersensitive to ß-lactams, tests for the
inhibition of ß-lactamases, and specificity for
sulfur-containing metabolites led to the discovery
of novel antibiotic structural classes.
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Health and Medicine

- Norcardicins
- Carbapenems
- monobactams
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Health and Medicine

• Fungi and microorganisms found in trees,

grasses, algae and herbaceous plants, and living
in the intercellular spaces of plant stems,
petioles, root, and leaves have been widely used
in the production of many important medicinal
products today.
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Health and Medicine

• 1994
• Pilocarpine
- used and approved for the treatment of dry
mouth (xerostamia).
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Health and Medicine
• 1998
• Sjogren’s syndrome
- manage an autoimmune disease that damages the
salivary and lacrimal glands
• 2004
• Quinine ( bark of Cinchona succriba Pav. Ex. Klotzsch)
- was approved to treat malaria
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Health and Medicine

• At present more and more developments are

being introduced in the pharmaceutical industry
to produce new drugs for the treatment of
diseases.
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 Food

• Basic need for human survival

• Stone Age
- hunting and foraging to get food
- dependent on ecosystem
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Food

• Earth’s population grew

- Crops that can be grown were discovered and
animals were domesticated
- Throughout history, agriculture and
cultivation evolved.
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Food

- Increasing demand for food as the world

population grew also resulted in the
developments of more lands for agriculture.
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Food

• Farmers and fishermen

- rely on healthy ecosystems for their livelihood
- the benefits of biodiversity are necessary
- about 39 of the leading 57 global crops need
birds and insects as pollinators.
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Food

• Agrobiodiversity
- is the result of careful selection and innovative
developments by farmers, fishers, and herders
throughout the years.
Harvested crop varieties and non-harvested species in the
environment that support ecosystems for food production fall
under agrobiodiversity.

Vegetable Crops
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 Energy

• Humans rely on energy provided by ecosystems

to do the necessary activities in order to survive.
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Energy

• Stone Age
• HEAT ENERGY from fire was used mainly for survival
against harsh cold environments, for cooking, and for
communication with nearby tribes in the form of
smoke.
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Energy

• In 1000 BC, coal as a source of energy was used by

people in northeastern China for heating and cooking.
• In 400 BC, WATER ENERGY or HYDRO POWER was
used by the Ancient Greeks and Romans and for the
irrigation.
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Energy

• In 347 AD, the earliest known oil wells were developed

in China. They made use of extensive bamboo
pipelines with depths of 800 feet for lighting and
heating.
• In 500 to 900 AD, the Persians started to use wind-
powered grain mills and water pumps.
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Energy

• By 1300, windmills, taking the modern pinwheel

shape, were developed in Western Europe, and in
1390, the Dutch built larger windmills for draining
lakes and marshes in the Rhine River Delta.
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Energy

• Wind energy was also used to navigate through

bodies of water.
• 1700s to 1800s (Industrial Revolution)
- Biomass replaced with coal as a source of energy
(British discovered).
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Energy
• 1820s
- natural gas was used as a source of light although
the lack of pipeline infrastructure made its
distribution challenging
• 1830s
- the electric generator was developed based on
Michael Faraday’s discovery of electromagnetism.
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Energy

• 1850s,
- commercial oil was drilled which led to the
distillation of kerosene from petroleum.
• 1860s
- Augustine Mouchot developed the first solar powered
system for industrial machinery.
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Energy

• 1892
- geothermal energy was first used.
• 1942
- the first nuclear fission reactor was designed and
built.
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Energy

• In the 19th century and 20th century, the utilization

of coal energy shaped the industrialization of the
United States, United Kingdom, and other European
countries.
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Energy
• 1973
- the effects on the environment and the risk of potential
accidents when using energy alarmed many environmental
organizations.
• 1979
- nuclear reactor accident
- Three Mile Island biggest oil spill in the US waters and the
Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska occurred.
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Energy

• 2000s
- coal ash pill in Tennesse
- oil spill n Gulf of Mexico
- Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan (Battaglia, 2013).
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Energy
• Jones, Pejchar, and Kiesecker (2015)

- reported the repercussions of society’s demand for

clean and abundant energy on biodiversity and human
well-being.
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 Water Storage and Flood Control
• Earliest Civilization were situated near rivers
- Their livelihood dependent on water
• 2,000 years ago
- increasing demand for potable and drinkable water along with
the discovery of groundwater. (Middle East)
• Aqueducts
- were invented and built by the Romans and the Greeks, to
maintain stable water supplies to communities that were far
from bodies of water and irrigation of crops, dams were built to
maintain water supply in communities.
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Air and Water Treatment
• Some of the gases considered as criteria pollutants
like NOx and 03, in moderate amounts, contribute to
a healthy ecosystem and, balanced biodiversity.
However, due to excessive concentrations of these
gases, the capacity of the environment to clean itself
and to be resilient is diminished.
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Air and Water Treatment
• Nitrogen
- stimulates the growth of nitrogen-loving plant species.
- reduces the resilience of forests to other
environmental stresses such as drought, frost, pests,
and diseases.
- excessive nitrogen will definitely weaken the resilience
of soil and plants
• 1990 to 2006
• extensive vegetation damage around the world due to
ozone.
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Air and Water Treatment
• Ozone
- can be good or bad, depending on where it is found-the earth’s upper
atmosphere or at ground level.
- ground level is known as the bad ozone.
• ground level ozone
- It is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and
volatile organic compounds (VOC) under the presence of sunlight.
- High levels promote early flowering, affecting the synchronization of
pollinators and flowers.
- also damages the leaves of salad crops, consequently reducing their
market value.
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Air and Water Treatment
• 2000
- ozone pollution reduced wheat yield by 14 percent
and the tomato yield by 9 percent which created a
domino effect in the overall production and
consumption of goods.
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Protocol on Biodiversity
• Montreal Protocol and Kyoto Protocol

- need to enhance the implementation of regulations

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Protocol on Biodiversity
• Cartagena Protocol
- is an international agreement which aims to ensure
the safe handling, transport and use of living modified
organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern
biotechnology that may have adverse effects on
biological diversity, taking also into account risks to
human health.

https://bch.cbd.int/protocol/
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Protocol on Biodiversity
• Cartagena Protocol
- It is linked to Convention on Biological Diversity, which helps
to protect Pacific communities and biodiversity from the
consequences of living modified organisms. It requires having
facilities in place through proper legislative frameworks,
laboratory facilities, technology, and technical capabilities to
enable countries to detect, measure, and monitor LMOs that
come into the country (Secretariat of the Pacific Regional
Environment Programme, 2016).
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Protocol on Biodiversity
• Cartagena Protocol
- Locally, strict implementation of environmental laws
among industries and communities alike must be
ensured to prevent further damage of biodiversity from
air pollution and water pollution. There should also be
efforts to ensure that whatever treatment is employed
it should not promote mass pollution transfer from
one matrix of the environment to another.