A world without biodiversity?
January 2008
Diversity—biological as well as social, linguistic and cultural diversity—is the lifeblood of sustainable development and human welfare. It is key to resilience—the ability of natural and social systems to adapt to change and is essential for nearly every aspect of our lives.
That’s why, in the run-up to the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona, with its theme A Diverse and Sustainable World the latest issue of World Conservation is going ‘back to basics’.
It asks the question: How can we expect to tackle poverty and climate change if we don’t look after the natural wealth of animals, plants, microorganisms and ecosystems that make our planet inhabitable?
The articles look at the scientific, social, economic and cultural case for keeping diversity, showing how biodiversity supports our health and physical security, food production, medical research, livelihoods, tourism, artistic expression and cultural life.
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Other featured articles
 Doctor Nature
Cures for AIDS and some cancers could be at our fingertips if we did a better job of looking after biodiversity, says Eric Chivian [HTML] [PDF] |
 Bioprospecting: securing a piece of the pie
The commercial use of biodiversity has become a highly contentious area of policy. Sarah Laird and Rachel Wynberg say the arguments are far from being settled [HTML] [PDF] |
 Keeping it clean
Chief Executive of Air New Zealand Rob Fyfe explains why the company has such a high stake in protecting the environment [HTML] [PDF] |
 Talking diversity
Luisa Maffi explains how cultural, linguistic and biological diversity are interlinked
[HTML] [PDF] |
 Food heroes
Local communities have conserved the diversity of agricultural species for thousands of years. Supporting them is key to achieving global food security, says M.S. Swaminathan [HTML] [PDF] |
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