CGF ARTICLES, OPINIONS & EDITORIALS
Biodiversity - It takes more than money (2013-02-04)
February 20,
2015 3370 3370 
Biodiversity is an issue of global importance; it lies at the core of sustaining all forms of life known to mankind.
And because there is no single party being held accountable for the depletion of the world’s large variety of living organisms, the proper functioning of ecosystems is being continuously damaged by our daily activities and our unsustainable lifestyle practices.
Whilst the topic of biodiversity is often the center of controversial debate, few organisations in comparison have transformed their poor business practices to halt, or even reverse, the damage caused to the ecosystem and its fragile components. It doesn’t help when people see themselves as ‘microcosms’, and claim their damage is “minimal” in the grand scale of this destruction. Neither does it help when blame is shifted to business, or governments; who may for example destroy forests for development and not replenish such resources in the quest for profit.
The reality of this dire situation is that each of us -- past, present and future generations -- has a role to play regarding the preservation of ecosystems and the biodiversity of our planet Earth. Indeed it is true that the Earth is, and has been, very ‘forgiving’ as regards the manner in which humans have abused and destroyed much of its animal and plant species, including the natural resources found in our rivers, oceans, forests and fertile land.
Just consider climate change over the last few decades; Green House Gas (GHG) levels are now higher than at any other time known to man, and are likely to rise between 2-5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2060. Scientists further state that climate change is regarded as a “market failure of the greatest scale the world has ever seen” and that by 2025, more than three billion people could be living in water-stressed countries.
And so answers are critically required from the perpetrators of this grand scale ecocide; ecosystems are collapsing across the world with 75% of fisheries being over-fished, there’s a 50% decline in global forest cover, 65% of agricultural land is in degradation, and many animal and plant species are simply being wiped out. As these ecocide atrocities continue without any signs of slowing down, so too are the perpetrators not being brought to book in any meaningful way.
